Survival of the Dead

good

source: Survival of the Dead

Nobody reads long reviews here, and nobody's ever got a job through writing a witty or insightful thing on IMDb. So, what is there to say about Survival? It's fantastic! Very funny, very clever, very gory. A great plot, which is significantly different to what Romero has given us before, populated with characters I actually wanted to spend time with. An audacious plot-twist partway through spins several of the characters on their heads and the zombies continue to bleakly follow what they did in life- a Romero staple, here shown more vividly than ever before. It looks beautiful, is jam-packed with splashy grue, made me laugh like a drain in parts and inhale sharply in others, and whether or not you liked Diary (I did) I strongly advise you to see it. Oh, and the score is magnificent. Best one since Day. Now please, George, can we have a third film set in this "new" continuity- preferably following the remaining characters from Survival to wherever they end up next?

This is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. What little plot is present makes no sense. The characters are ridiculous and the acting is horrible. I have watched a lot of bad movies, but this is one of the few that was bad enough to make me turn it off. Why are the characters concerned about a bunch of cash when the world has ended and it is not worth the paper it is printed on? Why is there an island full of Scottish people right off the coast of the USA? Why would anyone actually want to keep zombies around? Why are the living killing each other left and right and not killing the zombies? How can a zombie ride a horse? Why would a zombie ride a horse? Horrible. Absolutely horrible. Romero should be cast into the Pit of Despair.

Fresh off a fifty-mile drive from the closest theatre playing horror legend George A. Romero's new zombie flick 'Survival of the Dead,' I am more than pleased to say the time & oh-so-expensive gas was worth it. Though Lord Romero has received more than his fair share of negative feedback for his last few films ('Bruiser,' 'Land of the Dead,' and 'Diary of the Dead), I have yet to see a single film of his that I would call less than good. And, my friends, the streak continues with 'Survival of the Dead.' Sure, I may not be the most unbiased of critics on the matter, but we're all hooked to something. 'Survival of the Dead' focuses on two sets of very different characters. The first we're introduced to is led by 'Nicotine' Crocket (Alan Van Sprang), the jerk "guardsmen" that first appeared in 'Diary of the Dead.' He wasn't a central figure in the previous film, but just one of the many dangerous obstacles the main characters from 'Diary' stumbled across during their journey. Crocket leads a group of other guardsmen around the country looking for, well, anything they can find. After hooking up with a crackshot kid and an armoured car full of cash, the guard unit heads up north after their discovery of Patrick O'Flynn (Kenneth Welsh), an old Irish fella on the internet advertising a safe haven. O'Flynn, the leader of his own group, is a now-banished former resident of Plum Island, a small isle in the Atlantic. Intent on seeking vengeance against the other zombie-saving Irish clansman from the island, O'Flynn convinces Crocket's gang to head to Plum Island with him. The first thing that many Romero fans will notice is something that had been missing in the 'Dead' series before this film: a recurring character. Crocket, the antihero and occasional narrator of the new film, wasn't the worst choice Romero could make for a recurring character in 'Survival of the Dead.' Alongside Crocket, there is a varied mix of supporting characters from the horny lesbian Tomboy (Athena Karkanis) to the equally horny token minority Francisco (Stefano DiMatteo). One of the major problems most people (including myself) had with Romero's last film was the acting. In this film, the acting was pretty much satisfactory, with only couple issues (DiMatteo being a major issue in himself). Among the other technical aspects, the Romero-controlled factors of the film were, as expected, damn good. The direction and writing were much better than that of 'Diary,' and the beauty of the Ontario-filmed landscapes were wonderfully captured. Unfortunately, one visual aspect that was not very good with the film was. . . what else. . . the CGI. I, unlike many horror fans, am not completely against the use of CGI. It has its uses and can actually help a film if used properly. Sure, it's almost always better with real gore effects, but the use of CGI (as Romero himself said) can greatly help a low-budget production. CGI means less time actually on set (which is the most expensive part of the film-making process) and it means that Romero can do kills that he had only dreamed of before. Speaking of one very memorable kill from 'Survival,' he said he had been wanting to do it for a long time, but not even the great Tom Savini could pull it off. This means CGI basically allows limitless execution of whatever the director envisions. Sadly, though, the effect is lost much of the time when CGI is used, especially when it's not very well done. Overall, 'Survival of the Dead' is not going to please everyone, quite possibly because people are often too focused on what they think modern cinema should be, and what Romero should be offering. However, the film is a fun zombie-filled ride with a solid story and some memorable gore scenes. It does lack quite a bit in the tension & suspense of the previous films and focuses a bit too much on the comedic side, but it is still a fine addition to the zombie subgenre. Final Verdict: 7.5/10 -AP3-

As part of The Showroom Cinema Sheffield's regular Celluloid Scream programme, I had the opportunity to see the first U.K. screening of George A. Romero's latest entry in his ongoing Dead saga, Survival of the Dead. Here's a spoiler-light review. Cards on the table, I'm a long-time Romero fan. What can I tell you? The guy has directed some of the most thought-provoking chillers of the modern era. That said, I was a little concerned, after the unsatisfactory Diary of the Dead, that this new one would be disappointing. The trailers and brief snippets that have shown up online didn't give me much hope. I have to say though, I was kind of won over. Sure, Survival is nowhere near as dark and grimly nihilistic as his 'classic trilogy', but it is definitely a return to the type of storytelling that Romero does best. As the film opens, it is now a few days since the dead began to rise and attack the living. Society has already started to fall apart. As per Romero's recurring motif, the surviving humans are more of a danger to each other than the marauding dead, who are relegated to a secondary threat. Refusing to give up their petty squabbling, even in the face of the apocalypse, the survivors are dragged a fate that is literally worse than death. On Plum Island, off the coast of Delaware, two family patriarchs (already engaged in a generations-long feud) disagree on the best way to confront the zombie menace. O' Flynn is for 'expanding the graveyard' and shooting them down where they stand. Muldoon is for locking them in their homes and waiting for science to find a way to reverse what has happened. Finding himself banished from the island at gunpoint, O' Flynn uses the sporadically functioning Internet to direct mainland refugees to the supposed safe haven, a selfish 'screw-you' to those who exiled him. When the webcast catches the attention of a group of AWOL soldiers (the group we saw briefly in Diary of the Dead), O'Flynn teams up with them, bringing them to the island and dragging them into the ongoing feud. Romero is a lot more playful here than of late; there is a lot of dark humour, but he also includes some genuinely tense scenes of horror. One such, where one of the soldiers attempts to swim to a ferry swarming with zombies is very effective. The gore level would be high for any other series, but quite restrained for a Romero Dead film, using the FX sparingly but inventively. Negatives? Survival of the Dead isn't perfect. It takes much too long for the 'heroes' to get back to Plum Island, and we see very little of what is happening there, except the feuding clans, and the zombified townsfolk. Romero uses his familiar 'stealth zombie appears in frame' schtick a couple too many times, and I would argue that the film feels a little short, but this is still a vast, and very welcome, improvement over Diary of the Dead. The film is getting a limited theatrical release in the U.S. a month or so after the video-on-demand release. Not sure what the logic of that is. It is released on DVD this coming week in the U.K. Whichever format you see it in, I would urge you to check it out.

Me, and the two friends with me unfortunate enough to share in the experience, unanimously--with no doubt in our scarred minds--voted this as the worst film any of us had ever witnessed. There's really nothing more to say. I am astounded. This is a work of art in that it is so profanely bad. Was it intentional? Has the director gone insane? I don't know. I don't feel I know anything anymore. The entire firmament of my mental processes have been utterly destroyed by the experience of watching this film. What? IMDb wants me to write more? What I've said isn't enough to count as a review? This is akin to being shot in the leg because my last words prior to being hung were not memorable enough. I've been spat upon.

This movie was stunning! Not only does it have a kick ass guy from the army in it, but it brings back the slow... fun.. and bone shredding undead. It's about damn time Romero returns to the zombie scene and he couldn't have done it any better! Sure, The plot may be iffy in this movie and some scenes could have used more acting, but come on people, it's a zombie movie! LOVE IT! The characters are easy to remember. Their stories are fast to love. Not only is this movie enjoyable but it's one you'll re-watch, i sure did. Sadly on IMDb i watched the rating drop from 7.2 to 5.9, horribly undeserved and it should have stayed at 7.2. But alas by the end you'll be cheering for more. I'd recommend this movie for anyone that misses our little zombie friends. Long live Romero.

In 1967,a young,upcoming film maker,named George A. Romero,who previously only directed television advertisements & a few industrial training films,set out to direct his first feature film. That film was 'The Night Of The Living Dead',shot on a shoe string budget,filmed in black & white,using a cast of non professionals,with both cast & crew wearing several hats (Romero acted as co-writer,director,editor & cinematographer). The results,for the time were mixed:critics hated it,but audiences flocked in droves (especially when the film found itself as part of the ongoing realm of midnight movies in the 1970's). This led to Romero directing several other films in the series over the next forty odd years (Dawn of the Dead,Day of the Dead,Land of the Dead,etc.)in between some non zombie fare (Romero directed a biker epic,a comedy,some dramas,etc.). 'Survival Of The Dead' is another chapter in the series. This time,it concerns a clan war between two Irish families,the O'Flynns & the Muldoons. When Patrick O'Flynn is exiled from Plum Island by Seamus Muldoon,he ends up on the mainland,where he encounters a roving band of renegade National Guards, led by a hot head commanding officer,who calls himself Sarge. It seems O'Flynn is all for putting the dead down,as violently as possible,to avoid further contamination,while Muldoon is all for trying to preserve the walking dead in some sort of respect for the dead,with hope of finding a cure for their flesh eating ways (is he truly serious?). When the band of warriors return to Plum Island,mayhem, chaos & anarchy ensue between the two fractions. Toss in some other elements (a stow away,for good measure),and others make for 90 kick ass minutes. The cast (and most of the crew)is made up of Canadians who do well with the material they have to work with (including Alan Van Sprang,as Sarge Crockett,Stefano DiMatteo,as Francisco,Athena Karkanis,as Tomboy,Kenneth Welsh,as Patrick O'Flynn,Richard Kirkpatrick,as Seamus Muldoon,and Kathleen Munroe in a duel role as O'Flynn's twin daughters,Janet & Jane O'Flynn. George A.Romero writes & directs from his own screenplay,with cinematography by Adam Swica,and editing by Michael Doherty. A taut,tense thriller that deserved more than it got. Rated 'R'by the MPAA,this film serves up the usual bloody, graphic,gory zombie violence,strong language & brief sexual content.

Much better than I expected..i wasn't sure what to expect after the let down that was Diary of the dead but this is much better. Its a nice idea, developed well and beautifully shot.There are good performances and a lovely touch of dark comedy.I enjoyed this film. The main thing that marred it for me- and most people wouldn't notice but its my pet hate- is the cgi blood splatter and effects.STOP IT! you can always tell and it looks fake as hell. I'm not 100% sure that survival is an 8 out of 10 but it followed a godawful vampire comedy called Umbrage and anything would have seemed good after that. Its a solid 7 at least and worth watching. Nice to see Romero back on almost top form.Welcome back George...there are lots of people trying to copy you but none come close. In any case if it wasn't for this and Carriers Frightfest would have been crapfest.