George A. Romero has added a fourth dead movie to the series!
Dennis Hopper: “Zombies Creep me out”
The Zombie thing has been done way too may times. Shawn of the Dead was great because it was a comedy.
Can’t George Romero do something new?
Will we need to have seen the other movies to make sense of this one? I know characters usually don’t survive zombie movies, but is there any kind of overarching continuity set up between the four movies, or anything we should know going in?
When I first heard about the movie a month or so ago, I remember being told that Land of the Dead is not the fourth film in the trilogy but the first film in a new trilogy. Way cool.
Oh, and to answer your question, Big Bad Voodoo Lou, there shouldn’t be a problem. I haven’t seen Day of the Dead yet but Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead are standalone films with not much in common but zombies who eat braaaaains.
I doubt you will need to have seen the other three Romero Dead films to follow what is happening in the new one, as long as you have a base knowledge of the mythology going in. In the last movie, Day of the Dead, the last remnants of the government/military were overrun and apparently in the new film a new post zombie society has developed. That’s probably all you would need to know going in.
That being said, please rush out and rent/buy all three of the previous films, as they are great films. The zombies are really only a device, the drama comes from the people stuck in these horrific seige conditions, and how they react to the danger and to each other. Romero handles this very well, but many of the imitators miss out and just go for the shock and the startle.
Of course, YMMV.
Jack
Re: Night, Dawn and Day - are you talking about the originals, or the remakes? Have all three of the originals been remade? I haven’t seen any of them.
Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead have been remade. A remake of Day of the Dead is currently in production for release next year. George Romero is the director of all the original films. Though I loved both Night and Dawn, Night of the Living Dead (the 1968 Romero original) is probably my favorite horror film ever made. Definitely worth seeing, in my opinion.
Day of the Dead doesn’t rely on any knowledge of the previous films. The only big thing we learn is that the zombies can remember some things from their old lives. A scintist has a zombie which he is messing with, and the zombie shows that he can return a salute. When an (empty) gun is put into the zombies hand, he attemps to use it.
I keep hearing about what a genius George Romero is, and yet this newest movie looks even worse than the remake of Dawn of the Dead.
Like Return of Martin?
And yes, I would go see that!
Romero zombies don’t eat brains. Or, rather, they do, but they don’t do so to the exclusion of other body parts.
And, IMHO, don’t bother with Day of the Dead. I loved the first two, but I didn’t care for Day at all.
He’s The Guy of zombie movies. He defined the genre and the mythology. If you don’t like zombie movies, well, you’re not going to like his stuff that much.
I don’t like the trailer because it gives away a huge spoiler for the film.
Actually, for me, Day of the Dead is my favorite of the trilogy. Once you get past the fact that the actor who plays Rhodes is possibly the worst actor of all time, I think it’s the best constructed of all Romero’s films. The sheer claustrophobia of the setting adds to the terror, plus, it follows the progression of the breakdown of society in the face of disaster (the common thread in all three films) very skillfully.BTW, Romero is receiving a lifetime achievement award this weeked at the CineVegas film festival this Saturday before the world premiere of LOTD. If there are tickets available, I am SO there!
What I’m saying is that, instead of a refreshing take on zombie horror, it looks like Romero is jumping back onto the bandwagon that he started.
Since he invented the genre, he should be above making a movie that looks even shitter than the films that have ripped him off. He should be coming in with a film that says “See, this is how it’s done!” From the commercials I’ve seen, it doesn’t look like that will be the case at all.
… Your mileage may vary but I’ll wait until I see the movie (not just the trailers) before I make overreaching assumptions. I hate to look like an ass. But like I said, ‘you mileage may vary.’
I will wait and see. I have faith in Mr Romero’s abilities. I really want to see what he can do with a bigger budget. No, there will not be hyper zombies but I hate those guys anyway. George knows how to tell a story so I’ll be there opening night!
I understand there are a few treats for Romero fans such including a cameo of Blades post mort…
Yeah, I was waiting for someone to call me out on that … but I can’t mention zombies without mentioning braaaaaains, so there you go.
Are the zombies even ever referred to as “zombies” within Romero’s films? I can’t think of a single instance from either Night or Dawn when this happens.
So, if we follow your line of logic, George Lucas should have never made the last 3 Star Wars films. 
I don’t know what commercial you’ve been watching, but the ones I’ve seen look pretty darn good (although how you can come to such a negative impression from a 30- to 60-second promo is beyond me–unless it has Adam Sandler in it.)! George Romero took a particular horror, put it right in front of you from the get-go, and kept it coming–unlike the psychological bullshit that has passed for horror the last few years! And, if this film does suck, I’ll be the first to admit it!