Written and Directed by George A. Romero
Starring Alan Van Sprang, Kenneth Welsh, Kathleen Munroe, Devon Bostick, Richard Fitzpatrick, Athena Karkanis, Stefano DiMatteo
Okay, so where is this REALLY taking place? Wait, it's supposed to be on an Island of the coast of Delaware, sparsely populated with two warring Hatfield-and-McCoys Irish families. I just don't get it. The set up for this zombie film is very strange indeed. Basically, a small group of soldiers and a young drifter make their way to the Island only to get caught up in a dispute between the O'Flynns and the Muldoons on how to handle the walking dead population: hold them in hopes of a cure or kill them.
Once you get past this peculiar scenario, you find a strangely odd set of half-way compelling characters. While they're not terribly rounded out, there is enough there to latch onto. Kenneth Welsh as Patrick O'Flynn shines above the rest for no other reason than just how over-the-top he is: brash, flamboyant, obnoxious. He chews up the scenery with each frame he's in with more than a hint of Malcolm McDowell. Alan Van Sprang handles "Sarge" effortlessly. While not as commanding a performance as the role would like, he is able to bring the character a more human quality then most of Romero's military characters. Kathleen Munroe as both Janet and Jane O'Flynn makes a more interesting zombie than a twin sister. Richard Fitzpatrick's Seamus Muldoon is a bit to forced and cliche and he is unable to do anything interesting with the character. Devon Bostick's drifter, simply named "boy," is a complete waste and never gets to participate in the story in a meaningful manner.
The zombies are typical Romero zombies but they are rarely seen in masses now. A scene is lucky to have more that two or three at the same time. Even at the end, when they're finally released upon the island, it's a bit dull and way to brief and there is never a sense of scope. They get shot, the fall down, the eat. Snooze. On occasion something interesting is done with the zombies: they begin to enact previous lives duties like delivery the mail; they remember how to start a car; one is able to ride a horse. With few exceptions, they are boring zombies are not very threatening. There is some gore, but it is minimal and the most gruesome is held back for the final act.
Luckily the story has a quick pace, with the characters moving from set to set, barely staying in any one spot long. The start off traveling in jeeps, move on to an armored car, then quickly they are on a ferry to the island. Then once on the Island, they are always on the move, from the shore, to O'Flynn's home, to a safe-house and then to Muldoon's farm. While it benefits from being swift, it is hampered by never engaging in the characters enough to matter. It should be Sarge's story, but ends up being O'Flynn's.
Survival of the Dead is professionally shot by Romero with the acting, camera work, effects all top notch for the budget. It's the story that really makes it suffer. It's just too much a day-in-the-life for the characters we're supposed to be following. And in the end is a bit too dull. In the zombie sub-genre there are certainly a larger number of inferior films, but this isn't a superior zombie flick either.
5.5 out of 10
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