Survival of the dead reviews thread

[darth los]

mmm i dont know... here in spain there´s a lot of haters too. But there is not a Romero cult like in the states.Here is not well known.but in france there´s a lot of fans of carpenter and romero.. i think the Us reviewers focus mainly in the execution and the final look while europeans valore the single fact that romero makes movies in an old school sense that it´s difficult to find out there. That's one thing for sure that i agree with. No one makes films the way GAr does. Not even close. As a matter of fact I think it's a testament to the man that he's even able to keep making films despite them not being big money makers, which as we all know drives today's movie making industry.

[Fecunditatis]

Try looking in Google for "Survival of the Dead recensione". You'll find, besides a few bad ones, lots of glowing Italian reviews such as this one: http://www.film.it/articolo/survival...nsione/9271741 "In the end, it's much more interesting and thoughtful than many recent zombie movies, including those shown in this festival [Venice]. The fact is that Romero always is able to overcome the lack of budget with ideas, with a story that once again includes a pitiless attack on the "american way of life"".

[clanglee]

The “in your face” commentary of Diary has been a point of contention for many fans, but rest assured Survival’s message is there but presented in a way that does not hinder the story. Tribalism is the main theme of this film, and it is presented such that the viewer does not get pulled out of the experience and can remain engaged. Who and what started this feud is alluded to, but at this juncture it’s a moot point as it has already gone to the next level. Should the dead be put down permanently, or should they be “saved” in hopes of a cure or to honor them by letting them “live?” But in this new world do old differences matter? The world we know has ended, and now it is time to adapt or die, and some people just can’t seem to let go of old ideals. Is O’Flynn right about putting down every resurrected body? Or does Muldoon have it right about respecting our recently dead and now undead family members and letting them survive? Do we “teach” them to eat things other then humans or how to perform everyday mundane activities? Does any of this really matter when resources and supplies start dwindling and the zombies still want to eat us? George raises these questions without asking them directly to the audience, showing he has regained a balance of story vs. message in Survival This quote from the Dread Central review relieves a lot of my worries about the film. I am now officially excited.

[Trin]

That is very compelling.

[krakenslayer]

Survival gets a very positive review on the this podcast: http://zedwordblog.blogspot.com/2009...w-on-mail.html I've transcribed a little bit of it for you to read: Alright, now to answer the question that everybody has been thinking. How was Survival of the Dead? Is it any good? Well, before I can talk about Survival of the Dead, we have to talk a little bit about Diary of the Dead. Many fans, including myself, thought that Romero's last zombie film... left a lot to be desired. Diary had a poor story, terrible acting, and a preachy message that dominated the film and had all the subtlety of a club being bashed repeatedly against your skull. I've heard from a lot of people that they thought Romero had lost his "gift" after Diary of the Dead, then again people have been saying the same thing since Day of the Dead in the eighties. From a narrative perspective, I've enjoyed all of Romero's zombie movies up until Diary. Land of the Dead is not his best film, but it's still an interesting and good zombie film... However, Diary was just inexcusable. I'd never felt so disappointed coming out of a movie as I had with Diary. Therefore, like many of you, I was very worried about what Romero had in store for us with Survivial of the Dead. It is with this in mind that I come to you... a very relieved zombie fan. I come to say that Survival of the Deadis one fun-as-hell zombie movie that more than makes up for Diary of the Dead. Although it lacks some narrative weight, and it lacks a strong emotional centre, it is perhaps the most fun I've ever had at a Romero film since watching Dawn of the Dead when I was a little kid. You can hear the rest in the podcast at the above link.

[sirjacktorrance]

Mr disgusting(who loved diary) doesn´t like survival... http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/review/1993 The cinematography was horrible, the lighting was blown out and the scenes were staged horribly what´s wrong with cinematography? the clip and trailer looks better than lot´s of horror films today.actually the travelling of the clip it´s really cool another mixed, but positive..well sort of.. http://www.fearnet.com/news/reviews/...l_of_dead.html

[sirjacktorrance]

another very positive !!! http://www.thenightlygamer.com/movie...l-of-the-dead/ When compared to other films in the genre, “Survival of the Dead” is certainly a league above. Horror fans in general should easily find something to like about this one. All of George A. Romero’s “of the Dead” films are entertaining in some manner, but this is definitely one of the better of the series, if not the best.

[Neil]

another very positive !!! http://www.thenightlygamer.com/movie...l-of-the-dead/ "if not the best"...? Hmmm... Are they suggesting this is comparable to/better than Night, Dawn and Day? Wow!

[bassman]

"if not the best"...? Hmmm... Are they suggesting this is comparable to/better than Night, Dawn and Day? Wow! Surely he meant the best of the new series? As in not the original trilogy?

[AcesandEights]

Surely he meant the best of the new series? As in not the original trilogy? But what if? I almost started this as a topic not an hour or so ago, but felt ambivalent about starting a whole new topic for it. What if this was the best of any of GAR's previous works? Of course, I'd be shocked. And of course, I'd have to imagine I'd be pleased were I to see a film in the genre by GAR that I felt surpassed all his previous works. It's damn hard to imagine, though.

[MinionZombie]

But what if? I almost started this as a topic not an hour or so ago, but felt ambivalent about starting a whole new topic for it. What if this was the best of any of GAR's previous works? Of course, I'd be shocked. And of course, I'd have to imagine I'd be pleased were I to see a film in the genre by GAR that I felt surpassed all his previous works. It's damn hard to imagine, though. I'd be shocked, stunned and a little bit disoriented if Survival was better than Night, Dawn or Day to be honest - and I simply don't see it happening. It's unfair to compare his new flicks to those long-standing, much-loved classics. What I'll be looking for is, will Survival beat Land of the Dead in my "21st century GAR zombie movie" affections?

[Trin]

Get those expectations nice and high Aces... nice and high. I don't see ANY downside to that kind of thinking. But seriously, I'm not sure there can be an apples to apples comparison between the original 3 and today's GAR offerings. Not so much because movies have changed, but because WE have. Most of us watched the originals as youngsters, when loving movies was more an emotional reaction than a well-formed dissection of plot and cinemetography and whatnot. Overcoming that emotional nostalgia is hard. But some of those reviews... whew... no matter how devoted you are to making up your own mind... it's hard to ignore the potential downside.

[AcesandEights]

Get those expectations nice and high Aces... nice and high. I don't see ANY downside to that kind of thinking. Hey, I've gone on record a few times about my expectations being low, yet open minded (relatively speaking, anyway).

[clanglee]

Hey, I've gone on record a few times about my expectations being low, yet open minded (relatively speaking, anyway). You go watch going through life with those kind of expectations there Aces. I had that kind too. . until I woke up with that one legged midget transvestite hooker. That's a life changer for sure.

[kev]

[QUOTE=Trin;200439]Get those expectations nice and high Aces... nice and high. I don't see ANY downside to that kind of thinking. But seriously, I'm not sure there can be an apples to apples comparison between the original 3 and today's GAR offerings. Not so much because movies have changed, but because WE have. Most of us watched the originals as youngsters, when loving movies was more an emotional reaction than a well-formed dissection of plot and cinemetography and whatnot. Overcoming that emotional nostalgia is hard. QUOTE] I totally know where your coming from, movies when you are younger are so much easier to just get lost in the action and not worry about plot etc.