Land of the Dead grandly expands George Romero's zombie universe into an entire cityscape. Protected behind a massive barricade are the human survivors, including Simon Baker of TV's The Guardian and Asia Argento of XXX, who are rapidly depleting while the ever-evolving zombies now number thousands (digital zombies will fill in the blanks) and are learning to use weapons.

The budget is one of Romero's biggest at about $17 million, which is puny for anyone else, although financial concerns nixed the tradition of filming the zombie action in Pittsburgh.

But the trademarks that make Romero's monsters a superior breed remain:

They move slowly. Always. Never mind those MTV-era turbo creatures in 28 Days Later or the Dawn of the Dead remake.

They are fed up. Romero's cannibalistic zombies may not hurry, but they are relentless and increasingly aggressive, unlike those subservient voodoo-controlled sleepwalkers of early cinematic lore.

They can be stopped. Remember, there is only one way to halt them. As they say in Night of the Living Dead, "Kill the brain, and you kill the ghoul." A bullet in the head is most effective.