George A. Romero’sLand of the Deaddidn’t have the same impact asNight of the Living DeadorDawn of the Dead, for example, but only grew in relevance as time went by. The filmmaker’sLiving Deadfilm seriesstarted in 1968 and went on to become Romero’s magnum opus; many years would pass from one movie to the other, and each film would deliver a new setting and a new set of characters, something that proved to be highly beneficial for Romero’s sharp social commentary, always touching on a different subject relevant for a specific moment.
Romero is known as thefather of the zombie genre, but even more importantly, his zombie movies are an effective allegory of society’s decadence and the nature of the human condition. In this context,Land of the Deadis Romero’s meditation on his own legacy, and how the zombie genre lost its meaning ever sinceNight of the Living Dead. For many people, these movies were solely about humanity’s survival instincts. To him, the horror genre has always been a practical tool for satire and criticism.
Romero wasn’t the one who “created” the zombie genre, but it was he who established the modern conventions that are still used to this day. Before him, there was a certain mystical appeal to the creatures known as zombies. Movies such asWhite ZombieandKing of the Zombiesdepicted zombies as soulless beings that lingered between life and death, frightening creatures tied to folk horror elements such as rituals and curses. It was Romero who introduced zombies as flesh-eating monsters and treated them as unstoppable creatures able to replicate uncontrollably, contaminating victims and taking over the world in masses.
Romero wasn’t really concerned with the functionality of his creation; he was much more interested in crafting a unique scenario for his social commentary rather than giving rise to a “new” monster. Nowadays, every zombie movie seems particularly interested in a cause and a cure, which explains why the origins of a zombie outbreak are usually connected to a disease rather than actual undead corpses. In the case of Romero’s movies, there’s no actual evidence aboutwhat caused the deadto become zombies and that doesn’t seem to matter to him.
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In movies such asDawn of the DeadandDay of the Dead, the zombies are left in the background; they are mere reminders of a global-scale catastrophe in the face of a single, secluded setting, be it an abandoned mall or a missile silo. These movies spend the majority of their runtime exploring the tension between the main characters and humanity’s propensity to make the same mistakes. InLand of the Dead, zombies get the same amount of screen time as the main characters. Romero seems to be particularly interested in the psychology of these creatures and in inducing the audience to feel empathy towards the flesh-eating monsters. There’s a huge contrast between the hopelessness that permeates the arc of the human characters as opposed to the zombies' determination to reach their destination.
Romero’s zombies were never completely devoid of human emotions, and that’s one of the most notorious trademarks ofhis zombie movies. It’s an element that rarely pops up in films of the genre because few filmmakers can address such barbaric creatures in the same delicate way Romero does. InDawn of the Dead, the characters discuss how odd it is that the zombies seem compelled to often act as if they’re still alive, holding close to objects and places from their previous lives. InDay of the Dead,there’s a whole storyline about a scientist trying to make a zombie access its past memories.
Land of the Deadshould beamong Romero’s best moviesbecause it showcases the director finally gathering the courage to do something he always wanted to do: to regard zombies as a new species. By deconstructing the mythology he helped to create and going in a different direction, Romero sets the path for a new powerful political message.
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Night of the Living Deadexamined issues of race and class,Dawn of the Deaddiscusses humanity’s natural propensity for chaos and violence, andDay of the Deadexposes the truth about military oppression and authority abuse. InLand of the Dead, Romero confesses that he completely lost hope in humanity, handing Earth to the unearthly zombies. Taking place decades after the events ofDay of the Dead, the world is absolutely infested with zombies and the creatures' behavior is gradually changing; even after all these years, the zombies seem inclined to reclaim the life they previously led.
In the film, a lavish high-ride called Fiddler’s Green becomes the safe haven of those with money to pay for it, exposing how powerful people will never let the system die. Even with the world falling into pieces, the sameoppressive capitalist machinationswork to establish an institution structured in class discrimination, where money is the king. However, while humans are preying on themselves, the zombies are approaching. While the poor living under the shadows of the skyscrapers settle for crumbs, the flesh-eating zombies decide to revolt against their own scarcity and, almost as if awaken from a long dream, begin to realize the oppression theysuffer; humiliated, used as targets for practice, or entertainment assets; they seek revenge, theyfeelrevenge.
Just like in the 2006 slapstick comedyIdiocracy,Land of the Deadshowcases Romero’s conviction that humanity is only getting dumber, to the point they are outsmarted by zombies. However, the movie is much more than the “zombie movie where the zombies are the good guys.” It isn’t about feeling empathy towards the zombies, but towards revolution — a message that only ages better with each year that passes.
