Review - Land of the Dead

The long awaited next installment of George Romero’s Dead series comes to life . . .

I was really excited when I saw the previews for Land of the Dead. It seemed as though it would be the answer to all my zombie movie prayers. For the most part, I was quite happy with the film. I have to say though that I was a bit disappointed in the use (or lack there of) of Dennis Hopper. They really made him look like a bit of a boob. And if he really built Fiddlers Green after so much destruction, how much of a boob could he really have been? And one other thing - what good is all the money in the world if there is no world to spend it in?

At any rate that little bit of disappointment certainly didn’t overshadow the rest of the film. It was pretty well paced. It had some of the best looking zombies I have seen in quite a while. You would imagine that the undead would look pretty sick, especially after all of the time they have been undead in this series - and Romero’s undead fit the part perfectly.

I thought that Riley (Simon Baker) really portrayed a man who had just had enough superbly. And Cholo (John Leguizamo) fit the bill to a T of a man who just wanted his fair share of the pie. Too bad for Kaufman (Dennis Hopper) that he felt he had no pie to spare on a low life like Cholo. Slack (Asia Argento) - a lady of the night who was almost met her end because she pissed off the wrong people - had just the right balance of hard edge and soft heart.

The real meat and potatoes of this film seemed to be the zombies really trying to find their place to fit in. Just like Riley, they had had enough of being pushed around and were standing up to fight for what was theirs. The change in the zombies in this film is that they are now able to think and communicate with each other. Yes, still in a series of grunts, but still and all it was effective communication. Effective enough to get their point across anyway.

A strong recommend for this film. Land of the Dead offers a really great story, strong actors and sick zombies and kill scenes.

Directed by
George A. Romero

Writing credits (WGA)
George A. Romero (written by)


Cast (in credits order) complete, awaiting verification
Simon Baker .... Riley
John Leguizamo .... Cholo
Dennis Hopper .... Kaufman
Asia Argento .... Slack
Robert Joy .... Charlie
Eugene Clark .... Big Daddy
Joanne Boland .... Pretty Boy
Tony Nappo .... Foxy
Jennifer Baxter .... Number 9
Boyd Banks .... Butcher
Jasmin Geljo .... Tambourine Man
Max McCabe .... Mouse (as Maxwell McCabe-Lokos)
Tony Munch .... Anchor
Shawn Roberts .... Mike
Pedro Miguel Arce .... Pillsbury
Sasha Roiz .... Manolete
Krista Bridges .... Motown
Alan Van Sprang .... Brubaker
Phil Fondacaro .... Chihuahua
Bruce McFee .... Mulligan
Earl Pastko .... Roach
Jonathan Whittaker .... Sutherland
Jonathan Walker .... Cliff Woods
Peter Outerbridge .... Styles
Lara Amersey .... Dead Teenage Girl
Michael Belisaro .... Dead Teenage Boy (as Michael Belisario)
Gene Mack .... Knipp
Matt Birman .... Kaufman's Security Guard
Devon Bostick .... Brian
Jason Gautreau .... Gus
Christopher Russell .... Barrett
Christopher Allen Nelson .... Veteran Soldier
Debra Felstead .... Female Soldier
Tina Romero .... 'High Noon' Soldier
Colm Magner .... Guard at the 'Throat'
Scott Wickware .... Guard at the 'Throat'
Ron Payne .... Hobo
Richard Clarkin .... Steele
Darrin Brown .... Bettor
Eldridge Hyndman .... Deke
Ted Ludzik .... Weapons Storage Guard
David Sparrow .... Arena Policeman
Bryan Renfro .... Number 9's Victim (as Brian Renfro)
James Binkley .... Grenade Soldier
Robin Ward .... Fiddler's Green Promo Announcer
Dawne Furey .... Topless Dancer
Sandy Kellerman .... Kissing Woman
Donna Croce .... Kissing Woman
Wilbert Headley .... Dead Tuba Player
Ross Sferrazza .... Dead Trombone Player
Erica Olsen .... Cheerleader Zombie
Liise Keeling .... Zombie Mother
Sonia Belley .... Zombie Daughter
Chad Camilleri .... Refrigerator Zombie (as Chad Camelleri)
Gino Crognale .... Policeman Zombie
Shane Cardwell .... Fence Fry Zombie
Simon Pegg .... Photo Booth Zombie
Edgar Wright .... Photo Booth Zombie
Kevin Rushton .... Arena Fight Zombie
Nick Alachiotis .... Arena Fight Zombie
James Canton .... Child Zombie
Ermes Blarasin .... Clown Zombie
Jake McKinnon .... Hillside Zombie
Gregory Nicotero .... Bridgekeeper Zombie (as Greg Nicotero)
Susan Wloszczyna .... Temperance Street Zombie
David Campbell .... Legless Zombie
Tom Savini .... Machete Zombie
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Alexandria DeFabiis .... Zombie (uncredited)
Michael Felsher .... AutoMania Zombie (uncredited)
Jill Meyers .... Zombie (uncredited)
Jeff Teravainen .... Kaufman's Guard #2 (uncredited)
Steven Yaffee .... Boyfriend (uncredited)