Genre: Horror
Starring: Michelle Morgan, Josh Close, Tony Ravello, Amy Lalonde, Joe Dinicol, Scott Wentworth, Philip Riccio
Director: George A. Romero
Release Date: September 8th 2007
It is impossible to have "Zombie Week" without discussing one man in particular. George A. Romero. His 1968 classic Night Of The Living Dead not only defined a genre, it created it. Unlike the legends of vampires, werewolves, etc., there is no historical basis for the zombie as it appears in popular culture. There are voodoo legends of the "Zombi" as a deceased person who can be reanimated to serve the will of another. That is about as close as the legends come, though.
Through his series of "Living Dead" movies, Romero has created an entire mythos that is now one of the most loved and cherished by horror fans the world over. Though not all his films are of an equal caliber, when a Romero movie comes out, you had better believe that we Zombiephiles take notice.
Though Diary of the Dead is not my ideal choice of a Romero to review for this week, it is the only one I have seen recently enough to feel I can do justice in a review. So, I'm just gonna take what I have and run with it. First, the premise.
A group of film students are filming a horror film in the woods for a class project. During a break on set, strange reports start coming over their radio about the dead returning to life and attacking the living. While most of them brush it off as a hoax, a few take the stories seriously. Divided on what to do, they collectively decide "better safe than sorry", and head to their hometowns and check on their loved ones. With their teacher along for the ride, they start a journey that will teach them what true horror is.
The movie is shown all from the "narrator's" point of view. Or rather, from his camera's. Not wanting to miss a thing, the camera never leaves his side, and the final product (the film you are watching) is presented as a documentary of what transpired.
This was a great concept. I like the idea largely because it puts you in the survivors' shoes more than other zombie flicks, which just cast you as an outside observer. This boosts the film's "Fright Factor" considerably. However, as is often my experience with "Hand Held Cinema", the device tends to get a little old.
Likewise, the story tends to drag. The plot seems like it was just thrown together, serving as a mechanism only to get us to the next zombie attack. There is certainly more character development than most other horror films. For the story he was trying to tell, though, and considering how much we are obviously supposed to feel connected to the survivors, I didn't feel it was nearly enough.
As for the zombies themselves, my hat is off to you, Mr. Romero. One thing the man shows, time and again, is his mastery of the effects side of these movies. No one else out there is using the makeup and SFX technology to it full potential quite the way Romero does. The zombies in Diary are delightfully grotesque, the effects both startling and convincing. In particular, I like the effects of the gunshots that fail to kill the walking dead.
To summarize, this is far from the best zombie movie out there. Despite a number of publications' claims to the contrary, it is not even Romero's best. Most of the people making these lofty assertions gave me the impression that they thought this was his masterpiece simply because they had not seen any other of his catalog as comparison.
The movie is NOT bad, though. Certainly, the story/acting are "Horror Movie Bad" as I like to call it. I almost expect that from modern horror, though, and it didn't at all prevent me from my enjoyment of the movie. Also, for sheer shock value and gore, this one is certainly up there on my list. If you like zombies or horror in general, give this at least one viewing.
Concept: 4 out of 5
Execution: 2.5 out of 5
Effects: 4.5 out of 5
Fright Factor: 4 out of 5
Overall Rating: 3.75 out of 5
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