Diary of the Dead

Diary of the Dead
Starring: Joshua Close, Scott Wentworth, Michelle Morgan, Joe Dinicol
Directed by: George A. Romero

Style: Zombie Horror
Blood and Guts: 4
Fright Factor: 3
Laugh Factor: 0
Weapons of choice: Firearms, biting
Overall rating: 4 out of 5

We all know how it starts. The dead return to life and start treating the living as one big buffet table. The living, at first, think it is some kind of plague. It's still people, right. Finally, after things go beyond control, then people realize that it is in fact a zombie outbreak. This story follows a group of college students caught out in the forest filming a horror film. Upon returning to campus, they find it deserted and the walking dead roaming the streets. Not knowing where to turn, they decide to drive around in their RV hoping to find a safe place in a town that may have none left.

I was thrilled to find out that George Romero was releasing another zombie film. He always has a unique approach to the genre, and even when the films are not that good, they still offer up something that is entertaining and different. Diary of the Dead is admittedly not one of his best offerings. However, I think people have been harsher critics of the film than I think is deserved.

The entire film plays out like a grassroots horror film, with everything filmed through the view lens of two video cameras the characters carry at all times. All of the dialogue is a bit trite and bland, but I attribute it to being much more reminiscent of the YouTube generation of people who no longer need to be articulate and clever. This stems from the movie being much more of a social indictment of the cultural phenomenon of everyone wanting to record everything and post it online. One of the main characters even talks about how, in our rush to all be known, the truth is watered down, as everyone claims expertise but nobody knows who is actually right. As with the Blair Witch Project, the main character continue to film as it allows a distance from the horrific events that occur. I mean, how many times do you see people with cell phone cameras at the scene of an accident? In that regard, I think Romero is spot on.

The pacing is tight and all of the moments well filmed. There are several tense moments, and enough funny or darkly funny ones to really engage the audience. My favorite moment involves a scythe to the head, but there are also a few choice dialog moments too. The entire film is very successful in its tone and quality, though you need to accept going in that you are seeing a large scale YouTube movie with quality effects and an outstanding director.

There has been criticism about the plot and how you don't really get to know or care about the characters. While this is true, I don't think that this movie necessarily warrants that. We are supposed to see what it is like first hand to be in the beginning of a zombie outbreak. By doing so, the filmmaker is able to (sometimes a bit heavy-handedly) discuss the role of media in our lives and also where our society might turn if everything goes bad.

Overall, it is an excellent film to see, if only as the experiment that it is. Once again, Romero has proven that he doesn't make zombie films. He makes films of social commentary that happen to involve zombies.