I attended the North American Premiere of George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival. When the master himself decides to make a new "...of the Dead" movie, you know you can expect certain things: great kills, visual effects, shocks, and gore. Where it goes from there depends on plot and cast.

So here's the premise: a zombie western set on an island off the coast of Delaware. Anyone else might pitch that story idea and have a door slammed in the face. But this is George A. Romero. Only he could pull it off, and he does it.

Directing from his own script, Romero has made a movie unlike anything he's done in thematic terms. There are great kills, of course. But there are plenty of new elements that will surprise moviegoers.

The Muldoons and O'Flynns have been feuding for generations. They've turned little Plum Island into a war zone. But when faced with an enemy from outside their clans, new strategies must emerge. Outsiders eager to do battle with that enemy also invade their territory, and everyone must take sides. The actors do not take a back seat to the visual and special effects by any means. Veteran character actors lead the Irish clans with Seamus and Lem Muldoon (Richard Fitzpatrick and Matt Birman) facing Tawdry, Patrick, and James O'Flynn (Wayne Robson, Kenneth Welsh, and Julin Richings). Kathleen Munroe wins the viewers' hearts as Janet O'Flynn, Alex Van Sprang and Athena Karkanis are standouts as renegade soldiers, and 17-year-old Devon Bostick (in his fourth consecutive Toronto premiere) infuses just the right amount of naiveté into the "young boy" (he's nameless) who tags along, and whose bravado provides much of the film's comic relief.

Cinematographer Adam Swica is able to stretch the film's budget with mostly exteriors and night shots. A surreal hybrid of period piece and present day (or future?) allows costumes, art direction, and sets to inhabit any world at any time. Is this the Old West? Ireland? The location says Delaware but the film was shot in Ontario. The fact is, it's all the above, and doesn't matter -- Romero, with tongue planted firmly in cheek, is well aware of the metaphorical nature of his films and never takes himself too seriously. The result is simply loads of fun.


Here are some pictures I shot at the Q&A and afterward. George A. Romero and programmer Colin Geddes were joined onstage by lead actors Alan Van Sprang, Devon Bostick, Kathleen Munroe, and Richard Fitzpatrick.


COMPLETE GALLERY (31 photos)