Edinburgh - Day Two

Chris Tilly endures a day of carnage at the fest through screenings of 'Land of the Dead' and 'Gunner Palace'.

Aug 19 2005

Following the raucous revelry of opening night, your somewhat subdued Time Out journalist shuffles, bleary eyed, to the first screening of day two.

Indeed, so great is our lethargy that we look like an extra from a George Romero movie, which is fitting really, as the film we journey to see is 'Land of the Dead', Romero's third sequel to his seminal 1968 cult classic 'Night of the Living Dead'.

And happily, the grandfather of modern horror doesn't disappoint with his new zombie flick, which turns out to be a hugely entertaining scare-fest that will have you screaming and laughing from start to finish.

'Land' has all the elements we've come to expect from the series - namely stark horror, graphic gore, subtle social satire and humour that's as black as night.

Add to that a few star names (John Leguizamo, Asia Argento, Dennis Hopper),an increased budget and some seriously impressive make-up work from Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger, and the result is a brilliant resurrection of a fine franchise. Roll on part five we say!

Hot on the heels of the zombies, TO heads across town to see yet more celluloid carnage, only this time around, the action is all real.

'Gunner Palace' is a deeply disturbing documentary about American soldiers stationed out in Iraq.

Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein's film revolves around a palace that Saddam Hussein built for his first wife, and was later used as a party pad by his son.

The US military have now moved in, and the camera follows them as they fish in the pond, play on one of the three putting greens and party in the palace pool.

This lighthearted footage is juxtaposed with scenes of those same soldiers patrolling the streets, attempting to interact with the locals, arresting criminals and terror suspects, and dodging bullets and bombs.

The contrast is startling, made all the more powerful by the talking head interviews that take place with the men amidst the madness.

Speaking with the bravado you'd expect from 18 and 19-year-old soldier boys, you can nevertheless see the fear in their eyes, and their words make it clear that many are fighting a war they neither understand nor believe in any more.

It's powerful, thought-provoking stuff, and the first genuinely important film that TO has seen at the fest.