Diary of the Dead – Review

Hmmmm, is this really a recommendation? Hesitantly, I guess, though this film takes another step down for me and some of the quality here I thought was not so hot… but let’s cover this film regardless. Diary of the Dead appears to be set in the time it was filmed, so mid-2000s, while moving the “Night of the Living Dead” zombie-incepting event to this time. Basically, this is as if it’s the first night of the zombie plague hitting the earth, from a new perspective.

This perspective is also a hand-held camera of some sort, whether footage that was “found” and woven into the presentation, or the main story, which is from a film director Jason Creed’s (Close) perspective as he tries to finish his college project, a horror movie that centers on a deadly mummy.

Eventually it becomes clear that there is an issue going on, so the group of students and their advisor pile into an RV and hit the road, and this includes Mary Dexter (Maslany), the film’s narrator Debra Moynihan (Morgan), crew makeup man Tony Ravello (Roberts) and more. They wind up documenting this insane event as it happens, and trying to survive.

Diary of the Dead is an interesting re-presentation of similar territory for George A. Romero. I can see why he was attracted to the perspective, and budget, of making another zombie film like this. It is a serious take at the subject matter, and the actors do their best with the script. I suppose those are my main two issues with the film however, as the script only whelmed me so much and some of the actors only could get so much out of their dialogue. Some parts are somewhat rough in general.

The plot was nothing new, and at times the tension was broken for me by either the dialogue or the acting. It is not a terrible film, but even comparing it to another “found footage” type of movie [REC], this one just doesn’t come close on most levels. A sharper script and bigger budget cast could have hit a home run, but Romero also is used to working with crews like this also. This film in general is not necessary for the Romero journey in my opinion, but can be considered by those that cannot get their fill of zombie carnage.

“Just because you can’t see anybody doesn’t mean no one’s here.”

I have not seen Survival of the Dead, which I believe is the final film in the series. It does not appear to be liked by many people.