Survival of the Dead
Dir: George A. Romero
2009
***
The sociological message George A. Romero usually applies to his film seems to be confused or at least up for interpretation. Personally I wondered whether it was a statement on religion versus science although no religion or science is discussed, it could be argued the two mindsets are explored. The 'atheists' in the middle being our protagonists, one quite cleverly being actually religious. Faith and superiority seems to be the dish of the day anyway, with the counterbalance of stubbornness, ignorance and a closed mind tipping the scales to the ugly once more. The lovers of gore are more than catered for too, almost too much so though (and more so than the previous zombie films) which detracts from the main story somewhat but actually makes up for some of the quieter moments. It's not perfect but I quite liked the characters, especially Patrick O'Flynn played by the brilliant Kenneth Walsh. They also got over some of the cliches that have weighed heavy throughout the series which was a relief and certainly steers the franchise in the right direction. Long may it continue.