"Land of the Dead" Hits Theaters June 24th

George Romero's long rumored fourth zombie flick, Land of the Dead, hits local theaters on June 24th. You can visit it's official website here. The website is pretty cool - you can get screensavers, see trailers, etc.

I'm gonna go see the movie, and I'll review it here, but just off the top of my head, I have some concerns. The basic plotline is that the zombies have taken over just about all of the planet, with the exception of some barricaded enclaves. There, the very rich live in luxury in skyscrapers, while the commoners struggle to live below.

Now anyone who's seen George's previous zombie movies know that they tend to be preachy affairs, long on dialogue, with the occasional gore-shot thrown in to keep the audience awake. In interviews, George has talked about the social commentary he was attempting to make a comment about materialism, (in particular, Dawn of the Dead, with it's Mall setting) and other Noble Thoughts.

My worry is that, given such a ridiculous premise for his fourth movie, we're going to be in for a series of boring lectures given by self-important actors, with the occasional zombie scene to keep audiences in their seats. Oh, and at the end the zombies over-run the enclave and kill all the rich people, while the hard-bitten survivors narrowly escape in a hummer. Or something like that.

I'll keep you posted...