| "Where will you be when the end begins?” |
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Diary of the Dead
DVD/APPROX. 95 MINS/2007/USA MA15+
DVD/APPROX. 95 MINS/2007/USA MA15+
8.5
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I consider myself a huge George A Romero fan, ever since I laid eyes on his very first full length featurette film Night of the Living Dead (1968) I
instantly became addicted to this filmmaker and all the movies he has bought to life on screen year after year. That was right up until I watched
Land of the Dead (2005) which had a huge budget, around 15 million compared to all his previous movies that were around the 1 to 3 million
mark. Most of all I felt that this particular movie was too studioised and over the top, leaving the movie feeling out of place with the rest of his
series. But then I got my hands on Romero’s fifth installment to the Dead series, “Diary of the Dead” where Romero has gone back to his
independent roots allowing him to have full control over his movie.
Diary of the Dead begins with a group of young college filmmaking students, who are on the outskirts of the city to shoot a horror movie for school
so they can earn a few more extra credits. They begin listening into radio announcements claiming that the dead are actually returning back to life
and feeding on the living. As they stand around debating if it is a hoax or the real deal, some of the actors think it’s probably best to leave the set
and go back home. They all board a camper van and start traveling along the highway and back home, until they witness their first swarm of the
undead walking smack bang in the middle of the highway. As the world falls apart around them they begin to document as much footage as they
can so they can tell their story of the last days pending the arrival of the undead holocaust.
When I heard Diary of the Dead was coming out I read on a number of well known horror sites from the US that Romero was going to shoot the
whole movie with a handheld camera and the first thought that popped into my mind was that it was going to end up being a zombie version of
The Blair Witch Project (1999). I don’t mind independent movies but the whole shaky camera thing doesn’t quite cut it for me nowadays, as I
just end up feeling sick in the guts and it leaves me with a massive headache. When I began watching this movie I kept having that thought
running in the back of my mind - this movie is going to be shot like The Blair Witch Project or even like that ridiculous monster flick Cloverfield
(2007), but most of all since watching Land of the Dead a few years back my expectations were somewhat low. Boy was I wrong to fault this
talented filmmaker or to compare this to those other cheesy movies. Now I can’t really say this is Romero’s best work, but for this day and age and
the way it was shot you can clearly see and feel that Romero really stopped and put some thought into Diary of the Dead before getting behind
the camera. Sadly however Diary of the Dead doesn’t hold up quite so well or even have anywhere near the impact of Dawn of the Dead (1978)
and Day of the Dead (1980) did, though I will say Diary of the Dead is far more entertaining and intense than Land of the Dead.
I do have to give props when it comes to kill scenes, as the previous movies were all basically the same, just slightly out doing each other every
time. Though this time you are witness to zombies getting smashed head on by a camper van, death by a scythe, acid smashed into the face of a
zombie, zombies laying dead on the bottom of a pool, necks chomped, plenty of headshots and good old blood pumping gore. Diary of the Dead
might not be classified as a gore hound’s ideal Romero flick but it does hold up rather well, keeping you entertained and on the edge of your seat
right to the very end.
And, if after watching Diary of the Dead, you think that’s all you are treated to well then think again. Madman Entertainment have crammed this
prized release chock a block with a good couple of handfuls of entertaining and insightful extras that every Dead fan will veg out on. You get to see
interviews with the man himself, a documentary on the special effects applied by the make up artists, never seen before footage of the cast
members who starred in the movie, a helpful hint on a couple well known voices (Stephen King, Simon Pegg and Guillermo del Toro) presented
within the movie and as the saying goes, much, much more.
The main thing I loved about this movie were the long shooting scenes. Instead of cutting and breaking and doing a close up shot here and then
a wide shot there, Romero has ended up making a movie in which the long shot segments kind of make you feel like you are a part of the movie or
feeling like you’re the one holding the camera. All the cast have done a remarkable job with the roles they had to play and in 20 to 30 years time I
have a feeling Diary of the Dead is definitely going to be classified as a cult classic to a whole new generation who love the zombie genre. Diary
of the Dead is without a doubt a new age zombie horror movie that only the likes of Romero could ever capture on camera, while leaving new
bright pathway for other independent filmmakers to learn from and follow.
If you are a George A. Romero fan then you already know what you should do, HELL you wouldn’t even have to read this review to even think of
buying it on DVD. But thanks to Madman Entertainment the Australian public can finally take in another epic Romero tale from his Dead series and
add it to their DVD collection. What more does a horror or Romero fan need, if it’s Romero then you already know what his movie’s are all about.
Buy it now and kick back and enjoy some good old zombie blood, guts and gore.
instantly became addicted to this filmmaker and all the movies he has bought to life on screen year after year. That was right up until I watched
Land of the Dead (2005) which had a huge budget, around 15 million compared to all his previous movies that were around the 1 to 3 million
mark. Most of all I felt that this particular movie was too studioised and over the top, leaving the movie feeling out of place with the rest of his
series. But then I got my hands on Romero’s fifth installment to the Dead series, “Diary of the Dead” where Romero has gone back to his
independent roots allowing him to have full control over his movie.
Diary of the Dead begins with a group of young college filmmaking students, who are on the outskirts of the city to shoot a horror movie for school
so they can earn a few more extra credits. They begin listening into radio announcements claiming that the dead are actually returning back to life
and feeding on the living. As they stand around debating if it is a hoax or the real deal, some of the actors think it’s probably best to leave the set
and go back home. They all board a camper van and start traveling along the highway and back home, until they witness their first swarm of the
undead walking smack bang in the middle of the highway. As the world falls apart around them they begin to document as much footage as they
can so they can tell their story of the last days pending the arrival of the undead holocaust.
When I heard Diary of the Dead was coming out I read on a number of well known horror sites from the US that Romero was going to shoot the
whole movie with a handheld camera and the first thought that popped into my mind was that it was going to end up being a zombie version of
The Blair Witch Project (1999). I don’t mind independent movies but the whole shaky camera thing doesn’t quite cut it for me nowadays, as I
just end up feeling sick in the guts and it leaves me with a massive headache. When I began watching this movie I kept having that thought
running in the back of my mind - this movie is going to be shot like The Blair Witch Project or even like that ridiculous monster flick Cloverfield
(2007), but most of all since watching Land of the Dead a few years back my expectations were somewhat low. Boy was I wrong to fault this
talented filmmaker or to compare this to those other cheesy movies. Now I can’t really say this is Romero’s best work, but for this day and age and
the way it was shot you can clearly see and feel that Romero really stopped and put some thought into Diary of the Dead before getting behind
the camera. Sadly however Diary of the Dead doesn’t hold up quite so well or even have anywhere near the impact of Dawn of the Dead (1978)
and Day of the Dead (1980) did, though I will say Diary of the Dead is far more entertaining and intense than Land of the Dead.
I do have to give props when it comes to kill scenes, as the previous movies were all basically the same, just slightly out doing each other every
time. Though this time you are witness to zombies getting smashed head on by a camper van, death by a scythe, acid smashed into the face of a
zombie, zombies laying dead on the bottom of a pool, necks chomped, plenty of headshots and good old blood pumping gore. Diary of the Dead
might not be classified as a gore hound’s ideal Romero flick but it does hold up rather well, keeping you entertained and on the edge of your seat
right to the very end.
And, if after watching Diary of the Dead, you think that’s all you are treated to well then think again. Madman Entertainment have crammed this
prized release chock a block with a good couple of handfuls of entertaining and insightful extras that every Dead fan will veg out on. You get to see
interviews with the man himself, a documentary on the special effects applied by the make up artists, never seen before footage of the cast
members who starred in the movie, a helpful hint on a couple well known voices (Stephen King, Simon Pegg and Guillermo del Toro) presented
within the movie and as the saying goes, much, much more.
The main thing I loved about this movie were the long shooting scenes. Instead of cutting and breaking and doing a close up shot here and then
a wide shot there, Romero has ended up making a movie in which the long shot segments kind of make you feel like you are a part of the movie or
feeling like you’re the one holding the camera. All the cast have done a remarkable job with the roles they had to play and in 20 to 30 years time I
have a feeling Diary of the Dead is definitely going to be classified as a cult classic to a whole new generation who love the zombie genre. Diary
of the Dead is without a doubt a new age zombie horror movie that only the likes of Romero could ever capture on camera, while leaving new
bright pathway for other independent filmmakers to learn from and follow.
If you are a George A. Romero fan then you already know what you should do, HELL you wouldn’t even have to read this review to even think of
buying it on DVD. But thanks to Madman Entertainment the Australian public can finally take in another epic Romero tale from his Dead series and
add it to their DVD collection. What more does a horror or Romero fan need, if it’s Romero then you already know what his movie’s are all about.
Buy it now and kick back and enjoy some good old zombie blood, guts and gore.
| BUY DVD @ MADMAN.COM.AU |
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