SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD
US, 2009, 90 minutes, Colour.
Alan Van Sprang, Kenneth Welsh, Kathleen Munroe, Devon Bostick.
Directed by George A. Romero.
For more than 40 years, George A. Romero has lived on his achievement and reputation for Living Dead movies. The Night of the Living Dead was surprising and shocking in 1968. The later Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead (late 70s and mid 80s) had bigger budgets and were in colour – and enlarged his cohorts of fans. He did make other films (Martin, Monkey Shine), most with horror touches.
In 2005, he was persuaded to make Land of the Dead, a remake (re-envisioning) of his earlier films. It had critical and commercial success. Two years later, he varied the approach with Diary of the Dead, using the device of a van of young people making a video documentary of the phenomenon and horrors of the living dead, zombies. They were accosted by a band of roving National Guard. Survival takes up the actions of the National Guard.
Obviously, the fans will be satisfied simply because George Romero made it and it is there. However, the shooting, slicing, dicing, decapitating of biting and chomping zombies has its entertainment limits (despite special effects innovations – and multi-repetitions), To continue the by now franchise, some plot developments are necessary.
Survival tries this with some success, though it is continually punctuated by the aforesaid shootings and slicings. Romero states that his plot is based on the 50s western, The Big Country, but it is just like the legendary feuding of the Hatfields and the Mc Coys. Two Irish clans have been at loggerheads for generations (Flynns and Muldoons) on Plum Island off Delaware. The exiled O' Flynn chief gets the National Guard to the island and confronts Muldoon who is trying to tame the zombies (so that they eat other flesh beside human) and so train them to continue their work.
Performances are stock, except for Kenneth Welsh who stands out as Patrick O' Flynn. Dialogue is often mundane and crass (uninventive) so does not provide enough of a witty and thoughtful balance to the zombie horror. It looks as though their will be a sequel.
1.Romero’s reputation, the Living Dead series? Over forty years? The ideas, the horror, the effects? Romero’s fans?
2.The place of this film in the series? 21st century perspective? The Living Dead? Social upheaval?
3.The locations, the mainland, the sea, Plum Island? The musical score?
4.The film based on The Big Country, the clashes between the Hatfields and the Mc Coys? The Irish tradition? The clashes of the families, the clans?
5.The Living Dead situation? The facts, no explanation? The infection all over the world? People not infected? The National Guard – and the desertion? The television shows functioning normally? The zombies, their deaths, within the National Guard, people having to kill the Living Dead?
6.The special effects, the ways of killing the Living Dead – exploitative?
7.The National Guard, the connection to the film Diary of the Dead? Their encounter with the young people in the van? Taking it over? The personalities, the leader, Tomboy, the Mexican? The technology expert? His computer? The confrontation with the zombies, their work, their friends becoming the Living Dead and having to kill them? The effect?
8.Plum Island, the O’ Flynns versus the Muldoons? The two patriarchs? Their clashes? Personalities? O’ Flynn and his group, doing the killing? The daughter, defying her father? Asking whether he would have the strength? His being expelled from the island? With his group?
9.Plum Island, the deaths of the people? The Living Dead in chains? Doing their work by rote? Muldoon and his plan to train them? For them to eat other flesh rather than human?
10.The National Guard, their escape, going to Plum Island after seeing the You Tube advertisement? Encountering O’ Flynn? The boat, the difficulties, getting to the island?
11.On the island, infiltrating? The Muldoons? The shock at seeing the Living Dead and their work, in the fields, the girl riding the horse, the cook?
12.The Mexican, being infected, the confrontation with Tomboy, his bravado in steering the boat, his death?
13.Tomboy, strong, her being captured, Muldoon holding her, the escape?
14.The leader, using his wits, the young boy, going with the group? The siege mentality? The attacks?
15.The build-up to the confrontation, the workers for Muldoon, their rebellion, the way he treated them?
16.The fact that O’ Flynn had twins, one infected, one not – and the shock of the other being infected?
17.The boy, the girl, their fight, bringing the weapons, the escape?
18.The confrontation between O’ Flynn and Muldoon, their speeches, motivations, mutual trickery, deaths?
19.The cumulative effect of the basic story, the horror? The laziness of the screenplay in expletives rather than developing characters and situations? The special effects?
