SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD is the sixth entry
in George Romero’s zombie series. George focuses on several characters
for this film. SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD begins with a rivalry between the O’Flynn
and Muldoon families on Plum
Island off the shore of Delaware. The O’Flynns are out to put the zombies down for good while the Muldoons believe
the zombies should survive among us in hope a solution will be discovered. The
head of the O’Flynn clan is banished and he makes an internet video that entices people to come to Plum
Island. One such group is a small
group of AWOL National Guard soldiers (turned bandits), led by Sarge, with a teenager tagging along. They follow O’Flynn to the island where O’Flynn’s daughter has become one of the
undead and rides around on a horse. O’Flynn has a score to settle with
Muldoon that takes Sarge into O’Flynn’s vendetta against the Muldoons.
SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD is an another entertaining
entry in the undead series that features a good production look and feels like one of the 1980 horror films you would expect
from directors like John Carpenter, Wes Craven, or George A. Romero at their best.
The zombies are just a pretext for a story that shows people still fight among each other while the world is falling
apart around them. This movie is where George makes his comments about
war and his homage to THE BIG COUNTRY (a western about two feuding families). I
liked this one better than DIARY OF THE DEAD and would love to see where George would take us with another entry in the dead
series.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
DISC 1-
Audio commentary with Director George Romero, Producer Peter Grunwald, Producer
Michael Doherty, actor Kenneth Walsh, and actor/ 2nd Unit Director/ Stunt Coordinator Matt Birman
TIME WITH GEORGE- this interview with George
Romero reveals his frustrations over copyright laws and how he can’t us characters form his other films because different
companies own them. He imagined this film as part of a trilogy with DIARY OF
THE DEAD and LAND OF THE DEAD. He also talks about the effects work in SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD.
HDNET: A LOOK AT SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD is
a promotional fluff piece on the film while INTRODUCTION BY GEORGE A. ROMERO is a bunch of outtakes of George filming an intro
to the movie he made.
DISC 2-
WALKING AFTER MIDNIGHT-
75 minute making-of documentary that features the journey of a documentary filmmaker as he takes us behind-the-scenes of SURVIVAL
OF THE DEAD. It is very informative and sometimes pokes fun at itself. A very entertaining and well-made
documentary.
SARGE- a short film that serves as an epilogue
for SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD
A MINUTE OF YOUR TIME- 13 behind-the-scenes
shorts that show bits from the making of the film, interviews, and stuff from the promotion of the film.
STORYBAORD COMPARISONS: HEAD ON STAKES-
HOW TO CREATE YOUR OWN ZOMBIE BITE- an
episode of INDIE MOGUL that shows how to make a zombie bite for cheap.
FINAL ANALYSIS: SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD is one of my favorite films
in George A. Romero’s dead series. It makes me want to watch some
of the great horror films from the 1980s again. The two disc set has a
nice selection of extras.
This DVD review is ©9-5-2010 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. Send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com
