Survival of the Dead, huh? A film that certainly brought me down the memory lane of late nights at Stockholms Filmfestival, sitting on those slightly uncomfortable wooden chairs at Grand, munching on overpriced popcorn and whispering with pals about the plot twists and zombie makeup.
This one, a George A. Romero flick, has all the expected zombie mayhem with a side of very confused humans. There’s something about this film, a mix between a spaghetti western and a zombie apocalypse, which initially confused me, I have to admit. The whole feud between the O’Flynn and Muldoon families feels like a Swedish rendition of Romeo and Juliet—if Juliet were a zombie—and I kept wondering if Romero was reaching for something Shakespearean or just shaking things up.
The film tries to say a lot about human nature, I think, and how survival makes beasts of us all. At times I found myself pondering: are they zombies or are they us? Maybe! Some moments felt a bit like being lost on a Södermalm street without Google Maps. You sort of get where it’s meant to go, but you might end up on a completely different avenue.
Now, if you like watching tough, no-nonsense characters go berserk on flesh-eating undead, you’ll probably get a kick out of this one. The sensation of the wilderness reminded me of those camping trips up in northern Sweden, where you feel a million miles away from civilization—except here you’ve got the undead lurking, not mosquitoes.
But here’s the gist, guys: this film feels like a good old zombie movie with bits of quirky family drama. And you’ll laugh at some of the parts they didn’t quite hit the mark—but hey, it’s all in a day’s work at the movies. So grab your fika and have a go at it!
