Alan Van Sprang:  Sarge
Kenneth Welsh:  Patrick O’Flynn
Kathleen Munroe:  Janet O’Flynn
Richard Fitzpatrick:  Seamus
                                             Muldoon
Athena Karkanis:  Tomboy
Devon Bostick:  Boy

Release Date: August 24, 2010
Studio: Artfire Films /
Magnet Releasing
Genre: Horror
Rated: R     1 hr 30 mins

CAST:

Survival of the Dead

August 27, 2010

Reviewer: Rottenbucher

DIRECTOR:

George A. Romero

*Comments:

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Is George A. Romero beating a dead horse? The grandfather of all things zombie has been churning out sequels to his original Dead trilogy since 28 Days Later and the remake of Dawn of the Dead scored big at the box office, in the DVD market and with critics. Land of the Dead fared well, but critiques claimed it was Romero by rote.  Then there was the love it or hate it Diary of the Dead, where Romero took the 1968 outbreak and booted into 2007 hoping no one would really notice. So where does that put the loose sequel to the voyeur-esque YouTube-critiquing, Docu-dead flick? Shuffling.

Survival of the Dead follows the National Guardsmen from Diary. Not really a sequel, but more of a sub-story turned into a full-blow flick, these nomadic military men are on their own, breaking ranks after being overrun. Looking for some sort of escape, they head for a supposedly zombie-free island in the Atlantic. The group makes landfall upon Plum Island where they get caught in the middle of the mother of all family feuds.  One spawned over killing zombies or keeping them alive in hopes of a cure.

It’s simple and to the point. Survival definitely makes a strong nod to the Western genre with its rugged individualism, right-the-wrong plot and warring factions. But for 2010, an island of just two feuding, extended families battling over a bevy of zombies is a tad odd. Private islands exist, but this one seems just too unbelievable. It’s almost if Romero wanted to create some old-fashioned, virginal utopia that is just as rotten as the current mainland dystopia, both with and without zombies.  And thankfully this is about as preachy as Survival gets.

Romero also ditches the documentary style and got back to gore. In fact, Survival may be the most violent of Romero films with head-shot upon head-shot. There are also bites, vivisections and oodles of ooze, but Survival is full of marksmen and gun enthusiasts. Also added is a lot of dry humor. In fact, all of the gun play is so Western shoot-out, it’s a bit silly.  When the final zombie-off occurs, some of the attacks get comical.  And here is where Survival shuffles. Is this supposed to be serious or is Romero relaxing here and just making a movie? It seems more of the latter and that is what throws this film off. Romero’s original Dead trilogy was jaw-dropping films with impressive social commentary and an oppressive sense of dread.  Land, Diary and now Survival have all missed the bar set by Romero himself.

Does that make Survival a bad flick? No. It’s a basic zombiefest that will in the very least entertain for the 90 minute run-time.  Romero does continue to allow his zombies to evolve and there are some neat moments. But unfortunately there is nothing but unlikeable characters fighting among themselves while the lovable undead appear to simply even out the plot. Has Romero hit a rut?  Maybe the genre has just run out of ideas?  With the endless tide of novels, graphic novels, DVDs, theatrical releases, video games and upcoming cable series, it’s amazing the dead have survived this long. The man who put the genre on the map is starting to seem a wee bit bored. Survival of the Dead is only recommended to Romero fans and zombie addicts.