Land of the Dead

MPAA Rating: R

Entertainment: +2 1/2

Content: -2 1/2

The fourth in a series of zombie movies created by George A. Romero, Land of the Dead will be voraciously received by those who hunger for this kind of horror/action movie. Through an unexplained circumstance, the dead in every city are coming back to life and reeking havoc on the living population. As people are bitten by the zombies, they become zombies. Business men and power brokers, like Mr. Kaufman (Dennis Hopper), have built fortified cities and offer protection for the elite. The rest are left to their own resourcefulness for survival. Riley (Simon Baker) and Cholo (John Leguizamo) are soldiers for hire who battle the zombies and offer protection to those willing to pay with food, clothing and medicine. The zombies have the capacity to adapt and, beyond feeding their fleshly desires, are determined to attain the level of power and control held by men like Mr. Kaufman.

Land of the Dead offers a dismal, modern-day worldview. A normal life isnt possible amidst the chaos of zombie attacks and the greediness of the powerful elite. Fans of this film will likely appreciate the edgy, gory and overly violent elements. Bodies are torn apart, heads decapitated, heads and spines ripped from frames, and human innards of various sorts intestines, brains and vital organs eaten by zombies with gratuitous blood, bone and gore. A slight sexual element involves female characters who must work as prostitutes in order to survive on the streets. The male characters are ruthless as they shoot, stab and attack zombies and, at times, each other without feeling remorse. The living must resort to lying, cheating and stealing to survive and succeed. Riley is the only one with any compassion or ethics. His loyalty to a friend (Robert Joy) and his desire to improve this twisted world give Land of the Dead a little life. But not enough.

Preview Reviewer: Brian Hughes
Distributor: Universal Pictures

Summary
The following categories contain objective listings of film content which contribute to the subjective numeric Content ratings posted to the left and on the Home page.

Crude Language: Many (17) times mild (hell 6); moderate (b-stard 5); strong (-ss 4, b-tch 1, SOB 1)

Obscene Language: Many (50) times moderate (p-ss 1, scr-w 2, bl-w 1); strong (f-word 39, s-word 6, p-ssy 1)

Profanity: Many (11) times moderate (OMG 2, G 1); strong (GD 4, C2, JC 2)

Violence: Excessive mild (grabbing, shoving, struggling, biting, attempts to assassinate individuals after theyve served their purpose); moderate (hitting, kicking, stabbing, shooting guns, shooting a harpoon, shooting rockets); strong (decapitations; dismemberments; eating of raw bloody flesh; riddling bodies with bullets; point-blank gunshots to bodies, limbs and heads; explosions resulting in burning bodies)

Sex: Few times mild (brief glimpse of woman possibly ending an unconventional sexual act); moderate (brief male and female groping)

Nudity: Few times mild (woman in a bra and panties getting dressed); moderate (womans uncovered breasts shown while dancing in an adult establishment, women are bare breasted and wearing g-strings in a bar)

Sexual Dialogue/Gesture: Few times moderate (discussion of a womans profession as a hooker); strong (Who did you have to blow in order to get this job? Getting drunk is the only way to get laid, Whens the last time that youve gotten laid)

Drugs: Several times mild (alcohol use and sale of alcohol on the black market, smoking of cigarettes and cigars)

Other: Appropriate use of thank God, term spick is used in a derogatory manner to describe a Latino character, religious zealots shout admonishments to the masses of people in the city to repent and that the end is near

Running Time: 93 minutes
Intended Audience: Adults

Click HERE for a PRINTER-FRIENDLY version of this review.