Anybody seen it? Is Romero making up for the last 2?

this is now showing on HD.NET for free on verizon fios cable at least, as a preview before it hits the theaters. i DVR'd it the other day , I will let you know hows it.

I recorded it last night and watched the first 10 minutes or so. I liked what I saw, but the CGI effects are a bit weak...I miss the old style effects!

recorded it off hdnet the other night, i liked it . I thought it was way better than diary of the dead

Having the flu is better than Diary of the Dead.

I thought Diary was better then Land. I have no hope for this. He hasn't made a good movie for too long to remember despite my respect for him.

It's terrible, it's pretty much widely hated among critics (film and just horror films). There is very little to like about this film. It's a complete train wreck. The humor doesn't work, the CGI is horrible, and the story is awful which is amplified by the brutally bad actors. It's Argento syndrome all over again. Here's a director that was worshiped for his work in the 70s and 80s who has become a parody of himself. It's not a bad horror movie as much as it's just a bad movie. There's so many here with totally insightful views on film especially genre films. I'm curious to hear them sound off on it, but I expect lots of venom for this film.

I haven't really kept up with Romero's work since Land of the Dead. Zombie movies are just not as great as they used to be. The only one that's actually caught my attention but haven't seen is the Horde. Does anyone know if that ones good? It's french so it comes in subtitles, which I have no problem with at all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfk2KF-Hm6o

Diary was so horrible I can barely remember any of it - haven't seen Survival yet, but personally I wouldn't get my hopes up too high. La Horde is also supposed to be shit, I think the guys at Twitch even apologized for hyping it in the first place...

Watched it today and boy, it was god-damn terrible. Better than "Diary" but that isn't saying much. The characters are horrible and his attempts at humor seem so forced it makes me wince with embarrassment. The CGI gore effects really need to stop. However, they do look better than they did in "Diary". Don't pay to watch this if you plan on seeing it eventually.

I'd give it 4 out of 10 stars. George just needs to stop. He clearly isn't getting any better with age. Come up with a new idea, George. Zombie movies are becoming so played out lately. I will be seeing "La Horde" though after viewing the trailer. Looks VERY promising.

This was AWFUL. Please please PLEASE stop giving George Romero money to make movies. He has lost his way.

I still have hopes for this one. Diary is iffy and tough to defend, but Land is great if only for being so subversive. It seems to me that any dislike of either film stems from the viewers own expectations (which, after watching "LOST" is a totally legitimate viewpoint). My own expectation for Survival is that it will not be a typical horror film, ala George Romero.

My dislike for Land comes from it being fucking terrible. Bad acting. Bad script. Cliche' bullshit pumping through it's transperant plot. I'll always hate that movie, yeah more than Diary.

I say it a lot, but that last scene where they can kill Big Daddy and they just let him go, WTF?! HE'S A FUCKING ZOMBIE! I don't care what the bullshit message was, he's a ZOMBIE! He wouldn't be all like "Urgh, you OK living person, me not eat you, you help my zombie family" it's not like Planet of the Apes where there's the chance of some racial and class based equality! THEY'RE ZOMBIES! YES, THEY'RE DEAD AND TRYING TO EAT YOU! I DON'T FEEL BAD FOR THEM! KILL THE SHIT OUT OF THEM UTRGH!!!!! I can go on too, but I'm forcing myself to stop. I think that movie is a crime against humanity.

I'm sorry, but that movie is like the worst movie maybe EVER IMO, even worse then "Batman and Robin" because I can at least laugh at B&R.

I think, in all honesty, he's just recycling crap to make money which I can understand. It's not like he's well off from his older movies. He still needs work it seems, which is sad. So he makes crappy zombie movies and because his name is on it they sell and he keeps making them despite them getting worse and worse. I don't think he really cares, he's just doing it because that's what he has become and he knows it's the only way to market himself anymore.

It's low budget and more character driven than lots of zombies but I like zombie diaries. Check that out.

I grabbed a few Survival promo posters from Giant Robot. Pretty cool... but we'll hafta see about the movie. I don't have the highest hopes, but I'll give it a chance.

I get that it's not a splatter fest, but don't tell me you're not convinced that Romero was a genius for using gory zombie flicks for the purpose of social commentary all those years ago. People read into Romero's films more than any other horror director for a reason. Land is cool because these zombies don't represent the same things as they did in the first two, or three. Plus they continue the trend started with Bub in Day, so what are your thoughts on that film? Diary might not be great, but if you continue in the logical direction that Day and Land leads, the fifth flick would feature the living and the dead waving to each other while mowing the lawn.

As far as bad acting, Dude, what the hell zombie movies are YOU watching? Please tell me. I mean Land had Dennis fucking Hopper in it and he was great! This is a curious thread since I have little frame of reference where new horror films are concerned, and it sounds like the current aesthetic might be interfering with Georges interpretations. Romero seems to continue doing things the way he always has, which suits me, so I wonder what it is that others can't stand. He might be stuck doing zombies, but at least he has claim to the genre.

RANT ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think Day is a comedy. I enjoy it, but seriously? It sucks! I think the social commentary in both Day and Land are weak, forced, poorly thought, generic and heavy handed.

Bub, oh my lord, don't get me started on that thing! WTF??! I don't care what message is being attempted to send to me no matter how well done (night/dawn) or poorly executed (day/land) if the overall plot or characters suck, that message is lost in 1 1/2-2 hours of garbage. Bub was terrible. I love Bub, but I laugh at Bub. Let's pretend there's no message to the movie and go purely on what would drive the film. A zombie who learns to love music, shave and eventually shoot a gun sounds terrible. Just repeat that last sentence out loud. Before you finish you'll say "Yeah....sounds pretty bad."

Dennis Hopper, yeah, he blew in it. I don't care WHO he was. An acotor is only as good as each performance. His sucked. Transperant, obvious and I'd go so far to say grade-school level. I can still respect someone and what they've done which has been great as well as call them out for taking a dump on film. Romero and Hopper get that from me for Land.

What I can't stand is I feel these movies are just being phoned in. Like Romero just said "shoot, anything I'd rather make may not sell well OR I may not get the funding so now I'm 'the zombie guy' so I'll just do another zombie movie." I think it's sad, and not totally his fault. Bruiser was horrid. Who'd give him money for a movie or why would he risk his own now if it wasn't totally going to make it worth it for him financially? Zombies are all that he has he can do that with.

I love zombie movies. So much that I hate the majority of them. Most are bad. Most have really over-done social messages, few touch on something bigger with real insight to the times/society or comedies which aren't usually funny. "Large amounts of military power is bad" shut the fuck up! So old. So boring. So "done" a million times, even when "Day..." hit. "Rich people are all racist and hate poor people" oh eat crap "Land..." cmon, really? Are you 13 and listening to RATM and just read some Howard Zinn? I know those aren't ALL those movies had to say, but they're pretty up your butt about it. The messages are LOST because I'm supposed to care about a zombie and his zombie family or about some other zombie who is being experimented on (which doesn't make me feel bad like if he was a living thing like an alien in District 9, BECAUSE IT'S A DEAD ZOMBIE THAT WOULD EAT ME NO QUESTION!)

Cmon! MOVE ME! MAKE ME SAY "HOLY CRAP!" AND DO IT IN A SMOOTH AND ENTERTAINING WAY! Those are things Romero USED to do. He doesn't do it anymore. I wish he would but it just seems like he's gotten a little lazy and at the same time is restricted by funding/time/life. It happens.

I kind of look at Diary out of context. It's Romero. It's zombies but it's kind of in it's own universe. I agree, what Romero did with Night/Dawn/Martin was amazing. Amazing movies that I love.

Anyway, to each their own, I know the rant sounds a bit hostile, but nothing against you for liking those movies. Shit, I can actually watch "Diary" and not want to shoot myself. I know it's bad, but I can sit through it for some reason. No big deal dude.

Wrong wrong wrong wrong WRONG. (my opinion)

Here is the problem: social commentary was way at the bottom of Romero's list of priorities (if it was on there at all) when he made those movies. He wanted to make cheap horror movies outside of the Hollywood system, first and foremost. He may have had some satirical ideas he wanted to work in there but holding a mirror up to our society in the form of a monster movie was never his primary goal.

Over the years, the "social commentary" thing got repeated over and over again and Romero started buying his own press. Then he set out to make movies by deliberately shoving his "social commentary" in there. Great big gobs of greasy grimy "social commentary."

The result: SUCK.

This is exactly the same result of cranial inflation George Lucas experienced after the first Star Wars trilogy with the whole "Power of Myth" business. The guy set out to make Flash Gordon movies and ends up being anointed by Bill Moyers as the keeper of the flame for heroic stories of the modern age. So he revisits the Star Wars universe three more times with the intention of creating the classic tale of a tragic hero. How do you think he did?

And there it is: A Tale of Two Georges. To me it's a good demonstration of that zen concept where the more one strives toward goals, the farther away one gets from them.

I'm not sure if the link is still around, but someone please dig up that PDF of the original Day of the Dead script, it was fantastic.

Also, anyone see this?

http://amzn.com/0446561835

"Survival" and "Land" are not my fav in the series (see "Night of the Living Dead" natch), but I can forgive Romero for his misgivings, and congratulate him for keeping in the ring. As a director who sort of defined a genre, and making some good movies, he gets props.

Just saw the recent remake of his film "The Crazies" which is excellent! And also on the zombie tip, just watched the very recent movie from the UK "The Dead Outside". Have to say it's really outstanding. It's not big on gore, huge on existential angst, and the film making is very distinct... what it doesn't show is scarier than what it shows, called to mind "Carnival of Souls", "Blair Witch Project", & the dryness of "Let the Right One In". Maybe I should just make a new thread...

You got me on that one! I go nuts when people bash Romero, mostly for what Habbit just said, but also out of civic pride. I can tell you guys know your horror, or else I wouldn't bother chiming in at all. Sorry if I come off like a prick (it's something I'm still working on)

As for as Bub goes, I hated him until Big Daddy appeared. At first I was, like, "give me a break," but once I got over my disappointment I began to see how these two sympathetic characters are able to subvert the premise of the entire series. As in a "What is really going on with this zombie apocalypse," kind of way. Plus they get to do cool shit like yell or talk like Frankenstein and beat people with clubs, so I've grown to like them.

I don't think Romero is selling out just because he is doing something different with his own creation. I don't need friendly zombies in the reboot series any time soon, but it sounds like I'm getting them in Survival, so if he's trying to say something with them and wants to keep telling their side of the story I say go for it. Besides, we'll never really know what he's thinking when it comes to zombies until he finally gets around to making "Diamond Dead"

Maybe Romero should remake other peoples' movies. Would he have done a better job than Herzog with "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call"? Others on my Romero remake list would be "Blue Velvet", "16 Candles", "Neverending Story", "Eyes Without a Face", "Woman in the Dunes", and "Lethal Weapon".

Ok, I'm eating shit here. I finally watched almost all of 'Survival of the Dead', and it is a major stinker. I still give major props to Romero, esp after his last two zombie movies have been quite good. This felt like a throwback to b-movies of the 80's, like he was making a rip-off of his own film franchise. Well, can't win them all.

Ah, finally saw 'Zombieland' which was a lot better than I expected. Slept on it when it came out, but it's a winner for the most part.

World Cup is more interesting right now than zombies.

Yeah really have to go w/ "Zombieland" and enjoyed it far far more.

K, I take it back... 'Survival of the Dead' is a stinker.
Did watch 'Dawn of the Dead', the zak snyder remake last week, and it holds up.
On a similar tip, saw a Spanish movie called [REC] that is excellent!