I just saw it today. It was pretty good (especially considering how remakes of Romero films usually turn out). Yes, it was full of cliches and the ending wasn’t that much of a surprise, but they still managed to build up suspense. I liked this better than the original. Keeping the military in the background and faceless (except that one soldier and the doctor that crased) instead of cutting between the sheriff & co and a military scientist arguing with military commanders was a good choice.
At least they made an attempt to address why the shit happening in Ogden Marsh didn’t show up on Youtube & Twitter immediately (shutting down phones, internet, cells, etc) and a plausible cover for bombing the town (accident at chemical plant), but word would still get out in short order (unless the Army is going to execute all the soldiers and scientists now). :dubious:
One glaring plot hole; if they killed the non-infected townspeople as well why did they bother seperating them from the crazies (to say nothing of attemping to treat the crazies instead of euthanizing them)? Or did they really plan to evacuate them at first, but decide to kill them instead at the last minute? Maybe only the first groups actually get evacuated and only after the high school was overun decide to kill everyone. Oh, if Trixie is waterborn wouldn’t it also be able to pass via bodily fluids like blood? Cause when the sherfif stabbed crazy widow with the knife it was still embedded in his hand and he was bleeding pretty bad himself.
I get the feeling they tried to separate out the infected from the non infected, but once their security perimeters had been breached they decided to kill 'em all and let God decide.
I liked the movie fine, gave me a bit of the willies at bedtime that I hadn’t experienced since my first time with Shaun of the Dead, which was nice. But as an Iowan, I have one little gripe. WTF was up with Cedar Rapids all the time? It was shot in Lennox and Corning (at one point you see the sign for Electric Burrito in Corning), which is right between Omaha and Des Moines. Cedar Rapids is half the state away–and a goofy sounding city. Why not pick Des Moines, or Ames, or Iowa City as the city to reach? Was that in the original? Or is it because they knew that no one would ever miss Cedar Rapids, should it be nuked?
Tangent–As a Dubuquer it was a bit of a thrill in Up in the Air when they mentioned they were flying over us. Dubuque is a weird name for a city too, but better than fucking Cedar Rapids.
Nope, the original was set in Evans City (which is a real town in Western Pennsylvania). You have a point. Des Moines is pretty well known, but I actually had to look up Cedar Rapids before I realized it was a real city. Was that actually meant to be a nuke that the military dropped on Ogden Marsh? I looked like we saw the beginnings of a mushroom cloud, but any big enough explosion will produce one. Based on the newscast during the credits I assumed they used a powerful, but non-nuclear, bomb (like in Outbreak) and dropped it on the chemical plant as a cover.
Cedar Rapids is almost generic as a town name (tree variety/water feature) – could it be they didn’t know there really is a Cedar Rapids? (I’m an Iowan, and I always get Cedar Rapids and Cedar Falls mixed up.)
Surprisingly, the reviewers on At the Movies really liked the movie. I didn’t think mainstream reviewers liked horror movies, especially horror remakes.
Maybe only the first groups actually get evacuated and only after the high school was overun decide to kill everyone. Oh, if Trixie is waterborn wouldn’t it also be able to pass via bodily fluids like blood? Cause when the sherfif stabbed crazy widow with the knife it was still embedded in his hand and he was bleeding pretty bad himself.