Land of the Dead

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to announce that I am submitting my first post on a film by the godfather of zombie movies, Mr. George A. Romero. Perhaps I should be discussing the films in the order that they were released, but I decided to watch Land of the Dead last night, and I want to go ahead and put down some thoughts while the memory is still fresh.

[VEHICLES]

To get started, lets give a little thought to the film’s monstrous armored personnel carrier, Dead Reckoning. I like the idea, and while I think Dead Reckoning is pretty sweet, I thought the APC in James Cameron’s Aliens was far cooler, and probably a bit more practical. Dead Reckoning did appear to have the advantage of being able to carry and protect more people, but I can’t even imagine the nightmare it would be to turn that bastard around. They didn’t seem to have much trouble in the movie, but I’m guessing that real life would reveal some serious shortcomings in its maneuverability.

I also have some questions about this vehicle’s armament. I think the miniguns and other heavy machine guns were a good choice for cutting down crowds of the undead, but why on earth did they design this vehicle with blind-spots that the guns couldn’t reach? It seemed to only take half a dozen or so zombies outside the door for Dead Reckoning to be left without any means of safely retrieving anyone who happens to be stuck outside. Fortunately for the Riley character, they had the foresight to install a roof hatch, but it seems like a vulnerability that should have been addressed in the design stages.

Remaining on the topic of transportation, why was Dead Reckoning the only armored vehicle? Why on earth were they riding around on motorcycles and other vehicles that lacked any sort of protective enclosure? I suppose the bikes would be very maneuverable and fuel efficient, but I personally think some armored Humvees would probably offer a better balance of transport and safety.

[SALVAGING SUPPLIES]

Regarding the act of scavenging for essential supplies, I find it to be a very foreseeable byproduct of a zombie apocalypse, and this isn’t the first place I’ve seen the concept addressed. The idea is approached quite extensively in Gareth Wood’s Rise and Age of the Dead stories, where multiple teams, of different sizes and purposes, venture great distances on organized cataloging and retrieval missions.

However, I don’t understand why Land of the Dead’s salvage crew was running around making all kind of noise, shooting off their guns, and failing to display even a moderate measure discipline. They seemed more like a drunken biker gang, than an essential supplies retrieval team.

[WEAPONS]

I notice that there certainly didn’t seem to be any shortage of weapons and ammunition. Given the widespread availability of firearms in the US, this is fairly believable, though I have to question the hazards created by all the noise. Particularly noise created by needless shooting, shouting, and racing about.

I do have to admit that I admired the speargun-like weapon that Cholo was armed with. While probably not the best choice when facing a crowd of zombies, it is a wonderfully silent means of dispatching a single opponent. This is very much like the crossbow, which Max Brooks praises in the Zombie Survival Guide.

[CURRENCY / BARTERING]

To take a step in a different direction, I really have to question the concept of money in the film. I can very easily imagine a situation where an elite few have taken control of key resources, and are using this power to influence and control others, but I don’t see cash retaining any value in a post-apocalyptic-society. Goods, services, and other resources will be the currency of value in this situation, not the dollar.

[LONG-TERM DEFENSE]

Another point of interest is the location of their safe-zone. There is certainly a great deal of value in the pre-existing infrastructure that a major city offers, but I wonder how they managed to clear out and defend this rather sizable chunk of the city. In an urban setting like this, there should be hundreds of thousands of undead milling about, trying to get at the survivors. Yet in the film, the city seems largely empty. I really expected to see scenes similar to the massive crowd that surrounded the mall in Dawn of the Dead 2004.

I also just don’t see this location being a particularly good long-term solution. To continue as they are, they will need to travel further and futher to find new supplies. They didn’t appear to be working towards any real sustainability. I can easily see the ruling group being selfish, and exploiting others to achieve their goals, but I don’t think they’d have achieved that power by being stupid and short-sighted.

In the unlikely event that a group of survivors did manage to secure a large section of a city, and it happened to be a city with a rather sparse zombie population, it still doesn’t live up to the advantages of starting out fresh, far from urban centers. Perhaps this was simply intended to emphasize the greed and selfishness of the Kaufman, and contrast Riley’s far wiser plan to head north, away from the zombie hordes.

There are many more topics that warrant discussion, but I’m afraid that I must draw the line somewhere. As I look back over what I have covered, I notice that I seem to have voiced more criticisms than compliments. I hope this is not received poorly, as it is merely due to the fact that questions always stand out more prominently than that which makes perfect sense. I hope my commentary comes across as fair and just, as I mean to deliver it with the greatest of respect. Mr. Romero’s efforts have given rise to genre defining films that still set the standard today. I am a huge fan, and eagerly await news of his future projects.