REVIEW: DIARY OF THE DEAD
Title: Diary of the Dead (2007)
Starring Michelle Morgan, Joshua Close, Shawn Roberts and Simon Pegg, Stephen King, Quentin Tarantino, Guillermo del Toro and Wes Craven as voice contributors
Produced by Artfire Films and Romero-Grunwald Productions
Written and Directed by George A. Romero
I had the extreme privilege to attend a private screening of Diary of the Dead back in February in which Romero himself was present. All I have to say about that man is that he’s freakishly tall and somehow looks younger in person than on film. I, along with several die-hard horror fans, spent the next 2 hours (give or take) watching his incredible new film.
Diary of the Dead follows a group of film students, ironically making a horror movie, and shows their story of dealing with a zombie outbreak. Resorting back to the first night, none of the characters in the film have any knowledge of zombies or how to defend themselves against the living dead. The film focuses on one couple in particular who are dealing with marital problems in addition to fighting for their survival.
JJ Abrams should have watched this film before making Cloverfield. Maybe that way Cloverfield would’ve been a good movie. Diary of the Dead does what Cloverfield should have. Romero chose to take the first-person point-of-view in this film and used no-name actors in the cast. Since the students are film students, the film is actually shot well. You don’t feel like you have to take a Dramamine to watch it. Also, unlike the actors in Cloverfield, Diary’s actors are believable and realistic. Not only is this a great first-person, mocumentary film, it’s a great film period.
Sure, I may be a little biased since Romero is my hero, but I genuinely believe this film is his greatest film, aside from Dawn of the Dead. Not once did I get bored: the action never stopped and the scares kept coming. The script was brilliantly written and flowed nicely.
The only bad thing I have to say about this movie is that Romero is sort of giving in and making a sequel to it. Now, I won’t totally complain because I really feel this movie needs a sequel in order to not have loopholes. This was actually strong enough to end on its own but I think it’s also strong enough to have a great sequel. That’s not really Romero’s thing. He doesn’t repeat character (until Land of the Dead, anyway) and he doesn’t have sequels. Although the Dead series is all related, they in no way act as a true sequel to the film before it. At first, I was shocked to know he was making it, but in the end, I think it’s a good thing.
There were a few times in this film that I was literally frightened. The first-person point-of-view in the movie really made me get a glimpse of what a real zombie attack would be like (if they existed in the first place) and how it effects everyone. You see actors’ family members and friends die, and it genuinely fucks with your head. Also, there are a lot of cheap scares taken to the next level, some of them nearly giving me a heart attack.
This is such a great horror film, I honestly can’t speak highly of it enough. If you like gore, zombies and other gross things…this movie is made for you.
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