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SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD (2010) (**1/2)

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Everyone knows that George A. Romeo is the creator of the modern day zombie. I have enjoyed all previous entries in this horror sub-genre he has made. Each in some way commented on the era in which they were made. Now with zombies more popular than ever, Romeo doesn't have to wait a decade to turn a new one out. I don't think that's a good thing.

This entry in his zombie canon is the first direct sequel to any of his zombie films. It follows characters that appeared in the faux-doc DIARY OF THE DEAD. Nicotine Crocket (Alan Van Spring, LAND OF THE DEAD) is a National Guard sergeant who along with his troops has gone rogue since the zombie outbreak. It's a zombie eat zombie world out there. Along with Kenny (Eric Woolfe, NEW YORK MINUTE), Francisco (Stefano Colacitti, THE BOONDOCK SAINTS II: ALL SAINTS DAY) and Tomboy (Athena Karkanis, SAW IV), they rob a RV full of film students (featured in DIARY). The military deserters run into a solo teen called Boy (Devon Bostick, DIARY OF A WIMPY KID), who tells them of an island off the coast of Delaware that is inviting strangers over to live in a zombie-free zone.

On the island live the feuding families the O'Flynns and the Muldoons. Patrick O'Flynn (Kenneth Welsh, THE AVIATOR) is the one who posted the island invite on the Internet. He's been exiled to the mainland by Seamus Muldoon (Richard Fitzpatrick, THE BOONDOCK SAINTS). His life was spared only upon the request of his daughter Janet (Kathleen Munroe, LAST CALL). O'Flynn believes that all zombies should be wiped out, while Muldoon is keeping his zombiefied loved ones around in case a cure is found or they can be taught to eat something other than human flesh.

Unlike DIARY, which commented on our tech-obsessed culture, Romeo's sixth zombie effort doesn't have much to say about our society. The horror master seems more interested in how visual effects have allowed him to make zombie kills more gruesome. He doesn't tackle anything his films or other zombie flicks haven't covered before. Almost every zombie film has out for yourself characters and kill 'em all characters. Romeo tackled militarism, and even zombie training, far more effectively in the underrated DAY OF THE DEAD.

While all of Romeo's zombie flicks have some level of hokeiness, this one takes the cake. The Hatfield and McCoy-like family feud is unoriginal and rendered so cliché with their Irish accents. At first I wasn't even sure it was taking place in the U.S. anymore. The humor is obvious like good ole O'Flynn lighting dynamite with his cigar and handing it to a zombie. There's even some trickery with twins that feels forced. And unlike other Romeo zombie flicks, these characters act like the dumb characters in bad horror films. I don't care who the zombie was you don't go up to them. If your dog Cujo is foaming at the mouth would you try to pet him?

Now I will give Romeo some praise for the nice dose of irony that he weaves into the end. The problem is that it's too little too late. At that point we wonder if the rest of the film was just filler so he could have that ending. Likewise Romeo touches on religious motives for Muldoon's actions, which could have been fascinating if they were explored in more than a line of dialogue or two. For Romeo or zombie fans, it's not a complete waste of time, but it's not up to the standards one might expect from the master. It's kind of like a zombie — it seems like it's alive and can surprise you sometimes, but for the most part it's made up of rotting meat that lumbers along and can be disposed of too easily.

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Rick DeMott
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