This continuation of George A. Romero’s Dead series has been a long time coming, 20 years in fact, and despite the inevitable tantrums from some corners of the more fanatical fan-boy community, he has made a movie which can stand proudly alongside his rightly celebrated previous instalments.

This said, it should be added that this film is in a slightly different mould to the original trilogy. It is not as bleak for a start. That is not to say that Romero’s decidedly dim view of Human nature has got any brighter, the real villains in this movie are still the humans. The tone is noticeably brighter however with a few humorous moments scattered here and there and a generally more optimistic feel (well, optimistic for a film centred around the decimation of human civilisation). Unfortunately this detracts from the tension of the film and as a result you never really feel scared for our heroes, a problem certainly not present in Romero’s earlier work.

The movie also suffers from a few plot weaknesses and script deficiencies. The size of the city the humans live in is never really revealed and the amount of people living there is never ascertained. It is difficult to feel concern for the safety of these people because there is simply not enough known about them. There are also some confusing decisions made by the characters, why do Cholo and Foxy wander off alone for instance? Also, why are the armed guards of the city so utterly ineffectual? They really are completely useless, at one point one of them deliberately jumps from his vantage point on a balcony safely above the rampaging undead into a group of them who promptly tear him into messy little pieces.

These are minor niggles however and can easily be overlooked amidst all the flesh-tearing, gut-chomping fun. Romero has managed to depict fresh horrors in a tiring genre. The torchlit scene of numerous zombies quietly feasting away on fallen soldiers in the dark is particularly arresting. There is also a scene involving fingernails that will make even the strongest of stomachs lurch.

Even the most inventive of gore effects can’t carry a whole film however and Land of the Dead succeeds in backing up its buckets of blood with some extremely memorable moments. Of particular note is the sequence where the heroes are in the countryside beyond the city walls, staggering zombies are seen in silhouette through the fog and trees reminding us what a threatening and terrifying place this world has become.

Although a few more scenes like these would have been welcome Land of the Dead is not the disappointment many had steeled themselves for. Despite not being as ground breaking as its predeccesors and not quite having their sheer guts, this is still a solidly enjoyable zombie romp that is (decaying) head and shoulders above the rash of recent anaemic pap in the genre.

Rating: 8/10

Review By Matt Compton