Survival of the Dead - Finally watched it...

[Neil]

Well, I finalllllly sat down and watched it. To set the scene, from the recent history (eg: Diary put a big dent in Romero's history for me) and various reviews/comments of it, I wasn't expecting much from Survival. However, it exceeded my expectations. Was it a good film? Don't know. I'd say passable. What's frustrating is it could have easily have been a lot better:- 1) Too many characters doing too many stupid, things:- 1a) Risking their lives for no obvious reasons. eg: Walking up to the dead and hugging them and putting their hands near faces, just waiting to be bitten. 1b) Shooting at each other for no clear reason. ie: Coming across the guys in the woods, and basically shooting them for no real reason. 1c) Forgetting you were enemies just 2 seconds ago. One minute people are shooting at each other, and the next best buddies? 2) Gimmicky kills. There were just a few too many contrived CGI silly kills. 3) Poorly written character behavour and scenes. 3a) eg: Seamus shooting the gun out of Patrick's hands? Really? Why not just have Patrick go to take a step forwards towards the kids, a shot rings out, and bullet hole appears in the floor boards straight infront of Patrick? Far more plausible... And just as effective? 3b) The introduction to Tomboy? Was that really necessary? Tacky! Why not do it with a bit more style? Maybe she pulls out a mag, and then it's revealed and it's Playboy? 3c) The entire last scene with loads of back shooting and contrived gun fights. 3d) Zombie riding a horse? Hmmm... Not sure... Zombie eating a horse? Why? There's lots of people standing nearby, so why no interest in that direction? Anyway, I'd probably give it a 5.5/10 for some of the good moments in it.

[kidgloves]

I think you're being generous Neil. I've only seen it once, mainly cause i cant bring myself to watch it again.

[Neil]

Maybe... Possibly I've waited a long time and being more forgiving than others?

[MinionZombie]

Maybe... Possibly I've waited a long time and being more forgiving than others? The poll wouldn't particularly bear this out - those that "Liked It" are clearly in the majority out of all options. Yes, those who were disappointed by it, or neither here-nor-there about it are equally pegged, but those who "Loved It" aren't far behind in numbers to either of those and "Hated It" is the least voted-for option. And seriously - you've only just gotten around to seeing it?!

[Danny]

better than diary. not great but there was little bits here and there like the final shot that were great and made it worth watching. Diary on the other hand has no redeeming qualities for me.

[BillyRay]

>coff coff< (ahem) MULDOOOOOOOON!!!

[MinionZombie]

>coff coff< (ahem) MULDOOOOOOOON!!! One of my favourite things about the movie - Kenneth Welsh. And I'm not even being sarcastic, like the complainers have been regarding his performance - Welsh was entertaining as all get-out in the flick, IMHO.

[Neil]

And seriously - you've only just gotten around to seeing it?! Yes... Diary's to blame for that!

[krakenslayer]

It was just alright. Like a half-decent mid-season episode of a GAR universe TV show, as opposed to the big movie horror event it should have been.

[Trin]

I think Land and Diary lowered people's expectations far enough that Survival is passable. I found some things in Survival to like... and I guarantee you that wouldn't have been the case had I gone into Survival the same way I went into Land. Survival is just really really bad writing. That's it. The whole of it from start to finish.

[Neil]

I think Land and Diary lowered people's expectations far enough that Survival is passable. I found some things in Survival to like... and I guarantee you that wouldn't have been the case had I gone into Survival the same way I went into Land. Survival is just really really bad writing. That's it. The whole of it from start to finish. It had some sparks every now and then... But yes, there were too many unecessary daft/weak moments unfortunately... [As my OP pointed out I think]

[ZombieKeeper]

His last two films were just plain terrible. I understand if offered money to make a movie, you should because its how you make a living. However, there comes a time when your name is more important than a paycheck. I don't imagine his upcoming Deep Red remake will be much better. This is a film that should never be touched or re-envisioned due to its utter brilliance.

[blind2d]

Agreed, Deep Red was great: an under-appreciated classic. Also, I guarantee that if you watch Contagium before Survival, the latter will seem about 20% cooler. (brony alert)

[Trin]

One of my favourite things about the movie - Kenneth Welsh. And I'm not even being sarcastic, like the complainers have been regarding his performance - Welsh was entertaining as all get-out in the flick, IMHO. The whole of the O'Flynn character was a nice surprise. I didn't like some of the writing around his character towards the end, but it wasn't any worse than anything else.   The initial confrontation with O'Flynn and posse confronting the family with the dead kids in the crib... that was just a good scene. I loved when he didn't have the heart to shoot the kids. Good stuff.

[Neil]

The whole of the O'Flynn character was a nice surprise. I didn't like some of the writing around his character towards the end, but it wasn't any worse than anything else.   The initial confrontation with O'Flynn and posse confronting the family with the dead kids in the crib... that was just a good scene. I loved when he didn't have the heart to shoot the kids. Good stuff. Yes, there were some nice elements to it at times! But even that scene was ruined by the shooting the gun out of the hands bit - As I mentioned in my OP.