Land of the Dead (2005, Canadian/French)

I had very high expectations for Land of the Dead, mostly because I spent much of the summer of 2005 finally getting around to Romero's other Dead movies. I wasn't disappointed by the latest installment - though it's not on par with the original Dawn (my personal favorite), it's still a lot of fun, and takes excellent advantage of the recent upgrades in gore technology. Land also continues the tradition of Romero's social subtexts, long a part of his particular brand of gross-out cinema. In this round, he sets his sights on the rich, white, and privileged, as by the time Land takes place, the majority of North America has been overtaken by zombies, and the powerful live in luxury tower cities such as Fiddler's Green, leaving the common man outside to run and hide. Is it any wonder that Land was filmed in Canada, and not the U.S.?

The casting is pretty solid - Simon Baker isn't particularly charismatic, but pulls off the hero role serviceably well. Neither John Leguizamo nor Asia Argento bugged me, which is unusual of late, and Dennis Hopper is obviously having a great time. As I mentioned, the make-up and special effects are pretty fantastic. Plus, you just can't beat Big Daddy as the zombie heavy. I hope that somewhere up in zombie heaven, he and Bub are kicking back and eating brains for all eternity.