1 stars


Survival of the Dead Blu-ray Review

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There isn’t a horror aficionado in existence that won’t mention the man in the same sentence of the zombie genre. George A. Romero is the father of the cinematic un-dead; a man, who, not unlike another famous George, is considered to have created the template for decades of imitators by making the best version of his genre to date... and again, not unlike the other George, may have perhaps made a few too many forays into his once revered comfort zone.

The sixth instalment of Romero’s Dead Series, ‘Survival’, is directly linked to the previous entry, ‘Diary’, albeit tenuously. The core story revolves around an Island off the American coast (where, for some inexplicable reason, everyone speaks with an Irish brogue) and two patriarchal life-long enemies who have very different opinions on how to deal with the zombie problem. One wants to put them all down; the other to try and teach them to eat something other than humans. When the former is exiled, he lures a small bunch of National Guardsmen (who appear in Diary—thus the link) and returns to the isle to clean house.

This story is an epic failure, and not at all in keeping with what made Romero great. He was once a master of blending an engaging horror flick with subtle subtext that explored issues of the day. This entry sees the great man apply his social message with a heavy hand made of lead. Everything in this script, from the cliché-ridden set up, unlikable characters, zero tension, unfocused tone, and completely unbelievable premise is unworthy of his legacy. This is truly painful to sit through.

Production values are quite good for low budget film. For the gore hounds, this one will disappoint big time. The zombies have truly been relegated to the far rear of Romero’s agenda in this one. The digital effects are the one thing that show their shoestring origins, and what make up is used is banal to say the least. There is not a skerrick of unnerving tension of Night or Dawn, nor the gut-churning gore he is famous for, depicted with these zombies. What is depicted is done so for cheap laughs, is repetitious and simply a bore from start to finish.

It pains this reviewer to say this, but the Dead Series is well past its used date. If this is the best the granddaddy of zombies can muster to prolong the series, it’s time to put it down, take the old classics down from our shelves, and use them to forget this one ever happened.

Grade A Stinker.


Component Grades
Movie
DVD
1 stars
4 stars
DVD Experience
2.5

Blu-ray

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - August 31, 2010
Screen Formats: 2.39:1
Subtitles
: English SDH, Spanish
Audio:
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Discs: 50GB Blu-ray Disc; Single disc (1 BD); BD-Live

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • Feature-length Audio Commentary with George A. Romero, Executive Producers Peter Grunwald and Michael Doherty, and Actors Kenneth Welsh and Matt Birman

Featurettes:

  • Walking After Midnight Documentary (1080p, 1:16:10)
  • "Sarge" Short Film (1080p, 4:06)
  • A Minute of Your Time Shorts (1080p, 19:27)
  • Time With George (1080p, 9:16)
  • Storyboard Comparison (1080p, 1:48)
  • How to Create Your Own Zombie Bite (1080p, 10:03)
  • Fangoria Interview with George A. Romero (SD, 22:37)
  • HDNet: A Look at Survival of the Dead (1080i, 4:34)
  • Introduction from George A. Romero (1080i, 1:26)
  • Also From Magnolia Home Entertainment Blu-ray (1080p/i)
  • Menu Backgrounds

BD-Live Functionality