Land of the Dead (2005)
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In a post-apocalyptic Pittsburgh, a group of survivors must navigate a feudal society ruled by a ruthless plutocrat while facing a massive zombie assault.
The story
Years after a zombie apocalypse, human civilization has formed protected city-states across North America. In downtown Pittsburgh, a feudal-like government rules a sanctuary protected by rivers and an electrified fence known as "the Throat." While the wealthy reside in the luxury high-rise "Fiddler's Green," the rest of the population lives in squalor under the control of Paul Kaufman, a ruthless plutocratic ruler. Riley Denbo, a commander of an armored vehicle called Dead Reckoning, leads missions into the zombie-infested no-man's-land to scavenge for supplies and luxury items to barter within the oppressive oligarchic regime.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Years after a zombie apocalypse, human civilization has formed protected city-states across North America. In downtown Pittsburgh, a feudal-like government rules a sanctuary protected by rivers and an electrified fence known as "the Throat." While the wealthy reside in the luxury high-rise "Fiddler's Green," the rest of the population lives in squalor under the control of Paul Kaufman, a ruthless plutocratic ruler. Riley Denbo, a commander of an armored vehicle called Dead Reckoning, leads missions into the zombie-infested no-man's-land to scavenge for supplies and luxury items to barter within the oppressive oligarchic regime. During a mission, rookie Mike is bitten by a zombie and commits suicide to avoid turning. Riley later discovers his car is missing and, while rescuing a prostitute named Slack from a pimp, is arrested. Meanwhile, Cholo DeMora, denied an apartment in Fiddler's Green, commandeers Dead Reckoning and demands a $5,000,000 ransom from Kaufman. Kaufman tasks Riley, Charlie, and Slack with retrieving the vehicle. Riley eventually deactivates the vehicle's weapons, while Cholo is bitten by a zombie. A zombie named Big Daddy leads a legion across the river, breaching the perimeter and invading the city. Kaufman is killed by Big Daddy. Riley's group escapes, and they eventually decide to spare the zombies, realizing they also seek sanctuary, before heading for Canada.
- First release year
- 2005
- Runtime (minutes)
- 97
- Production countries
- Canada; France; United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- George A. Romero
- Writers
- George A. Romero · writer
- Cast and characters
- Simon Baker; Dennis Hopper; Asia Argento · Slack; Robert Joy; John Leguizamo
- Genres
- horror; action; splatter; zombie
- Themes
- Class struggle; Social inequality; Survival; Post-apocalyptic society
- Tone and mood
- Violent; Dark; Satirical; Gory
- Premise and plot tags
- Zombie apocalypse; Dystopian; Feudalism; Survival
- Franchise connections
- Living Dead series
- Content notes
- Violence; Gore; Strong language
- Reception
- The film received mostly positive reviews from film critics, with a 75% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 71 rating on Metacritic.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 75% · review count: 179; Metacritic · score: 71 · scale: 100 · review count: 30
- Production trivia
- It was the highest-budgeted film in Romero's Dead series.; Romero refused to use the title 'Night of the Living Dead' or 'Night of the Living Dead: Dead Reckoning' to avoid giving the studio rights to the franchise.; The film was banned in Ukraine.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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