Land of the Dead
Universal Pictures | Release Date: June 24, 2005 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
71
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 30 Critic Reviews
Positive:
23
Mixed:
7
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The Hollywood ReporterMichael Rechtshaffen
The latest installment could well be Romero's masterpiece. Taking full advantage of state-of-the-art makeup and visual effects, he has a more vivid canvas at his disposal, not to mention two decades worth of pent-up observations about American society. Read full review
100
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Romero's newest is a horror movie for hard-core fans of the gory and the gruesome and a classic genre film for genre aficionados. Read full review
100
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
One of the enormous pleasures of genre filmmaking is watching great directors push against form and predictability, as Mr. Romero does brilliantly in Land of the Dead. One thing is for sure: You won't go home hungry. Read full review
100
PremiereAaron Hillis
Land of the Dead is Romero's long-awaited masterpiece, a slyly suspenseful and droll thrill-ride that expounds on both the highbrow and the chewed-off-brow concepts of his previous trilogy, then flippantly dismisses the cheap scare tactics of the control-pad generation's gimmicky genre knockoffs. Read full review
90
VarietyJustin Chang
George A. Romero shows 'em how it's done in Land of the Dead, resurrecting his legendary franchise with top-flight visuals, terrific genre smarts and tantalizing layers of implication. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
Romero easily commands an enormous cast, a plethora of action sequences and a cornucopia of special effects -- some of them very gory -- and creates one darkly dazzling image after another that allows Land of the Dead to emerge without any nudging whatsoever as a bleakly humorous, hard-charging allegory. Read full review
90
SlateDavid Edelstein
As the ghouls evolve toward humanity and the humans toward ghouldom, we can appreciate Romero for using horror to show us How We Live Now, and How We're Living Dead now, too. Read full review
83
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
The social commentary isn't subtle, but Romero delivers the goods so effectively that many won't even notice. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianMarc Mohan
Land of the Dead is huge. It's Romero doing what he does best: using zombies to create a lowbrow social parable. It shows up junk like "Resident Evil: Apocalypse" for the brainless pap it is. And it's got something that even the best previous "Dead" films have lacked: good acting. Read full review
80
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
The satire is headline-fresh, the action scenes keep pace with summer blockbusters, and no one shoots an evisceration with as much skill. Read full review
80
EmpireKim Newman
Inventive suspense, spiky characters, outrageous horror and wicked satire. Welcome back, George - you've been away too long. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Hopper, unsurprisingly, devours scenery like he's already dead and loving it, but for once his penchant for overacting is overshadowed by the real stars of Romero's world: They're dead, they're all messed up, but it's great to finally have them back in town. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerDavid Hiltbrand
Oddly enough, though Land of the Dead is more clever and grand than Romero's early classics, it is not as haunting. Read full review
75
USA TodayMike Clark
It's fairly solid fun, though, without breaking any new ground, just as January's remake of "Assault on Precinct 13" was. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsStaff (Not Credited)
Land is pure entertainment and superbly well done. It is not as scary as it is gross, and its grossness is so outrageously graphic (hint: don't seat yourself next to a zombie at your next barbecue) that it is laugh-out-loud funny. Read full review
75
New York PostKyle Smith
Brains! Brains! Why can't they make a zombie movie with brains? This is one. Romero has given us, as well as the zombies, a lot to chew on. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Romero finds still new and entertaining ways for unspeakably disgusting things to happen to the zombies and their victims. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Hartlaub
The master is back, and there's no shortage of exploding brain matter -- or fun -- to be had in the theaters this weekend. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad Wheeler
Land of the Dead is a horror flick, but not a screamy one -- the booming soundtrack pumps up the drama, and the gore induces squirms, but zombies more titillate than anything. Read full review
70
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Romero isn't a subtle filmmaker -- the sociopolitical underpinnings of his DEAD films have always been brutally clear -- but LAND is alive with subtle touches. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Romero's fourth entry, turns out to be his most conventional as an action thriller--though it's every bit as gory as the others and more clearly class-conscious. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
It's not startling or frightening enough. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
A perfectly adequate horror romp, but it's hard to imagine anyone remembering it five years from now. Read full review
60
Village VoiceMichael Atkinson
Romero's fourth-grade dialogue doesn't help matters, but anyone seeking out the latest achievements in cranial ruptures, spewing-blood gouts, and ground-beef spillage need look no further. Read full review
50
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
Land of the Dead is fairly intense. Intensely gory and violent, that is, as has come to be expected from the genre. It's just not very frightening. Not half as frightening as, say, last year's "Dawn of the Dead." Read full review
50
Film ThreatPete Vonder Haar
Land falls well short of the greatness of Romero’s previous zombie efforts. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Looks and feels like someone else's better-made schlock. Read full review
50
Dallas ObserverLuke Y. Thompson
If the Star Wars movies have taught us anything, it's that waiting 20 years for a new sequel by a guy named George can lead to disappointment. Read full review
42
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
In Land of the Dead there are virtually no good parts. The movie is listless and uninspired. Read full review
40
Washington PostStephen Hunter
Too bad the plot held no surprises and the acting no revelations. No actor could be said to stand out and the movie never acquires much tension or momentum. Read full review
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