Romero’s Land Of The Dead: Unrated FanCut

Review by jokersmailbag — September 2, 2008 @ 10:09 am

I bought “Land of the Dead” on my way home the other night in anticipation of watching this edit. It’s sitting, still wrapped, on my shelf and I believe it will probably stay that way. Mollo’s version left me pretty entertained and I have the feeling the original would only lead downhill from his.

The edit:
Very nice work on the credits, excellent integration into the film. The swooping “Unrated Cut” was a little wacky, but worked and it looked like it was supposed to be there. I liked the sfx Mollo added there as well.

The new opening montage was apparently built from different movie sources. Mollo did a great job with this, although the TV in the bar looked a bit like an overlay and some of the shots (like of the two security guards/soldiers and the hunters shooting the zombie) looked to be from different sources. Overall though, nicely done. It effectively gives you some important information- and in a very creative way. And I loved the ‘Day in the Life’ piano chords. Excellent choice.

The main body of the film is pretty solid. No real startling jumps in the story, plot or the video/audio. Lots of nice intestine eating and gore a-plenty. Apparently there were several elements/characters you removed and I didn’t feel like anything was overtly missing. One thing that was noticeable to me was the zombie “intelligence factor”. I can’t be sure if this was noticeable to me because I read your description and had it on the brain- that’s the danger of knowing these problems going in. Anyway, the idea of the zombies sort of learning behavior (like with the electrified fence) made sense and then pays off at the end with the fireworks. But it did seem to me like the black zombie was sort of a leader. But by repeatedly showing him at the forefront of the zombies march to the city every time – I don’t know, it seemed like something was half-developed there. Is he supposed to be leading them? And what’s with the gun he never used? It raised some questions for me. If he were omitted up until, say, the pile driver scene, it might play better and make the Zombies just seem like a faceless terror while leaving their slow learning curve intact.

The only other thing I noticed was what seemed to be an inserted shot of someone else’s neck being bitten instead of Dennis Hopper’s at the end.

Overall a very strong zombie movie. A few minor things keep me from giving it a 5, but it deserves a very solid 4 with a very big compliment: I’ve no desire to watch the original.

Review by Uncanny Antman — August 1, 2008 @ 9:21 pm

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

Review by Jinxbh — August 3, 2008 @ 4:32 am

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

Review by sketchrob — August 5, 2008 @ 7:39 pm

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

Review by Kolpitz — September 4, 2008 @ 7:59 am

Say what you will about (the original) Day of the Dead’s faults, they’re nothing compared to the abomination that WAS Land of the Dead. Zombies that can learn simple commands is one thing (and, let’s face it, Bub is kind of annoying) but the zombies on display in Romero’s original cut were just downright silly. Mollo’s cut of LotD is one the best edits that I’ve watched since finding this site. Although there are some obvious insert shots (like Dennis Hopper getting bitten on the neck), the editing is so good that it all just flows in your mind and that’s what matters. His new opening is fantastic, despite some obvious overlay on the TVs. The only continuity error I noticed in the edit was the legless zombie that jumps on Dead Reckoning. In Romero’s cut, he falls into Dead Reckoning and attacks the crew, cut to that awful gag with Pillsbury throwing him out. But, unless I missed something, he still jumps on Dead Reckoning but then he just disappears. Oh well, small potatoes when you consider that 99% of this edit is a HUGE improvement over the original. While it’ll never be onpar with (the original) Night of the Living Dead or (the original) Dawn of the Dead, or even (the original) Day of the Dead, I think this cut can at least stand beside its brothers with its head held high. Now, the big question, can Mollo save Diary of the Dead (or are the few shots in your LotD cut the most that can be salvaged from that film)?