Land of the Dead (R, 2005)

common sense media says

Vintage Romero – bloody, grisly, and not for kids.


parents & educators say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this zombie movie is relentlessly, though resourcefully, bloody, and not for children. Parents should be aware that it follows in a tradition largely established by director George Romero, aiming for innovative uses of grisly special effects makeup with a focus on loose body parts, vicious dismemberments, and exposed viscera. (Aficionados of the genre will appreciate the outrageousness.) When they aren't killing or eating each other, characters smoke, drink, dress scantily, do drugs, prostitute and pimp, and use foul language.

Positive messages: Human villains dedicated to cruel class system, with zombies exploited as entertainment.
Violence: Zombies eat people; people shoot and chop up zombies; burning, exploding, and torn-in-half bodies.
Sex: References to prostitution, night club sexuality, lesbian kissing.
Language: Harsh language to indicate fear, aggression,and macho posturing.
Consumerism: Humans holed up in a mall, so commercial appeals are evident.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Drinking, drugs, smoking

More on Land of the Dead

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
Families can talk about this movie's class analysis. Aside from the obvious social and moral problem posed by the greedy rich man in a tower, the film also presents zombies as a class exploited by humans. How do the zombies become analogous to slaves? Why might the underclass humans (locked outside the fortress city and mall) identify with the zombies? How do the heroes triumph by banding together and trusting each other, rather than fighting each other?

What's the story?

What's the story?

In George A. Romero's living-dead franchise, humans turn ruthless and hurt each other when facing dreadful fates. In LAND OF THE DEAD, the zombies have overrun the earth, such that humans' space is limited. The first humans to appear in the movie are the most numerous and least fortunate of the survivors. Others, like the wealthy corporate chief Kaufman (Dennis Hopper), live apart in a luxury fortress city called Fiddler's Green. This upscale-ish community is serviced by scrappy scavengers, including Riley (Simon Baker), Cholo (John Leguizamo), and Charlie (Robert Joy), who venture into areas now populated by zombies to bring back food, liquor, gas, medicine, and other supplies. Some humans use the zombies for entertainment: they chain them up just short enough so they can't bite, and pose for pictures, they shoot them for sport, they set them on humans in cages in order to watch the victims scream and fight until they must be eaten. A crisis arises just as the zombies are coming to a rudimentary consciousness. They're using tools and weapons, working as a team, targeting the mall's inhabitants (approximating revenge), and following a leader, a gas station attendant zombie with an apt name patch on his coveralls: Big Daddy (Eugene Clark).

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 

The long-awaited fourth film in Romero's zombie series is predictably gory, darkly comic, and grimly class conscious. For all its carnage and brutality then, this movie continues the living-dead legacy, in mounting a political critique of human mass and corporate culture by likening the zombies to us.

Movie themes & details

Movie Details
Studio: Universal Pictures
Director: George A. Romero
Cast: Asia Argento, John Leguizamo, Simon Baker
Genre: Horror
Run time: 93 minutes
Theatrical release: June 24, 2005
DVD release: October 18, 2005
MPAA Rating: R
MPAA explanation: pervasive strong violence and gore, language, brief sexuality and some drug use

This review was written by Cynthia Fuchs
 
 

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What parents & educators say

12

Most useful reviews by all members

 
a must watch for the non-squemish
I am 14 years old, I saw this movie the first day it opened, and saw it 1 week later. I highly enjoyed this movie, though I warn you, this is quite violent. Beneath the rough zombie experience is a semi-deep movie involving people force to live in a contained area, and how they interact. Truly brilliant, congrats to Romero for delivering.

rptek
adult
 
Can't we all just get along!
Predictable and simplistic storyline,but great social message, and of course fantastic gore. Not really that scary, so might be OK for some kids 12 and older. In it's own strange way, a FUN movie.

davyborn
teen, 17 years old
 
A extremely gory and chaotic Romero comeback is also fun and comical
George A. Romero's Land of the Dead debuted back in 2005, and was considered a comeback of sorts to the kind of films that the accomplish horror master used to make. The kinds of classics like "Night of the Living Dead (1968) and Dawn of the Dead (1978), but this time, he is trying something different, he was taking a more comical, but still effective take at the zombie genre that he had 'o'-so-perfected over the years. It's a lot of fun, but there is nothing child friendly about this entry, because this movie could quiet possibly be one of the absolute goriest zombie movies ever made. Yeah. That is saying a lot, which sort of gives you some kind of an idea of about what you need to expect before watching this movie: This movie is definitely Rated R for a reason: There is very, very frequent strong bloody horror violence, gore and related gruesome images such as constant explicit head shots from zombies, zombies attacked and dismembering, decapitated, mutilating and disemboweling humans with even more blood than you could possibly think for situations such as these. Also, there is very brief nudity in a strip-club which features a dancers bare breasts for several seconds, and many very skimpily dressed exotic dancers in the background. Also, there is frequent drinking and drug use, with one character frequently selling alcohol and drugs. Finally,like most zombie movies, there is lot's of profanity, with around 50 F-words and its derivatives, and more other assorted profanities. So, if you like ridiculous, extremely gory, but also very fun and occasionally very funny horror movies, than you will love this movie.

fangningsheng
teen, 14 years old
 
Stupid
This was a really stupid movie with a really stupid ending. I would only recommend this to the most extreme zombie fanatics. Expect lots of graphic gore but little blood splatter ( you mostly see just the wound and blood on the wound.) There is also strong language.

Plague
parent
 
Land of the Dead
Awesome Romero movie. Very bloody and gruesome violence, but those are the ingrediants that makes a wonderful zombie flick.

TheSuperman765
teen, 16 years old
 
i rate this title IFFY for ages 16+
What to watch out for * Messages: Human villains dedicated to cruel class system, with zombies exploited as entertainment. * Violence: Zombies eat people; people shoot and chop up zombies; burning, exploding, and torn-in-half bodies. * Sex: References to prostitution, night club sexuality, lesbian kissing. * Language: Harsh language to indicate fear, aggression,and macho posturing. * Consumerism: Humans holed up in a mall, so commercial appeals are evident. * Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Drinking, drugs, smoking

 
Good, and actually kind of funny! It teaches people how to ward of zombies! LOL!!!

hocjen
teen, 18 years old
 
Good for kids who like crap like this!!!
Well take a close look, its pretty much just like any other zombie movie aint it? Bloody,Gizly,Terror and other cool stuff. but really its for at least 12 and up i mean my freinds saw it when they were 12. TIs really a good movie if you can handle gory stuff like this. Kids young really would think its scary. And kids young if you are watching this with your parent home that just going to get you in big trouble. so pleas under 12 i would recomend paretal guidece please just to keep you happy.

uytt2
adult
 
borrow it not that scary
I was sort of dissapointed in the actors probably if romero had picked better actors this would have been a cool zombie flick

 
I liked the original movies, but...
This movie was graphic and intense from start to finish, not to mention there was about 40 f-words. The movie wasn't even that good compared to the original "Night of the Living Dead" and "Dawn of the Dead" movies. This movie isn't even scary. It just shows people getting killed for two hours. Skip it unless you just want to be able to say that you've seen the whole series.

cerealkiller189
teen, 13 years old
 
That's Romero for you.
Ok,choose not to believe this but it's true.Every single one of romero's works are full of blood,tension and gore.Ive seen all his movies and they are just not for anyone under 10.Since I have been watching slasher horror movies and splatter films since I was 4(my first horror was Candyman) I've seen arguably every single horror movie ever made by now so I've pretty much gotten used to blood and gore and once you get used to it you won't be affected.if you over shelter your kids too much,they will be scared of everything they see(imagine watching something like Saw or Hostel or The human centipede if all you've ever seen is Winnie the pooh)sit down with your kids and explain to them gore isn't real and it's juSt special effects.

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ON: Content is appropriate for kids this age.
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