First, George A. Romero brought you the most frightening film ever made with 1968’s Night of the Living Dead. A decade later he took his unique vision of terror one step further with 1978’s Dawn of the Dead. Moving into a new era, in 1985 he took you out of the night, beyond the dawn, and into the darkest day of horror the world had ever known with Day of the Dead. Then twenty years later a new cycle of horror began in the summer of 2005 with Land of the Dead. Borrowing taglines from some fantastic original film trailers, this pretty much sums up the trajectory of Romero’s Living Dead series over a nearly four-decade span.
Looking at it more closely, fans had yearned for a fourth film for many years, and after so much time had passed, most thought it would never happen. Then studios began to show interest in zombie films again and Romero was given a chance to make a new Living Dead film. With the title up in the area, Romero originally wanted to call the movie Dead Reckoning, but 20th Century Fox oddly planned to call it Night of the Living Dead. Clearly a money-grubbing attempt by the studio to market a film, and disregard the artistic integrity, Romero thankfully refused. Sticking to his principles, while some speculated it would be called Twilight of the Dead, which would have made perfect sense, the decent compromise was Land of the Dead.
With this in mind, the film had a ton of buzz among dedicated fans, but also with a new crop of Horror lovers who flocked to theaters a couple of years early to see films such as 2002’s 28 Days Later and Resident Evil. Fair attempts at zombie flicks, most Romero fans chuckled with glee when news came down about Land of the Dead, no doubt thinking, “Now it is time you see the master at work.”
With high expectations for Land of the Dead, in truth, it was difficult to gauge where the story would go and how it would feel compared to Romero’s prior gems. Each of his previous films had a distinctive atmosphere. Furthermore, they exemplified terror, but more importantly, encapsulated each of the decades they were created. So, considering this, it would only stand to reason that Land of the Dead might have a much more modern vibe. Exactly the case, especially with the debatable usage of CGI, you had to go into it with an open mind and realize that it may not have the same mood as Night, Dawn, or Day of the Dead, but it did have a lot to offer.
To begin with, even though Romero was allotted a substantially larger budget with 20th Century Fox financing, he still opted for less mainstream actors as leads; with Simon Baker, Robert Joy, and Asia Argento taking roles as the three leading heroes. Following the tradition of Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead with a protagonist team concept, he also made surprise casts of Dennis Hopper as the lead villain, and John Leguizamo as the disenfranchised in-between character. Together they made up a perfect tangible, that once more, helped Romero’s writing shine.
Looking at Romero’s other scripts, there is no denying that the dialogue is perhaps one of the most profound aspects. With key lines like “When there’s no more room in Hell the dead will walk the earth.” (spoken by Ken Foree’s Peter in Dawn of the Dead), or “Maybe He didn’t want to see us blow ourselves up, put a big hole in the sky. Maybe He just wanted to show us He’s still the Boss Man. Maybe He figure, we was gettin’ too big for our britches, tryin’ to figure His shit out.” (spoken by Terry Alexander’s John in Day of the Dead), you knew something profound was being stated. A common denominator in Land of the Dead, if you are paying attention, there are still some similar fantastically written statements.
All matters considered, Land of the Dead was a fitting continuation of Romero’s Living Dead series that surprisingly carried on for two more films; 2007’s Diary of the Dead and 2009’s Survival of the Dead. Post-humous, there are also reports that Romero indeed wrote a treatment for a final Living Dead film before he passed in 2017, that is to be called Twilight of the Dead (the title fans were hoping Land of the Dead would be called), and reportedly to be directed by Brad Anderson (known 2001’s Session 9, as well as 2004’s The Machinist). A prospect some fans might be lukewarm about it, many can only imagine Romero himself directing his work. Furthermore, it makes you wonder why George Romero’s daughter Tina Romero was not considered to direct; but then again, she is blazing her own trail with the forthcoming film Queens of the Dead.
Whatever the future holds is anyone’s guess, but we can still look back on Land of the Dead with a smile, but even more so knowing it will make its way to 4K UHD for the first time ever on October 15, 2024. A Collector’s Edition 3-disc set put together by Scream Factory, the biggest selling point is a brand-new 4K restoration of Land of the Dead’s original camera negative. This is within itself a drawing card; because the quality is just as flawless as you may recall when sitting in the theaters watching it nearly twenty years ago.
With that, disc one is the 4K UHD transfer to a 4K disc of the unrated version, disc two is the 4K UHD unrated version on Blu-ray, and disc three is the 4K UHD theatrical version on Blu-ray. Two solid options, the unrated version is worth the time if you appreciate a bit more extensive gore. Beyond this, each disc has a list of extras including interviews, deleted footage, and more. The coolest part of it all is that somehow each disc’s extras are unique to the other, truly making this the most complete edition of Land of the Dead yet.
So, if you are a George A. Romero fan looking to upgrade to a complete, superbly clean copy of Land of the Dead, this Collector’s Edition release is exactly what you want. That is why Cryptic Rock gives it 5 out of 5 stars.
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