'Survival of the Dead' (2009)

I'm going through these movies a little quicker than planned but in my defence, I'm still working my way through 'The Living Dead' (492 pages read, about 150 to go) and movies have always been a great way to give myself a little breathing space, here, while I finish books off. There's also the fact that I've remembered that I absolutely love these films; I mean, I knew I liked them but there's nothing like a good ol' rewatch to rekindle just how much I like them. Out of all of them though, 'Survival of the Dead' is the film that I'm never quite sure about.. I've seen it a few times and my responses seem to flicker between 'it's not that bad actually', 'oh yes it bloody well is' and 'this is a bit dull, what's for dinner?' I wasn't really keen on picking on watching 'Survival' again but if you're going to do a 'Romero Zombie Movie' rewatch... well, you've got to watch them all, even the ones where you're likely to find yourself playing on your phone instead of watching it.

With that in mind then, it's six days after the dead started walking and we're about to find out what happened to someone who made a fleeting appearance in 'Diary of the Dead'...

National Guardsmen, thinking they have found refuge from a zombie army on an island off the coast of Delaware, soon realize they've wedged themselves between two warring families who differ on what should become of the undead

It's going to be easier to talk about why this film doesn't work first of all. I actually had more fun, watching it, than I thought I would but the stuff that doesn't work (for me, anyway) really stands out so that's how we're doing it here.

Remember that smiling National Guardsman who pulled the film students over (in 'Diary of the Dead') and then promptly stole all their stuff? Well, I don't know how he managed it but he is now the star of 'Survival of the Dead' and I think that's probably where the film first trips up. Sergeant Crockett (who we'll just call 'Sarge' from now on) was in 'Diary' for all of five minutes and was a bit of a bastard but not enough of a bastard to carry a whole film as the main character. That's the job Sarge has in 'Survival' and he spends most of the film looking like he'd rather be anywhere else. To be fair, it is a zombie apocalypse (and we'd all rather be anywhere else in that situation) but he just looks so bored and that's not a good look if you want your audience to relate to you. Luckily there's other stuff happening (and other characters who stand out, I'm looking at you O'Flynn, you're just great) but even so...

The other problem is a little more deep rooted... In most of his zombie films, Romero likes to shine a light on society by commenting on how we deal with the zombie apocalypse. It might be our over-reliance on technology, it might how we build a prison for ourselves through consumerism. There's always a message that leaves you with something to ponder (and always has me looking for the exits whenever I'm in a big shopping centre). Not 'Survival of the Dead' though. There's the standard 'people really need to work together' theme but after a few films in the series, that hardly counts now. No message then, just a half-hearted attempt from the Muldoon's to persuade zombies to eat something other than us. I say 'half-hearted' because any zombie that doesn't go for the farm animals is shot right away so... the humans aren't really taking it seriously are they?

But back to it... Add in a little family feuding and the plot still feels too lightweight to really hold your attention. It just comes across as a straight fight for survival where the zombies are almost incidental to the plot; in this respect, it doesn't feel like a Romero film and that's not a good fit for a film made by George Romero...

Having said that though... There is a sweet little vein of humour running through 'Survival' that I missed on previous viewings. It comes in little bursts that never failed to surprise a little laugh out of me. I think that, more than anything else, kept me watching but there is also plenty of zombie action to keep things ticking over. I'm not just talking about the gore either (although there is loads of course), it's also really interesting to see how the zombies have evolved since the early films in the series. They might need a little prompting but zombies are now more than capable of carrying out simple tasks (and we'll see how that pans out by the time we reach 'Land of the Dead') and you can almost see how zombies and humans could co-exist, if all the zombies were chained up and had their teeth removed... maybe not then). It's a theme that I always have fun following through the movies so it's great to see it being developed here, especially when we see the conclusion to the feud between the O'Flynn's and Muldoon's.

It's a shame that this was Romero's last movie anyway but even more of a shame that it's a slightly lackluster film for the franchise to bow out on (although, considering the rumours that the next film would have been about zombies driving race cars, I'm not sure it would have got any better). Or maybe it's a case of Romero taking a slightly different direction and I've totally missed the point? Could be...

Either way, 'Survival' sits right at the bottom of my 'Romero Zombie Movies List Ranked By How Good I Think They Are' but I found enough, this time round, to stop me playing games on my phone so a more enjoyable viewing than normal. What's up next? 'Dawn of the Dead'...