#31 - Survival of the Dead (2009)
(dir. George A. Romero)
A semi-sequel to Diary of the Dead, this film follows a group of National Guardsmen who have taken to robbery to survive the zombie apocalypse. They learn of an island that is relatively safe from the dead, but find themselves in the middle of a family feud that is far more dangerous than any zombie attack. In Romero's zombie films, the dead are always less of a threat than the living, but I think he takes the idea a little too far here. Even the characters rarely treat the zombies as anything more than a minor nuisance - except when the plot calls for someone to get bitten, of course.
This film has a bad reputation, but I didn't think it was really all that terrible. I mean, it has some flaws and is even downright stupid at times, but I'd still much rather watch this than another generic "serious" zombie movie like The Dead. The action is extremely goofy, with gags right out of Looney Tunes - I'll admit that I laughed when O'Flynn lights a stick of dynamite, hands it to a zombie, and runs away. The plot gets very stupid by the end, though - one of the pivotal scenes involves everyone just kind of standing around waiting to see if a zombie will bite a horse, which is important for some reason.
Even though this is not a great film, I had enough fun with it that I can forgive a lot of its flaws. If you are looking for scary zombies, you will be disappointed in this one, but as a campy satirical horror/comedy this movie does alright.
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