Snap Judgments: Survival of the Dead

It must be tough being a George Romero fan nowadays. The horror icon, who basically started the entire zombie genre, has been languishing the last few years, driving a wedge between fans of his older work and the newer, slicker stuff. Ever since his return after a long hiatus, Romero's zombies have looked older and staler, despite his newfound love of CGI effects, another aspect which divides his fanbase. In the face of fresher zombie flicks, Romero has struggled to give his baby relevance. While Survival of the Dead is hardly his best, at least he's approaching the same old premise from a different perspective.

If you weren't a fan of 2007's Diary of the Dead, you'll probably balk at the idea of sitting through this one, as it leapfrogs from plot points previously established. This time around expanding on the story of Sarge "Nicotine" Crockett(Alan Van Sprang), a former soldier reduced to thuggery by robbing helpless folks seeking his help. Sarge and his crew have stumbled upon the isolated Plum Island, a town relatively unaffected by the zombie takeover. Instead, the town's two warring Clans, the Muldoons and the O'Flynns battle it out like the Hatfields and McCoys. One side thinks the zombies need to be destroyed, while the other wants to keep them alive in hopes of curing loved ones. Sarge, along with a ragtag group of horror movie archetypes, inject themselves into the family feud with typically bloody results.

The idea of two opposing moral views on the zombie epidemic is at least a unique one, showing that Romero still has plenty to offer. It's just unfortunate that so little is done with it. I'm at a loss to figure out who the audience for this is exactly. Diehard Romero fans won't find nearly enough zombie gore to satisfy them. The zombies are relegated to the background for the most part, discussed rather than fought. If the human characters had a lick of personality I'd say that was a good thing, because usually the most boring part of any movie are the zombies. Instead nobody is of any interest. When a movie's claim to fame is that it puts new meaning to the term "hungry enough to eat a horse", then something's gone horribly wrong.

Movies like 28 Days Later have robbed Romero's versions of their supposed sociological meaning. I personally never believed for a second any of them were anything more than dead folks back to eat brains. Survival is even less interested in saying anything, but what that is I have no idea. The "of the Dead" series has devolved into self parody, having been outflanked at every angle. It's not even enjoyable from a spoof standpoint, especially in the face of a better film like Zombieland. Perhaps it's time for Romero to put this franchise to rest, and let's hope it doesn't rise up from the grave.