Movie Review: Diary of the Dead
After a delicious sushi dinner, xhollydayx and I ventured to the Cinematheque and watched the newest offering from the premiere zombie auteur, George Romero.
Diary of the Dead covers the adventures of a group of University of Pittsburgh film students who are shooting a horror movie in the woods for their senior project when strange news reports about the living dead begin filtering in. They return to the dorms to retrieve the director's girlfriend and then hit the road to meet up with the girlfriend's family. Along the way they tap into mainstream media reports and the often conflicting reports that are being thrown up on social networking sites and blogs.
Like Cloverfield, Diary of the Dead shows us all the action from cameras held by the film students, with the framing story being that the film has been edited and posted on the internet as a final record of civilization as the zombies close in. This editing allows Romero to show us sequences found in a camcorder they find abandoned in a hotel, as well as on some security cameras whose feeds they are able to tap. Unlike Cloverfield, the film students are equipped with professional grade equipment and a modicum of training, so those with motion sickness need have no qualms about watching this movie.
There's plenty of zombie killing goodness in this film, including one who is dispatched by acid, another who is taken out by an IV stand, the required gunshots to the head, some arrows to the head for variety, and a really impressively awesome kill using a scythe. Of course, the humans don't make it unscathed either. There's also a really awesome shot of underwater zombies that impressed me.
Romero is also known for his social commentary, and this film delivers in this area much better than Land of the Dead did. Most of the commentary focuses on the fluid nature of the news, the tendency of the mainstream media to cover up or whitewash important information, and the emerging nature of news on the internet. It doesn't hit you over the head with it, but it's definitely there and largely relevant.
In short, those of you who love zombie films shouldn't miss this one on DVD. It satisfies on all levels.
Diary of the Dead covers the adventures of a group of University of Pittsburgh film students who are shooting a horror movie in the woods for their senior project when strange news reports about the living dead begin filtering in. They return to the dorms to retrieve the director's girlfriend and then hit the road to meet up with the girlfriend's family. Along the way they tap into mainstream media reports and the often conflicting reports that are being thrown up on social networking sites and blogs.
Like Cloverfield, Diary of the Dead shows us all the action from cameras held by the film students, with the framing story being that the film has been edited and posted on the internet as a final record of civilization as the zombies close in. This editing allows Romero to show us sequences found in a camcorder they find abandoned in a hotel, as well as on some security cameras whose feeds they are able to tap. Unlike Cloverfield, the film students are equipped with professional grade equipment and a modicum of training, so those with motion sickness need have no qualms about watching this movie.
There's plenty of zombie killing goodness in this film, including one who is dispatched by acid, another who is taken out by an IV stand, the required gunshots to the head, some arrows to the head for variety, and a really impressively awesome kill using a scythe. Of course, the humans don't make it unscathed either. There's also a really awesome shot of underwater zombies that impressed me.
Romero is also known for his social commentary, and this film delivers in this area much better than Land of the Dead did. Most of the commentary focuses on the fluid nature of the news, the tendency of the mainstream media to cover up or whitewash important information, and the emerging nature of news on the internet. It doesn't hit you over the head with it, but it's definitely there and largely relevant.
In short, those of you who love zombie films shouldn't miss this one on DVD. It satisfies on all levels.