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Preview by: Jack Foley
IT'S been a while but given the current zombie revival (Dawn
of the Dead remake, Shaun of
the Dead rom-zom-com), it seems only fair that zombie godfather,
George A. Romero, should get in on the act.
Hence, Land of the Dead is the acclaimed director's long-awaited
return to the horror genre he invented, going right back to the
seminal Night of the Living Dead and continuing with Dawn of the
Dead and Day of the Dead.
In his latest instalment of his very-own franchise, Romero seeks
to create an ultra-violent vision of a contemporary world where
his walking dead roam an uninhabited wasteland and the living
try to lead 'normal' lives behind the walls of a fortified city.
At the same time, a new society has been created by a group of
ruthless opportunists who live in a skyscraper, high above the
trouble on the streets below.
Outside these city walls, however, is an army of the dead which
is ever-growing and ever-evolving.
As the stakes become raised on both sides, it is up to a group
of hardened mercenaries to protect the living from an army of
the dead.
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Land of the Dead is written and directed
by Romero and stars Simon Baker, John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper,
Asia Argento and Robert Joy.
Fourteen minutes of the film was shown at Cannes and had journalists
at Empire magazine singing its praises.
According to the latest edition of the UK's movie bible, the
prologue finds Baker and Leguizamo raiding a zombie town to grab
much-needed supplies for the humans, thereby provoking the wrath
of the walking dead.
It is said to set the scene perfectly for the bloody mayhem to
follow.
And when it arrives, the action is gory, benefiting from advances
in special effects, and keen to re-establish Romero's position
as the zombie king.
That said, the director has resisted the temptation to provide
his zombies with super-human tendencies; they're still slow and
'won't be heading to a health club in a hurry'.
That said, fans of Romero's original zombie trilogy had better
prepare themselves for some form of evolution, with one character,
Big Daddy, said to be the early pick of the bunch.
The film was due for release in Halloween, but advance word is
so positive that Romero has decided to move it forward into the
blockbuster season.
It means it should be hitting UK cinemas on August 5, 2005.
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