George A Romero's Survival of the Dead (2009)

When I wrote my review for George Romero's Diary of the Dead (2007), I admitted that I had no idea what Romero was trying to say with his film. Voice-over narration begins Romero's latest film, Survival of the Dead (2009), by a character introduced in Diary, revealed in Survival to be named Sarge "Nicotine" Crocket (Alan Van Sprang). He became famous on the Internet as he was captured on camera robbing a Winnebago belonging to young people "who were making a documentary about themselves." Read into that line what you will. Sarge continues: subsequent to the outbreak chronicled in Diary, the death toll has increased (along with the undead population) monumentally; and Sarge, still with his military outfit, is ready to go AWOL, as he believes in the "Us versus Them" war, being isolated is the key to survival. Cut to an isolated island off the coast in New England where Patrick O'Flynn (Kenneth Walsh), the patriarch of one of the island's oldest two families, and his band of kin are ridding the island of the walking dead. O'Flynn's daughter, Jane (Kathleen Munroe) is not happy with her father's behavior: as many of the undead on the island, being a small community, are all in some ways like family, Jane believes going around and exterminating them in a systematic way is wrong. Jane believes a more humane approach needs to be explored. When O'Flynn and his band invade the home of one the residents, O'Flynn is unable to kill the family's two children, both undead and chained in their bedroom. The parents weren't able to kill them and housed them, in some sense of hope. Enter Seamus Muldoon (Richard Fitzpatrick), the patriarch of the other oldest family on the island, and his band of kin. Muldoon is against the killing of the undead residents on the island. A stand-off ensues. The result is Patrick and a few loyal followers being exiled from the island. Back at the mainland, O'Flynn makes an Internet message, and Sarge and his small band, now AWOL and looking for a location to hole up, watch his message. O'Flynn's message is an invitation to Plum Island (from where he is now in exile) which he touts as safe and isolated, and Sarge and his crew accept the invitation.

With Survival of the Dead (2009), Romero pens a literate script, chock full of humor and social criticism, both of which ranges from heavy-handed to very subtle, and also draws strong, developed, and likable characters. Sarge is an antihero worth following: he is tired of getting into fights with bands of the living and watching his friends die as the result of human error in military strategy. He is reticent to accept O'Flynn's invitation, but like any good antihero, Sarge stands by his friends. One of his buddies tells Sarge that he knows that he will take a bullet for him, but Sarge isn't taking a bullet for anyone. The viewer subsequently gets to see if Sarge stands by his words or speaks through his actions. Two of Sarge's crew, Tomboy (Athena Karkanis) and Francisco (Stefano DiMatteo), who in a poor script would provide bad jokes and an a fresh body for an opportune, over-the-top kill scene, actually deliver excellent dialogue and become enriched, very-likable characters who are genuine in emotional scenes. Even the island inhabitants, like O'Flynn don't stay static but grow and become more complex. Like Diary and his previous zombie cinema, there is little faith in humanity; but unlike Diary, Romero delivers characters who imbue the narrative with both humility and humanity.

Nearly all of the current social issues in the U.S. are targets for Romero's script. The issue of immigration is an overt one but it is not didactic. No finger-pointing here, as Romero doesn't clearly show his preference for either side of an issue. Rather, most of Romero's criticism is organic and woven into the script. Most of his criticism really only becomes apparent when Survival is over and in reflection. The story is unexpected, as the opening scenes appear as if the family feud on the island would be the setting for almost the entire film (which, I admit I would have found boring). The journey that all the characters take is not typical, and Survival, overall, is well-paced.

Time for reviewer confession. I am not a fan of the overwhelming majority of modern horror cinema and watch little of it. It will be interesting to gauge the reaction of Survival when it appears on DVD from fans of modern horror (DVD in two editions, single disc and special, both by Magnolia, who released stellar titles such as Let the Right One In and Timecrimes, for example. This is a company that I will support financially and purchase Survival on DVD when it appears, listed as August 24th of this year, along with a Blu-Ray disc. I was able to watch Survival currently as a video-on-demand selection via Zune Videos on XBox Live.). While Survival is quite violent, there are little scares to be had and atmospheric, tension-filled set-ups. Most of the action is gun play, both between humans and humans versus the undead. There are great zombie sequences, though, with my favorite being Sarge's encounter with a blonde zombie on a boat which he takes on with a flare gun. Finally, it will be interesting to gauge the reaction of fans who compare Survival to Romero's previous zombie cinema. I have chosen not do this.

When Land of the Dead (2005) was announced to be released, I was like a kid in a candy store: here was one of my favorite directors, returning to the genre after twenty years that he helped to create and also creating some of its masterpieces. After I saw Land opening day, I think I talked myself into liking it, confirming that feeling when I saw it again on DVD. (I need to revisit it again.) I was even more excited to learn that Diary was being made, an independent film after the big-studio financed Land. After Diary, I had very little hope for Survival. Now, I cannot wait for Romero's next film, whatever film he makes.

George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead (2007)

George Romero is creative, talented, influential, critical, etc.; any positive attribute that can be bestowed upon a film maker, Romero earns it. His Dawn of the Dead (1978) is unequivocally my all-time favorite film, and I would certainly list the man very high, if I were to do so, in my all-time favorite directors. When I purchased his Diary of the Dead (2007) on DVD (on its release day, no less, and I missed its theatrical run), I didn't finish watching it, stopping around the forty-five minute mark, during the "72, 000 hits on YouTube" sequence. To be candid, I had no desire at the time to ever finish it, but lately I've been fascinated with directors' later works, made during periods in their artistic career when both viewers and critics feel they have little left to contribute to their craft.

Diary begins with a static shot of a street scene in front of an apartment building. Two police officers are radioing into the station, describing a murder of a family, by one of its own. The police officers seem to not "give a fuck" really about the murder and are less impressed to hurry, because it appears the victims and perpetrator were immigrants. Photo-journalists are also present, and they are as indifferent to the crime as the police officers. One cameraman asks the paramedics to move their ambulance, because it is blocking his shot. A news reporter is prepping her hair. Presumably the same cameraman who asks the ambulance to move is heard by the viewer off-camera remark on the ambulance driver's behavior: he's eating a sandwich while corpses are being rolled out on gurneys. How insensitive.

The next notable sequence involves voice-over narration by arguably Diary's main character, Debra (Michelle Morgan) who is going to do the viewing audience a favor by telling us what we are going to see and, more importantly, why we are going to see it. Her boyfriend, Jason (Joshua Close) was a film student making a student film with future hopes of being a documentary film maker. When a zombie outbreak occurred, Jason began filming the events. Apparently, Debra's character has edited the footage into a coherent feature and added dramatic music during particular scenes to scare the viewer (which is always appreciated and thank you). Kudos to Debra for having a specific motivation; however with Romero's street scene opening of Diary, Debra has to answer one more question (which she does not directly) for the viewer: "Hey lady, every one in the beginning of this movie is portrayed as being full of shit. What makes you any different?"

Romero's previous four zombie films have always had social criticism, but it rarely came off as finger-pointing. There was always at least one character who imbued the film with humility and humanity; because each film is, in a very general sense, a story about people who attempt to survive in a crisis and are ultimately undone not by the source of the crisis (e.g. the zombies) but by their own doings while trying to survive. Diary is also a survival story but lacking any humility with any of its characters. There is little faith in humanity to be had in Diary, and by the film's conclusion that point is painfully reiterated and overdone.

Here's an example with small sequences in which creative directors utilize to their maximum potential to enrich their films. Both Dawn and Diary have an eerily similar scene, but their differences speak loudly. In the first act of Dawn, Roger and Peter meet for the first time in the basement of a tenement building. They quickly bond and make a plan to escape and they are interrupted by a disabled priest who enters the basement to escape the tear gas. The old priest only wants a moment to rest and catch his breath, and Roger and Peter don't impede him. The priest shares with the two some real insights (and delivers some of Dawn's famous lines). Roger and Peter both show their intelligence by being silent and listening. In Diary, the desperate crew of main characters, on the road in their Winnie, break down. They stop at a farm in rural Pennsylvania to repair the Winnie. The main characters also encounter a disabled person who is not a religious figure but a person traditionally and typically associated specifically with his religion: a deaf/mute Amish farmer. The main characters immediately start talking (asking to use the farmhouse to repair the Winnie); but become frustrated and roll their eyes, because the farmer is slow in communicating. He has to write using a chalkboard to answer their questions. The farmer, in a would-be humorous touch, pulls dynamite from his shed and takes out some oncoming zombies. Unfortunately, this flourish is undermined by one of Diary's many bad lines: (after zombies explode) "Hey, aren't Amish supposed to be peaceful?"

Diary of the Dead is really well filmed with some effective lighting and handheld camerawork. Romero even drops in quite a few audacious compositions, such as when a soldier points his rifle directly at the camera. Unfortunately, the pacing, the characters, the acting, and the dialogue are extremely poor. These deficiencies are fascinating, because I have no idea what Romero was trying to say or do in Diary. One sequence stands out and perhaps hides his intentions (if Romero had any): in the first act, Jason, his friends, and teacher are making a student film. The characters share a lot of bad meta dialogue about horror films and even take on the debate of "walking versus running" monsters. Clever. The "walking versus running" debate, however, even more cleverly, hides another argument that the characters are having. Jason says that viewers like "believability" in their horror films with their characters and their actions (assuming the viewer does not insist on believability with the films' premises, e.g. a zombie apocalypse).

So is that what Romero is giving his audience with Diary? Believability? I suppose that Romero is successful with his film in some fashion. Nearly all of the characters in Diary after the outbreak only want to return to their hometowns to be with their families. This is a very understandable human sentiment. However, some of the other characters and their motivations become confused (instead of becoming complex characters). For example, Debra is depicted as having a relationship with Jason, but save the open sequence, these two are depicted as totally annoyed with each other's presence: Debra cannot stand Jason's continuous filming while Jason (even behind his camera) cannot get Debra to show any other emotion than defiance. When these two have a would-be tender moment in the final act, it stands out as totally incredulous (and it also confuses Debra's whole motivation with her initial narration). When the bad joke pops up (quite a bit) or the characters take time to pontificate (which should really only be done here on this blog), Diary just falls apart.

I do not know what the alternative is to believability in Diary. I do know that it is a grating film, really mean-spirited and angry. Being mean-spirited or angry is fine, but there is no discernible energy driving it. Diary of the Dead is a zombie film motivated by little faith in humanity. A really creative, socially-critical, playful, and talented film maker, like George A. Romero, could have made a great film out of it.