George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead (2009)

I went into this thinking it was going to be another typical zombie movie. I'm not well-versed in Romero films, so watching this film was basically a crap-shoot.

Honestly? I was blown away. It was 100% enjoyable. The story, characters, atmosphere and small focus on silly gore was delightfully surprising.

Alan Van Sprang was great in the lead role as the ex-commando with a monkey on his back, and I thought everyone in the film was perfectly suited for the roles. Each character was likeable in their own way, the perfect mixture of flaws and conviction.

For someone that has been displeased by the brunt of the Resident Evil films and a handful of other zombie movies, I was quite pleased by this one. I kept worrying if the film was going to ruin itself with overblown plot development or an exaggerated climax, but the characters were treated with respect (unlike in Miner's Day of the Dead) and the film was spared of a cheap finale. The atmosphere felt quite contained within its own limits and I liked that.

4/5, with my only criticisms being that it feels more like the first act of a film rather than some grand telling of the zombie apocalypse. Perhaps there is another film in the works that concludes the arc of the characters? I dunno.