Zombie as blue collar American worker, exiled immigrant, homeland terrorist, Iraqi dissident. (And I have a feeling I’m missing a few.) George A. Romero bites off a lot with this film, including an overt commentary on the dangers of class warfare, insularity, and the ironies of technology being used against those who develop it. He also has a good deal to say about what can happen to arrogant-looking skyscrapers when terrorists have a beef with the empire who built them. In fact, short of having a zombie fly a commercial airliner into the Fielder’s Green skyscraper of the film, I don’t think Romero could make his alternate zombie world seem more blatantly analogous to our own. Having said this, I must point out that Romero can still deliver the goods when it comes to finding imaginative ways for zombies to kill humans and vice versa. I had no idea a bellybutton could pop like that. Land of the Dead should also fuel the ongoing debate surrounding fast- versus slow-moving zombies in recent films. Romero’s still a slow man, as am I, but the subject is certainly open to debate.
by Jason Woloski | Source: Universal Pictures 35mm Print
05 Jul 2005 1:36 AM | Submit Comment