20 Horror Movies From The 21st Century That Didn't Actually Suck
13. Land Of The Dead (2005)
Is this on the list simply because, although nowhere near the best of the series, it's the last good zombie film Romero has made? Maybe, but Romero not shooting on all cylinders is still better than many more painful retreads of horror classics. This felt like an event and although it disappoints slightly, it's still far better than Diary & Survival.
We're further on from Day of the Dead, and America is a desolate land with a variety of outposts which have, thanks to the luxury high-rises positioned in the centre, reinstated a class system which sees the poor left out in the cold as much as the decaying dead. Thanks to the military tank, the Dead Reckoning (the working title for the film), Riley Denbo (Simon Baker) and his crew can go to abandoned cities and get supplies for the rich, including Dennis Hopper's 'city boss'.
The film also follows on from Day of the Dead's Bub by showing an increasing intelligence in the dead, particularly in Eugene Clark's Big Daddy as they fight their way in the city and devour the living. Again, this isn't up to the brilliance of the original trilogy but it is an often inventive take on how a society can build itself back up and make the same mistakes as before.
Armed with a larger budget than before, Romero holds a mirror up to society but also has fun with his dead as they, amongst other things, find out they can walk on riverbeds on their mission to the city. Look out too for Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright as the 'photobooth' zombies.