While not typically a horror film fan, I do enjoy a good zombie movie every once in a while, and I thought it worth a try to see George Romero's latest in the trend of zombie films.

Another slice of life with zombies.

The original classic Night of the Living Dead introduces us to the rising of the dead that then seek the living. This classic is about the human experience involving the diverse group of people trapped in a house in a fairly remote place, more than it is about the zombies.

In Dawn of the Dead we are introduced to the current zombies in the cult-classic shopping mall survival. Good plan. Even the remake does a good job with this one, updating the zombies to something to actually contend with--they're "highly motivated" compared to the other movies' zombies. One of my new favorites, Shawn of the Dead shows this same day from a different place, and with a bit of wit and tasteful comedy mixed in.

In Day of the Dead we're introduced to some people trying to understand the zombie phenomenon. A small group of military and scientists have made a fairly safe haven and research facility to check out the zombies. Probably a good plan, too.

In Land of the Dead, we follow the progression from Dawn through Day, and find the survivors have banded together to reform a bit of civilization. Presumably the research (not from the previous movie--it was destroyed, remember?) and experience of dealing with zombies has allowed some control to be put in place, and the living are kept safe from the dead on Manahatan island.

Of course, there's a tremendous class struggle, as the haves are much better off than the have nots. The movie has us following some of the members of a team that leave the safe confines of the city to seek supplies from surrounding areas.

The movie is filled with the normal "look out" moments where we see the zombies creeping up on the unsuspecting living persons, during which we think it's painfully obvious that there's peril there. Think, however, how often we're all victims of the person standing behind us...usually it's not a zombie, but instead a boss or coworker watching us surf the web or e-mail something on company time...

Spoiler may follow.

Pages: 1· 2