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Survival of the Dead
Plot
A group of rogue soldiers seek shelter from the zombie apocalypse on scenic Plum Island, only to become caught up in a bitter feud between two warring families. Sarge Crocket (Alan Van Sprang) and his motley crew of military abandoners are searching for a safe place to rest when they cross paths with Patrick O'Flynn (Kenneth Welsh). O'Flynn has been banished from Plum Island, where his family is locked in a longtime quarrel with the Muldoons. The O'Flynns see the flesh-eaters as subhuman, never hesitating to put a bullet between their eyes; the Muldoons balk at the prospect of killing their gut-munching loved ones, instead opting to care for their rotting kinfolk until scientists find a cure for the undead scourge. As the division between the two families grows deeper and wider, Crocket and his men realize that on Plum Island, the zombies are the least of their worries. ~ Jason Buchanan, RoviReview
Painful as it is to write, it may finally be time for George A. Romero to give up the dead -- or at least the undead. While it's a treat to see the godfather of the contemporary zombie film get back to his typical visual aesthetic with Survival of the Dead after the stylistic departure of Diary of the Dead -- an inspired yet some might say flawed excursion into subjective cinema -- it quickly becomes apparent that the man who built his reputation on creating socially conscious shock cinema, quite sadly, doesn't really have much new to say. Ever since Ben caught a bullet between the eyes at the end of that first long night, we've known that humankind can be its own worst enemy when it all goes down, and here Romero is doing little more than flogging a flesh-eating corpse as he takes us to an island safe haven where a lingering family feud threatens to fray the few remaining threads still holding society together.The zombie apocalypse is under way. Patrick O'Flynn (Kenneth Welsh) lives on Plum Island, a secluded Shangri-la that's still functioning thanks to its remote location. But that's not to say it's completely unaffected by the recent events; when the locals start coming back from the dead, O'Flynn reaches the painful yet practical conclusion that the only good zombie is a dead zombie, and forms a posse to insure that every gut-muncher on the isle is properly disposed of. Seamus Muldoon (Richard Fitzpatrick), on the other hand, still holds out hope that scientists will discover a cure for society's scourge, and stands firm in his belief that the zombies should not be killed, but simply secured until they can be either cured or trained to assist man. When the two clash, O'Flynn is banished from the island and sent to fend for himself on the mainland. There, he cooks up a corny ad campaign inviting survivors to join him on Plum Island, biding his time until he can get back to his rightful home. When rogue military man Crocket (Alan Van Sprang) and his gang see the ad, they eventually take the bait, only to find themselves stuck right in the middle of the ongoing feud between the O'Flynns and the Muldoons once they finally arrive at their insular oasis.
While it's difficult to fault Romero for standing by his beloved rotting corpses -- he does, after all, owe virtually his entire career to them -- there still has to be a certain point when we start to ask ourselves why the man who's given us such original and thought-provoking films such as There's Always Vanilla, Knightriders, Martin, and even the little-seen Bruiser (love it or hate it, the film still raises some interesting questions about identity and the personal nature of revenge) still finds himself compelled to revisit the same story time and again despite the quite noticeable diminishing returns. Sure, he never bastardized his original vision quite like George Lucas did with the second Star Wars trilogy, but the sad fact is we've pretty much been there and done that at this point; Logan (Richard Liberty) and Captain Rhodes (Joseph Pilato) already bickered over the idea of reforming/training zombies to much more striking effect 15 years ago in Day of the Dead, and if the pie fight in Dawn of the Dead failed to provide your lifetime recommended allotment of cornball Romero humor, Survival occasionally borders on becoming an outright comedy with its schticky zombie sight gags.
Admittedly, however, it's the humor of Survival of the Dead that ultimately serves to draw us in to the story, and warm us to the characters. Each entry in the Dead series has its standout characters, and even when this one starts to feel overly familiar, it's the performances by Welsh and Fitzpatrick in particular that command our attention and prevent atrophy from setting in. That and the contributions of cinematographer Adam Swica, who effortlessly shifts out of Diary's video gear to deliver a classically cinematic film that's quite effective in setting the ominous tone we've all come to know and expect from a Romero zombie flick. And though his storytelling skills may leave something to be desired these days, Romero's talents as a director are still razor-sharp. Together, he and Swica make a fairly solid technical team, creating a movie that's consistently watchable even when it's hopelessly predictable.
Despite not being Romero's prettiest effort, Diary at least approached the familiar story from a different angle while presenting a thoughtful reflection on the evolving media. Survival may look great, but if only some fresh ideas were there to back up those deliciously gothic images, it wouldn't feel like Romero was dishing out the same old gruel -- just slightly warmed over -- to his ravenous fan base. We still love ya George -- maybe it's just time to let walking corpses wander, and surprise us with something that doesn't shamble or stink of decay. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Cast
- Alan Van Sprang - Sarge
- Kenneth Welsh - O'Flynn
- Kathleen Munroe - Janet/Jane
- Devon Bostick - Boy
- Richard Fitzpatrick - Muldoon
Credit
John Buchan - Casting, Jason Knight - Casting, Gregory Nicotero - Consultant/advisor, Alex Kavanagh - Costume Designer, George A. Romero - Director, Michael Doherty - Editor, George A. Romero - Executive Producer, Michael Doherty - Executive Producer, Patrice Theroux - Executive Producer, Bryan Gliserman - Executive Producer, D.J. Carson - Executive Producer, Ara Katz - Executive Producer, Peter Grunwald - Executive Producer, Artur Spigel - Executive Producer, Dan Fireman - Executive Producer, Robert Carli - Composer (Music Score), Francois Dagenais - Makeup Special Effects, Arv Greywal - Production Designer, Adam Swica - Cinematographer, Paula Devonshire - Producer, Gregory Nicotero - Special Effects, Stephen Barden - Sound/Sound Designer, Jill Purdy - Sound/Sound Designer, George A. Romero - Screenwriter, Colin Davies - Visual Effects Supervisor, Sam Englebardt - Co-Executive Producer, Jesse Ikeman - Co-Executive Producer| Survival in the Wild: Predators & Prey (Film), Survival in the Sky: Deadly Weather (1999 Film) | |
| Survival of the Dragon (1973 Film), Survival of the Fittest: Stories from the West Coast Trail (2007 Film) |
Survival of the Dead
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Survival of the Dead
| Survival of the Dead | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | George A. Romero |
| Produced by | Paula Devonshire |
| Written by | George A. Romero |
| Starring | Alan van Sprang Kenneth Welsh Kathleen Munroe Devon Bostick Richard Fitzpatrick Athena Karkanis Stefano Di Matteo Joris Jarsky Eric Woolfe Julian Richings Wayne Robson |
| Music by | Robert Carli |
| Cinematography | Adam Swica |
| Editing by | Michael Doherty |
| Studio | Artfire Films Romero-Grunwald Productions Devonshire Productions |
| Distributed by | E1 Entertainment (Canada) Magnet Releasing (United States) |
| Release date(s) | September 9, 2009 (Venice Film Festival) April 30, 2010 (United States) July 8, 2010 (Canada) |
| Running time | 85 minutes |
| Country | United States Canada |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $4,000,000 |
| Box office | $143,191 (Worldwide)[1] |
Survival of the Dead (also known as George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead) is a 2009 American horror film by George A. Romero which follows a group of mercenary National Guardsmen who briefly appeared in Diary of the Dead.[2] The film was first released on DVD in the UK on March 15, 2010,[3] followed by a video on demand release on April 30, 2010,[4] followed by a limited theatrical release on May 28, 2010.[5] The film was met with generally negative reviews.
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Contents
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Plot
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This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (November 2010) |
The first part of the film follows the actions of former Colonel and current Sergeant "Nicotine" Crockett (Alan van Sprang), who, after a failed raid of sorts that ends in the deaths and reanimation of several fellow National Guardsmen and his getting demoted to Sergeant, deserts his post with Kenny (Eric Woolfe), Francisco (Stefano Colacitti) and Tomboy (Athena Karkanis). The four go on to rob the protagonists of the previous film.
Meanwhile, off the coast of Delaware lies Plum Island, home to two feuding Irish families - the O'Flynns and the Muldoons. The former family, led by Patrick O'Flynn (Kenneth Welsh), rounds up a posse and kill the undead of the island, learning that the Muldoons, led by Seamus Muldoon (Richard Fitzpatrick) are keeping their undead loved ones "alive" until a cure is found. A brief standoff ends with the Muldoons exiling Patrick and several other O'Flynns, under the suggestion of Patrick's daughter Janet (Kathleen Munroe).
Three weeks pass. The National Guard deserters find themselves joined by Boy (Devon Bostick) after an encounter with some fellow zombie-killers, and through Boy and an internet connection they learn of Plum Island - a video that was recorded by Patrick O'Flynn. They head to a nearby dock as instructed, and a gunfight starts between the O'Flynns bunkered down in a fishing shop and Crockett's group. Francisco successfully commandeers a ferry for the group during the battle (Several zombies showing up to distract both sides of the gunfight), biting the finger off of an attacking zombie along the way.
The O'Flynns, except Patrick, are killed by zombies and the deserters board the ferry. Patrick too jumps aboard, kept there by a shaky truce of sorts as the rest of the group takes care of the zombies on board the ferry. Francisco starts to feel sick, having earlier ingested the blood of a zombie. On the trip over, Patrick reveals he sent other strangers over to Plum Island to anger Muldoon and trigger the latter's distrust for strangers. Eventually, the group makes it to the island on a small dingy.
There, they discover that the Muldoons have chained up the zombies in imitation of their previous lives - a mailman puts mail in a mailbox, a logger wields an axe on some wood, and so on. It is revealed that Patrick's daughter Janet is now a zombie, riding around on her horse as she did when she was alive. The living strangers sent over by Patrick have been killed by the Muldoons while the strangers who arrived as zombies were allowed to remain animated. Patrick is disgusted with this and, as he attempts to go into town and gather some allies that did not leave the island from his family, two scouting Muldoons attack the deserters, shooting Crockett and Kenny. The latter dies from his wounds, and is shot in the head by Patrick to prevent reanimation. Patrick heads off.
As Boy works to stitch up Crockett, Francisco's sickness gets worse and he asks to be shot down by Tomboy before he turns into a zombie. She complies, and is then captured by Muldoon. It is now revealed that Janet is, in fact, a twin - Jane, her favored sister, is the zombie on the horse from earlier. Janet helps Crockett out, and she, Crockett and Boy join the O'Flynn group for their attack on the Muldoons. Crockett agrees to come along to exact revenge for Kenny.
A standoff occurs at the bridge of the river that separates the two families' land, and the O'Flynn group with Crockett are captured, while Boy and Janet are pushed off into the forest. Tomboy is released from Muldoon's capture. During her capture she also learns that Muldoon's own wife is now a zombie chained up in his kitchen. Tomboy rejoins the captive group. Muldoon and O'Flynn face off - Muldoon's one wish is to prove O'Flynn wrong about the zombies, hoping to get the creatures to eat something other than human flesh. Muldoon's latest example is Patrick's daughter Jane, attempting to get her to devour a horse. A farmhand, Chuck (Joris Jarsky), brings out a herd of captured zombies to watch Jane's attempt to eat the horse.
She doesn't, and Janet returns with Boy, giving Crockett and the O'Flynns their weapons back. Janet attempts to reach out to Jane, who bites her twin sister. A gunfight erupts between the two families. Chuck switches sides and gets shot by Muldoon for his trouble. Dying, he releases the zombie herd and is devoured. The gunfight's focus changes to the zombie threat, and they eat and kill most of the ones involved in the shootout.
Muldoon and O'Flynn, each with one bullet left in their guns, create a shaky truce that is immediately broken by Muldoon shooting O'Flynn in the back. A dying O'Flynn unleashes a secret gun stored up his wrist and kills Muldoon. Crockett and his group, fed up with all of the death, attempt to leave the island on the boat they came in on. Janet witnesses her sister actually take a bite out of the horse, and rushes to tell Crockett's group the news, before being shot in the head by her father with his remaining bullet as she has been bit and to show that he has the courage of his convictions. He succumbs to his wounds soon after.
Crockett, Boy and Tomboy refuse to become like the Muldoon and O'Flynn families, and leave the island with the ferry they came in on - the truck they rode in to the dock earlier in the film contains a million dollars they plan to use somehow in the future. Meanwhile, on Plum Island, zombies are seen eating the horse Jane started to eat. The zombified Patrick and Muldoon come up on a hill together, guns in hand, attempting to kill one another once more as zombies. They don't realize that their guns are empty.
Cast
- Alan van Sprang as Sarge "Nicotine" Crockett[6]
- Kenneth Welsh as Patrick O'Flynn[7]
- Kathleen Munroe as Janet O'Flynn[8] and Jane O'Flynn
- Devon Bostick as Boy[9]
- Richard Fitzpatrick as Seamus Muldoon[10]
- Athena Karkanis as Tomboy[7]
- Stefano Di Matteo as Francisco[11]
- Joris Jarsky as Chuck[12]
- Eric Woolfe as Kenny McDonald
- Julian Richings as James O'Flynn[13]
- Wayne Robson as Tawdry O'Flynn[13]
- Joshua Peace as D.J.
- George Stroumboulopoulos as Talk Show Host[13]
Actors Shawn Roberts, Scott Wentworth, Amy Lalonde, Michelle Morgan, and Joshua Close from Diary of the Dead appear in archival footage during the opening moments of the film.
Production
The film was independently produced, and distributed by Artfire Pictures. It had a budget of four million USD.[7] This is Romero's sixth 'Dead' film.[14] On July 21, 2009 it was announced the full title of the film is George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead.[15] Romero shot the film in Port Dover, Ontario and in Toronto, Ontario with an entirely Canadian cast and crew. Romero cited the tax incentives as a reason to shoot in Toronto.[16] The film was inspired by the 1958 released Western film The Big Country.[17]
Release
In September 2009 George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, Venice Film Festival (where it screened for the festival's top prize, the Golden Lion), Trinity of Terrors,[18] Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, and Festival du Nouveau Cinéma in Montreal, introduced by George A. Romero.[19] It is the sixth film in Romero's "Dead" series.[20] The film was released on DVD on March 15, 2010 in the United Kingdom.[21]
In the United States it was released on April 30, 2010 for Video on Demand and was aired for one night only on HDNET Movies on May 26, 2010.[22] and a theatrical release on May 28.[23] The film headlined the Texas Frightmare Weekend, which took place from April 28 through May 1, 2010.[24] There was also a screening of "Survival of the Dead" at Madison Square Park, at a Zombie walk on May, 16, 2010.[25] George A. Romero attended the event, as well as a screening held for the first 300 participants.[26] The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD on 24 August 2010.[27]
Reception
Currently, Survival of the Dead has a "Rotten" rating of 29% on the website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 82 reviews.[28]
Box office
Survival of the Dead was released to twenty theaters on May 28, 2010 to and opening weekend gross of $43,757, averaging $2,188 per theater. As of August 1, 2010, the film has taken $101,740 and $41,451 internationally, bringing the total gross to $143,191.[29]
Possible sequels
Director George A. Romero has plans to direct two more sequels to Survival of the Dead.[30] He has expressed his desire to film them back-to-back if his schedule will allow it.[31]
See also
References
- ^ "George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead (2010)". Box Office Mojo. 2010-07-15. http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=survivalofthedead.htm. Retrieved 2011-06-12.
- ^ "Badass New One-Sheet: Survival of the Dead". DreadCentral. http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/36144/badass-new-one-sheet-survival-dead.
- ^ Gingold, Michael (2010-01-25). "SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD release date news". Fangoria Magazine Newsblog. http://fangorianews.blogspot.com/2010/01/survival-of-dead-release-date-news_25.html. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
- ^ "Official One Sheet Debut for George A. Romero's 'Survival of the Dead'". BloodyDisgusting. http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/19278.
- ^ "Having Trouble Telling the Living From the Dead? The Survival of the Dead Zombie Identification Field Manual Can Help!". DreadCentral. http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/36412/having-trouble-telling-living-from-dead-the-survival-dead-zombie-identification-field-man.
- ^ "Fantastic Fest 09: Romero Discusses the Future of the Dead". DreadCentral. http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/33735/fantastic-fest-09-romero-discusses-future-dead.
- ^ a b c "Full Cast and Plot Details For Romero's Next Zombie Adventure!". Bloody-Disgusting.com. 2008-10-03. http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/13825. Retrieved 2008-10-03.
- ^ "Three New Clips: George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead". DreadCentral. http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/36393/three-new-clips-george-a-romeros-survival-dead.
- ^ "'Survival of the Dead' Official Red Band Trailer Debut!". BloodyDisgusting. http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/19347.
- ^ "Survival of the Dead UK Blu-ray Art". DreadCentral. http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/36218/survival-dead-uk-blu-ray-art.
- ^ "Magnet Releases Survival of the Dead Red Band Trailer". DreadCentral. http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/36231/magnet-releases-survival-dead-red-band-trailer.
- ^ "BD Review: A Second Opinion on 'Survival of the Dead'". BloodyDisgusting. http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/20391.
- ^ a b c "Full Cast For Romero's Next flim". imdb.com. 2008-10-03. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1134854/. Retrieved 2008-10-03.
- ^ "New Promo Trailer and Footage from Romero's 'Survival of the Dead'!". BloodyDisgusting. http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/17917.
- ^ George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead[dead link]
- ^ "Survival of the Dead: Uncle Creepy's Pictorial Diary of the Dead". DreadCentral. http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/37358/survival-dead-uncle-creepys-pictorial-diary-dead.
- ^ "BD Sits Down With Zombie Maestro George A. Romero!". BloodyDisgusting. http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/20221.
- ^ "George A. Romero's SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD to screen at the TRINITY OF TERRORS!". Fangoria. http://www.fangoria.com/eventsmain/weekend-of-horrors/woh-updates/118-las-vegas-2009/4128-george-a-romeros-survival-of-the-dead-to-screen-at-the-trinity-of-terrors.html.
- ^ "AFM Wrap-Up! The Sights! The Sounds! The Scares!". DreadCentral. http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/34525/afm-wrap-up-the-sites-the-sounds-the-scares.
- ^ "US Rights to Survival of the Dead Acquired by Magnet Releasing". DreadCentral. http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/35049/us-rights-survival-dead-acquired-magnet-releasing.
- ^ "UK Readers Get 'Survival of the Dead' in March?". BloodyDisgusting. http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/18338.
- ^ "'Survival of the Dead' Release Plans Locked, Loaded and Firing!". BloodyDisgusting. http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/18837.
- ^ "Make a Date with Survival of the Dead". DreadCentral. http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/35519/make-a-date-with-survival-dead.
- ^ "Details on the Texas Frightmare Weekend Emerge!". DreadCentral. http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/35974/details-texas-frightmare-weekend-emerge.
- ^ "Make a Date With George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead DVD and Blu-ray". DreadCentral. http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/37578/make-a-date-with-george-a-romeros-survival-dead-dvd-and-blu-ray.
- ^ "George A. Romero Talks Survival of the Dead and More!". DreadCentral. http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/37566/george-a-romero-talks-survival-dead-and-more.
- ^ "DVD Art for George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead?". DreadCentral. http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/37789/dvd-art-george-a-romeros-survival-dead.
- ^ "Survival of the Dead Reviews - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/survival_of_the_dead/. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
- ^ "Box Office Mojo, "Survival Of The Dead"". Boxofficemojo.com. 2010-07-15. http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=survivalofthedead.htm. Retrieved 2011-06-12.
- ^ "Romero Has Two More Dead Films Planned". http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/topnews.php?id=15161.
- ^ "Romero Dreams of Back-To-Back Survival of the Dead Sequels". Time. May 12, 2010. http://techland.time.com/2010/05/12/romero-dreams-of-back-to-back-survival-of-the-dead-sequels/.
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