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And the Necropocalypse continues…
Inspired from Dawn of the Dead, I figured the PX would be a perfect place for a platoon to turn into a patrol base–until the dependents arrive anyway. The fetid odor of hundreds of gold-digging wives–half of them pregnant–gathering outside of the PX like a flock of pigeons at a park bench. I can only imagine the horrors of such a sight…
And yes, I realize the MCX isn’t actually called the “PX”, but I didn’t want to break any copyright nonsense.
If you’re finding yourself jonesing for a taste of some classic three-panel Terminal Lance, check out the Marine Corps Times for your fix–brand new strips are printed every week, exclusive to the Times. I’ve gotten some feedback from people across the board. For the most part, everyone seems to really like what I’m doing here with the Necropocalypse.
There are, however, those who have no interest in zombie-related media. For you ghoul-haters out there, I say again, feel free to pick up a copy of the Marine Corps Times for some classic 3-panel glory. Otherwise, there’s not a whole lot I can offer you other than the work I’m putting out. The Necropocalypse will continue for another week or so, so if you really hate zombies, rest assured that the classic strips will return shortly.
In Terminal Lance news, I’ve got some major things cooking up that I’m not really at liberty to talk about at the moment. But, by the end of the summer there will be a plethora of new awesome for you dedicated fans out there, so stay tuned for that.
The Necropocalypse contest has been all kinds of fucking mind-blowing (especially for the zombies depicted–har-har-har). You can check out the official thread here. There’s only 3 days left to enter, so if you’ve got some undead Marine action to throw my way, you’d better do it quick!
Today’s zombie feature I’m going to talk about is the best of Romero’s modern zombie films: Land of the Dead.
Land of the Dead
Released in 2005, Land of the Dead was Romero’s official return to the “Dead” series after a 20 year hiatus following 1985’s Day of the Dead. What makes this film different from basically all of his other ones is the fact that it had a real budget to work with. The result was actually quite good, albeit underrated for the most part.
The basic premise is that the world is many years into the Necropocalypse–the world has already been devastated by flesh-hungry “stenches” (a slang term used in the film), and Pittsburgh has been more or less taken over by a corporation. Those that can afford it live in a high-rise, high-security life of luxury called Fiddler’s Green. The direct result of this is, however, a desperation in class-structure, as everyone who doesn’t live in Fiddler’s Green is impoverish. Surrounding the paradise is miles of slums, and beyond that miles of flesh-eating undead.
The story follows the male lead Riley (played by Simon Baker), and includes supporting roles from John Leguizamo and Asia Argento (who is actually Dario Argento’s daughter–the producer of Dawn of the Dead). Riley is a slumbaby, a mercenary trying to get out of Pittsburgh is wrangled back into work by the head of Fiddler’s Green (Dennis Hopper) after John Leguizamo steals his super-weapon, Dead Reckoning, and threatens to destroy the city with it. Riley agrees to it and embarks on his quest to take back Dead Reckoning in the undead-wasteland surrounding Pittsburgh.
Why is this movie important? Well, for starters it was the first genuinely thoughtful zombie-flick since Day of the Dead. Romero has a knack for the undead–or really a love–that forces him to actually care about what he’s writing. His films aren’t just mindless zombie-romps–though they are often mistaken as such–they are actually extremely well-executed and wrought with social commentary. Land of the Dead takes an especially heavy emphasis on the class-wars that plague America today, creating a thoughtful environment for otherwise thoughtless villains to roam in. Ironically though, the zombies in Land of the Dead aren’t even really the villains, and in fact this film actually takes a special interest in the point of view of one zombie in particular known as “Big Daddy”.
You’ll notice Big Daddy is actually the only lead black character in the film. This is important to note, as it is a trend in every one of his zombie films that the lead black character plays the role of the “savior” or someone that ultimately leads the way to salvation. This is the only one of his films that actually gives a zombie this role, and does it successfully.
I don’t want to give too much away, but if you like movies that actually have some substance–as well as the undead–definitely check out Land of the Dead. If I remember correctly, it was a box office flop, but it actually met relatively good reviews. It’s unfortunate, as surely it was Romero’s last chance in the eyes of Hollywood.
Anyway, if you’ve made it this far, I just want to say one more thing:
I fucking hate that shirt. The one that says “I’m not fat, I’m just knocked up!” Yeah, I fucking hate that shirt. With the exception of buying a trailer at WALMART, there’s not a whole lot of things that make you look more white trash than a complete lack of respect for the child growing inside of your body. For the love of God, if you own one of these shirts, burn it.
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