Netflix Triple Feature-7/9/05
Two weeks ago I saw George A. Romero's Land of the Dead and was generally underwhelmed by it. There was decents amounts of gore, and a fairly interesting story, but overall I didn't really care about anyone in the movie. John Leguizamo pisses me off, so right from the start, I was against him. And Asia Argento was kind of dumb, and I didnt' care about her either. So I guess you could say that overall this movie lacked heart. This led me to wonder just what the deal with George A. Romero is. Up to that point, I hadn't seen a single one of his movies, so I was hesistant to call the man a hack without first visiting his original zombie movies. So with this in mind, I set out to watch his original zombie trilogy.
Night of the Living Dead directed by George A. Romero
So this is the movie that started it all back in 1968. Shot in sparse black and white and in really only one location, it is evident from the get go just how many other movies this one has inspired. This movie wastes no time in getting right to the action, killing off the first character in pretty much the first 5 or 10 minutes. Then we have our sterotypical(stereotypical now, not then)dumb blonde woman who would rather freak out than actually try to help her situation. She quickly retreats to a deserted house that clearly inspired the Evil Dead house-it has a cellar and even the heads of animals on the walls. Other people join the situation and infighting starts as to what to do with the unknown zombie menace lurking just outside their door.
This is a psychological movie, punctuated with a few action set pieces. We are thrust into a situation with these characters as they try desperatly to figure out just what the hell is going on. Now if it was 2005 in this movie-the characters would know that they are zombies outside and you just have to get the hell out of there, mowing down how every many you have to. But this is 1968, and they aren't privy to this knowledge at this point, so they are utterly confused as to what these creatures are, and how to deal with them. Are they strong? Are they smart? And really what hope do you have against an enemy that you have no idea how to deal with. Remind anyone of any wars going on in the year 1968? And for a movie made in that year, it is surprisingly graphic. Fingers get chopped off, and zombies get shot, and people get blown up real good. While clearly not as graphic as his later offerings, you can definetly see where he is going.
Night of the Living Dead is one the most unique and chilling horror movies ever, and it doesn't end happy. It ends with no questions answered, and everyone dying-the last character to go finds himself the unfortunate target of a band of dumbass rednecks. The photographs that play over the end credits are a chilling end to a horror masterpiece. While not for everyone's tastes, I highly recommend this movie.
Dawn of the Dead directed be George A. Romero
Going into this movie, I truly had no idea what to expect. Expectations for it were high because of the praise that this movie has received as one of the classic cult horror movies of all time. I saw the remake before I saw this one, and the remake felt like a typical Hollywood movie. It was good, but nothing remarkable or really truly memorable. The original though, is an entirely different story. I found this movie to be suspensful, hysterical, and even touching at times. This movie has the heart that Land of the Dead was missing. Here we are given a small cast of characters and we get to watch the monotenous tasks that they have to do to survive, and it is in watching these things that we grow to care about these characters. Not everone starts out as a bad ass zombie killer, they have to learn how to become one. Barricaded up in a mall they have no choice but to learn how to deal with the zombies, or face death.
George Romero really brough his A game in making this movie. Made 10 years after the original, it takes place not long after the events of the original. The zombies are spreading and the military has been called in to deal with them. If the first movie was about our fears in the Vietnam era, this movie is about the ever increasing rise of consumerism. Zombies instinctually flock to the mall, and our heroes bask in the glory of getting to run around an emply mall with no consequences. The action in this movie is great, bringing us heaps of gore to enjoy. But it is the moments between the action that make this movie great. We get to know and care so much about the 4 main characters, that when 2 of them meet their untimely death, we are just sad as the characters that lose them.
This movie ends a little more optimistically than Night of the Living Dead but really nothing has changed. The characters haven't saved the day, and they aren't any better off having escaped. As soon as the chopper that they use to leave the mall lands somewhere else, they are going to have the same problems they just dealt with. In the end, we feel the same relief that they feel, but we are also saddled with the same uneasiness that the characters must be feeling as we know that better times are not ahead. Again, this is not a movie for everyone's tastes, but if you love a good zombie movie, you cannot do better than Dawn of the Dead. It is just as good and just as classic as everyone says it is. Now I just have to go out and buy that 3 disc collectors edition.
Day of the Dead directed by George A. Romero.
After loving the last two Dead entries, I was very excited going into this movie. Expecting the same level of zombie goodness that we got with the last two movies, I was in for quite a shock. The majority of this movie does not deal with zombies. This movie concerns itself with a group of scientists trying desperatly to figure out how to deal with the zombies, while military men are watching over their shoulders just wanting to kill the zombies. Infighting ensues and there are many standoffs in this movie. It is pretty clear right from the get go what Romero's view of the military is. All the military men in Day of the Dead are assholes and would rather use their guns than their brains. The scientists are our heroes in this movie, and we want them to succeed, just so they don't have to deal with those military assholes.
The zombie action in the first two movies was practically relentless, there was a sene of dread in the air, that at any moment you could have to face down hordes of zombies. But in Day of the Dead the zombies aren't the threat, at first. It is man's desperation that is the threat. With no real hope left, these men are willing to kill anyone to prove their points. The first 80 minutes or so primarly deals with the tension between the characters, while the zombie menace is kept at bay outside by fences. The main military man quickly gets set up as the primary villain in this movie, as he threatens almost every other character in this movie with no remorse. The other mlitary men aren't as evil as this guy, but they are very unlikeable.
But this wouldn't be a zombie movie without some great zombie action, and at about the 80 minute mark, we are treated to some fantastic zombie action. Once the inevitable happens and the zombies enter the facility that the characters are holed up in, we get some of the most wonderfully disturbing flesh eating action. Guts are pulled from insides, arms are hacked off, eyes are pulled out. It's even more graphic and gory than the first two films, and I loved every second of it. This movie does a remarkable thing, in that when the zombies finally overtake the facility, we find ourselves rooting for them more than the military men, which interstingly enough, are the only ones eaten by the zombies-the scientists are allowed to escape pretty much unharmed. For Romero to make the zombies more likeable than the military further cements his opinion on the military.
While not as action packed as the previous movies, this is a worthy end to the original trilogy. It is not as funny as Dawn of the Dead and not nearly as creepy as Night of the Living Dead, it still holds its own quite well. I highly recommend this movie, and highly recommend the entire trilogy to anyone who enjoys a good zombie film. But if you enjoy a good zombie film already, chances are you've seen these movies already. Now I think I have to give Land of the Dead another chance, because now I know that Romero is no hack, he is the king of zombie movies.
Coming next week: A Woman Under the Influence directed by John Cassavetes, The Testament of Dr. Mabuse directed by Fritz Lang, and Naked Lunch directed by David Cronenberg. And if it comes in time, the remake of Dawn of the Dead directed by some guy whose name I don't know. So until next week, be well.
Night of the Living Dead directed by George A. Romero
So this is the movie that started it all back in 1968. Shot in sparse black and white and in really only one location, it is evident from the get go just how many other movies this one has inspired. This movie wastes no time in getting right to the action, killing off the first character in pretty much the first 5 or 10 minutes. Then we have our sterotypical(stereotypical now, not then)dumb blonde woman who would rather freak out than actually try to help her situation. She quickly retreats to a deserted house that clearly inspired the Evil Dead house-it has a cellar and even the heads of animals on the walls. Other people join the situation and infighting starts as to what to do with the unknown zombie menace lurking just outside their door.
This is a psychological movie, punctuated with a few action set pieces. We are thrust into a situation with these characters as they try desperatly to figure out just what the hell is going on. Now if it was 2005 in this movie-the characters would know that they are zombies outside and you just have to get the hell out of there, mowing down how every many you have to. But this is 1968, and they aren't privy to this knowledge at this point, so they are utterly confused as to what these creatures are, and how to deal with them. Are they strong? Are they smart? And really what hope do you have against an enemy that you have no idea how to deal with. Remind anyone of any wars going on in the year 1968? And for a movie made in that year, it is surprisingly graphic. Fingers get chopped off, and zombies get shot, and people get blown up real good. While clearly not as graphic as his later offerings, you can definetly see where he is going.
Night of the Living Dead is one the most unique and chilling horror movies ever, and it doesn't end happy. It ends with no questions answered, and everyone dying-the last character to go finds himself the unfortunate target of a band of dumbass rednecks. The photographs that play over the end credits are a chilling end to a horror masterpiece. While not for everyone's tastes, I highly recommend this movie.
Dawn of the Dead directed be George A. Romero
Going into this movie, I truly had no idea what to expect. Expectations for it were high because of the praise that this movie has received as one of the classic cult horror movies of all time. I saw the remake before I saw this one, and the remake felt like a typical Hollywood movie. It was good, but nothing remarkable or really truly memorable. The original though, is an entirely different story. I found this movie to be suspensful, hysterical, and even touching at times. This movie has the heart that Land of the Dead was missing. Here we are given a small cast of characters and we get to watch the monotenous tasks that they have to do to survive, and it is in watching these things that we grow to care about these characters. Not everone starts out as a bad ass zombie killer, they have to learn how to become one. Barricaded up in a mall they have no choice but to learn how to deal with the zombies, or face death.
George Romero really brough his A game in making this movie. Made 10 years after the original, it takes place not long after the events of the original. The zombies are spreading and the military has been called in to deal with them. If the first movie was about our fears in the Vietnam era, this movie is about the ever increasing rise of consumerism. Zombies instinctually flock to the mall, and our heroes bask in the glory of getting to run around an emply mall with no consequences. The action in this movie is great, bringing us heaps of gore to enjoy. But it is the moments between the action that make this movie great. We get to know and care so much about the 4 main characters, that when 2 of them meet their untimely death, we are just sad as the characters that lose them.
This movie ends a little more optimistically than Night of the Living Dead but really nothing has changed. The characters haven't saved the day, and they aren't any better off having escaped. As soon as the chopper that they use to leave the mall lands somewhere else, they are going to have the same problems they just dealt with. In the end, we feel the same relief that they feel, but we are also saddled with the same uneasiness that the characters must be feeling as we know that better times are not ahead. Again, this is not a movie for everyone's tastes, but if you love a good zombie movie, you cannot do better than Dawn of the Dead. It is just as good and just as classic as everyone says it is. Now I just have to go out and buy that 3 disc collectors edition.
Day of the Dead directed by George A. Romero.
After loving the last two Dead entries, I was very excited going into this movie. Expecting the same level of zombie goodness that we got with the last two movies, I was in for quite a shock. The majority of this movie does not deal with zombies. This movie concerns itself with a group of scientists trying desperatly to figure out how to deal with the zombies, while military men are watching over their shoulders just wanting to kill the zombies. Infighting ensues and there are many standoffs in this movie. It is pretty clear right from the get go what Romero's view of the military is. All the military men in Day of the Dead are assholes and would rather use their guns than their brains. The scientists are our heroes in this movie, and we want them to succeed, just so they don't have to deal with those military assholes.
The zombie action in the first two movies was practically relentless, there was a sene of dread in the air, that at any moment you could have to face down hordes of zombies. But in Day of the Dead the zombies aren't the threat, at first. It is man's desperation that is the threat. With no real hope left, these men are willing to kill anyone to prove their points. The first 80 minutes or so primarly deals with the tension between the characters, while the zombie menace is kept at bay outside by fences. The main military man quickly gets set up as the primary villain in this movie, as he threatens almost every other character in this movie with no remorse. The other mlitary men aren't as evil as this guy, but they are very unlikeable.
But this wouldn't be a zombie movie without some great zombie action, and at about the 80 minute mark, we are treated to some fantastic zombie action. Once the inevitable happens and the zombies enter the facility that the characters are holed up in, we get some of the most wonderfully disturbing flesh eating action. Guts are pulled from insides, arms are hacked off, eyes are pulled out. It's even more graphic and gory than the first two films, and I loved every second of it. This movie does a remarkable thing, in that when the zombies finally overtake the facility, we find ourselves rooting for them more than the military men, which interstingly enough, are the only ones eaten by the zombies-the scientists are allowed to escape pretty much unharmed. For Romero to make the zombies more likeable than the military further cements his opinion on the military.
While not as action packed as the previous movies, this is a worthy end to the original trilogy. It is not as funny as Dawn of the Dead and not nearly as creepy as Night of the Living Dead, it still holds its own quite well. I highly recommend this movie, and highly recommend the entire trilogy to anyone who enjoys a good zombie film. But if you enjoy a good zombie film already, chances are you've seen these movies already. Now I think I have to give Land of the Dead another chance, because now I know that Romero is no hack, he is the king of zombie movies.
Coming next week: A Woman Under the Influence directed by John Cassavetes, The Testament of Dr. Mabuse directed by Fritz Lang, and Naked Lunch directed by David Cronenberg. And if it comes in time, the remake of Dawn of the Dead directed by some guy whose name I don't know. So until next week, be well.
posted by Matt Lemos @ 11:11 PM
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