ESSAY: Criticisms of the Survival of the Romero

I've been lucky enough to work for 40-some plus years now and do all different kinds of films.

George Romero, Techland Interview

It has been six days since the dead began to walk, and a powerful emotion is gripping the land.  Boredom.

            Michael O’Sullivan, Washington Post

I'm so very tired of zombies as a story element.

            Jeffrey Chen, Reel Talk

After you've seen, oh, I dunno, 20 or 30 zombie movies, you sort of stop caring.

            Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

By the time the 20th zombie is shot through the head, the characters look outright bored...

            Leslie Felperin, Variety

Even to the characters, this new batch of undead is more irritant than threat.

            Jeanette Catsoulis, The New York Times

Romero can still write some really rich scenarios and dialogue (in between his groaners).

            User Bosco B. Thug, Match Cut Forums

…this Western-inspired film…plays down the undead plot to concentrate on the feud between two island-dwelling, Irish-accented families.

            Clark Collis, Entertainment Weekly

The hammy melodramatics are led on one side by übercrusty Patrick O'Flynn, acting like some unholy cross between Darby O'Gill and "Dirty" Harry Callahan…

            Mark Savlov, The Austin Chronicle

Muldoon's the man who wants to try to wean the lumbering, mumbling dead off of human flesh and see if they can all get along in relative peace.

            Steven Rea, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Seamus [Muldoon’s] plan is neither realistically humane nor irreverently pathological, just a means for Romero to half-heartedly regurgitate the Pavlovian conditioning scenes from Day of the Dead, with Seamus hoping to entice the dead with the taste of horse meat.

            Ed Gonzalez, Slant

[Romero] jams in a superfluous teenager who says things like, “Low tech? This is no tech,” and can’t wait to show everyone his iPhone.

            Colin, Film Junk

There's also a Chinese guy who fishes for zombies for no apparent reason. Fortunately he is quickly pushed into the harbor and consumed before any more ill-advised ethnic humor can ensue.

            Bob Calhoun, Salon

One of the problems with having control is that you're always questioning yourself - am I going too far here? Are some of the gags too Looney Tunes?

            George Romero, CHUD Interview

On the gore side, a number of excellent and creative zombie kills are sprinkled throughout the movie.

            Rob Frappier, Screen Rant

The menu includes new and creative ways to make heads detonate...

            Michael Ordana, Los Angeles Times

There’s also an aquatic attack sequence that lends some tension that’s desperately needed, given the number of scenes in which soldiers just roll their eyes and casually blow zombies away.

            Tom Russo, Boston.com

From dynamite to crushings, fire extinguishers, and flares, zombies die with style and a sense of humor…

            Scott A. Johnson, Dread Central

Survival has lots of those clever kills; Romero just doesn’t provide enough reason for them to be.

            Noel Murray, The AV Club

Romero clearly knows how to work with what he’s got, but nowadays it’s not enough.

            Perri Nemiroff, Cinema Blend

I’ve always thought the people are more dangerous because they’re too busy arguing about other shit. That’s been the case since the first film – to me, all the movies are all about humans and how they screw up.

            George Romero, Brightest Young Things Interview

Survival wrings some fun out of a quandary we're dealing with today: How Group A and Group B can refuse to team up against Zombie Horde C, even when that's really the only option left.

            Scott Weinberg, Fearnet

…Romero criticises those who show blind faith in leaders.

            Kaleem Aftab, IGN

Like Night, Dawn, Day, Land, and Diary before it, Survival of the Dead is about sides – where we stand, and where you stand.

            Saul Berenbaum, Just Press Play

I get the social commentary that Romero is beating over our heads about humans and their age-old feuds that have no end.

            David Lane, Collider

…a lot of Survival seems stale, as if Romero were growing bored with his own redundancies.

            Jeff Shannon, The Seattle Times

…some of his earlier magic seems to have faded...

            JimmyO, Joblo

It doesn't work as horror, and it doesn't work as comedy. It's every bit as awful as Diary, and maybe a little worse on account of there not being any awesome Amish guys.

            User: Iron Ape, Rotten Tomatoes Forums

Romero is stuck in a rut and needs to move on.

            James Berardinelli, Reelviews

The lasting image from Survival of the Dead is a lesbian in fatigues pleasuring herself, which works as a proxy for the viewing experience: Romero’s having a good time, and I’m happy for him, I guess.

            James Van Fleet, Horror Films 101