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Amazon.co.uk Review
George A Romero continues his revival of his iconic zombie franchise with Diary Of The Dead, the fifth film in a series that kicked off back in 1968 with Night Of The Living Dead. And while his latest doesn’t manage to match the heights of the earlier films, there’s still something refreshing about watching a genuine master of the genre at work.
This time around then, Diary Of The Dead heads a little back to basics, with a film that follows a group of amateur filmmakers who find themselves under siege from zombies, allowing the legendary director to take some less-than-subtle swipes at the YouTube generation. Sadly, his cast don’t help him very much, ringing in primarily forgettable performances, and this certainly nullifies some of the points that Romero tries to make.
Yet when it comes to the zombie action, there’s no number you’d call faster than Romero’s, and here’s where the great man delivers. Diary Of The Dead does work along the law of diminishing returns, and is the weakest of the series, but it’s not without a general collection of skilful moments that fans of the genre won't want to miss.
Diary Of The Dead isn’t a film that you need to have seen the others before it to appreciate, but it is a primarily quite ordinary film from an often-extraordinary director. That said, it still easily eclipses the army of imitators of recent times (the splendid zombie romantic comedy Shaun Of The Dead excepted, of course), and has more than enough horror to fill an empty night. --Jon Foster
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Romero is my horror hero. I need to state that right away. However, I feel that there is cause for this respect - he makes damn fine movies. I saw Diary in the cinema and I must admit I wasn't sure. I'm convinced part of my indecision was down to the wonderful "cinema experience" - the A level media students laughing every second and determined to hate it/ the constant chatter/ people who had clearly gone to the wrong film etc etc. In fact, it was one of the few films where I have seen people walk out and this really affected my enjoyment. Was I watching the the fim through my Romero tinted glasses?
Having bought the region 1 dvd, I can honestly say it gets a resounding thumbs up. Despire being a little tired of the hand held camera genre, this still stands up. No it's not Dawn of the Dead, but it is a worthy addition to the series. I remember seeing Day of the Dead in the cinema and being disappointed. Now it's my favourite. I don't think Diary will ever get to that position as it is more of a side entry to the series, but a second viewing does wonders, as it did for Land of the Dead. You have to accept the low budget origins and therefore restrictions. It is entertaining, thought provoking and delivers at least some of Romero's zombie gags. On the down side, it does lack the full on zombie carnage we expect and the 'message' is a little too obvious and forced down the throats of the viewer. All Romero's movies have a message, however, you didn't have to 'get it' to enjoy the movie. Hope he eases off in the sequel. Thankfully, the hand held angle is being dropped for Diary 2. I hope he aims more for a bigger scale, more zombie action and less force feeding of the message. He is still one of the few masters left in the horror genre.
With the dvd, the extras are satisfactory. I was expecting more insight and indepth making rather than mainly covering the basics. A little too much about how great George is and less comprehensive on the making.
Having bought the region 1 dvd, I can honestly say it gets a resounding thumbs up. Despire being a little tired of the hand held camera genre, this still stands up. No it's not Dawn of the Dead, but it is a worthy addition to the series. I remember seeing Day of the Dead in the cinema and being disappointed. Now it's my favourite. I don't think Diary will ever get to that position as it is more of a side entry to the series, but a second viewing does wonders, as it did for Land of the Dead. You have to accept the low budget origins and therefore restrictions. It is entertaining, thought provoking and delivers at least some of Romero's zombie gags. On the down side, it does lack the full on zombie carnage we expect and the 'message' is a little too obvious and forced down the throats of the viewer. All Romero's movies have a message, however, you didn't have to 'get it' to enjoy the movie. Hope he eases off in the sequel. Thankfully, the hand held angle is being dropped for Diary 2. I hope he aims more for a bigger scale, more zombie action and less force feeding of the message. He is still one of the few masters left in the horror genre.
With the dvd, the extras are satisfactory. I was expecting more insight and indepth making rather than mainly covering the basics. A little too much about how great George is and less comprehensive on the making.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I like both the original Romero films and the remakes and thought this would be a great film, similar to his first.
However it is shocking. The acting isn't so much bad as completely annoying. The whole lot could have been wiped out in the first two minutes and I couldn't have cared less.
Particularly tedious was the constant "Look into the camera and tell me your name" scene. I would have chucked the camera guy out the door and left him.
There are other points that are stupifyingly annoying too. Like when the camera man is quite happy to video as his friend is pursued by a zombie and he refuses to help her!
Also there are annoying voice-overs as the film has been "made" by the students involved to reveal what has happened to anyone after.
If you like decent horror/zombie films then keep well clear, if you like cheesy horror/zombie films steer clear. If you want to bore and depress guests then get it!!
However it is shocking. The acting isn't so much bad as completely annoying. The whole lot could have been wiped out in the first two minutes and I couldn't have cared less.
Particularly tedious was the constant "Look into the camera and tell me your name" scene. I would have chucked the camera guy out the door and left him.
There are other points that are stupifyingly annoying too. Like when the camera man is quite happy to video as his friend is pursued by a zombie and he refuses to help her!
Also there are annoying voice-overs as the film has been "made" by the students involved to reveal what has happened to anyone after.
If you like decent horror/zombie films then keep well clear, if you like cheesy horror/zombie films steer clear. If you want to bore and depress guests then get it!!
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
When I first went to see this I must confess it was with trepidation that I approached the screening - although an entertaining zombie action film Romero's last film Land of the Dead left me cold - an overblown mess, it had little of what has made me such a fan of his work in the first place.
This however is a very different film - independent and with a much smaller budget, with Diary of the Dead the zombie meastro has gone back to basics, back to his roots and back to the first day the dead stopped dying. The story follows the fortunes of a group of film students in a new 'z' day - and explores what would happen if the zombie holocaust happened now, in this time of fast and constant information sharing and celebrity where 'if no one filmed it it didn't happen'. As the group struggle to go cross country in their camper, reach family and friends and survive themselves the action is all filmed by various members of the group. This central conciet of the film, that the footage that they found is put together later is not quite adhered to constantly in the film, but it does work well despite this reservation.
I loved Diary of the Dead - it was smart and funny, fast paced and with some great gore! The acid head zombie and deaf Amish farmer were particular highlights that proved that Romero has lost none of his humour, edge or charm.
This however is a very different film - independent and with a much smaller budget, with Diary of the Dead the zombie meastro has gone back to basics, back to his roots and back to the first day the dead stopped dying. The story follows the fortunes of a group of film students in a new 'z' day - and explores what would happen if the zombie holocaust happened now, in this time of fast and constant information sharing and celebrity where 'if no one filmed it it didn't happen'. As the group struggle to go cross country in their camper, reach family and friends and survive themselves the action is all filmed by various members of the group. This central conciet of the film, that the footage that they found is put together later is not quite adhered to constantly in the film, but it does work well despite this reservation.
I loved Diary of the Dead - it was smart and funny, fast paced and with some great gore! The acid head zombie and deaf Amish farmer were particular highlights that proved that Romero has lost none of his humour, edge or charm.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Ignore the bad reviews
A really good zombie movie with genuine scares. A decent plot and an original filming technique. One of Romero's best.
Published 3 months ago by Mel Santino
Romero goes back to his roots... almost.
Diary of the Dead is yet another film in Romero's mainly one trick pony career. Not that there is anything wrong with that, he is damn good at that one trick, and even the... Read more
Published 5 months ago by BPR
Don't open this diary......
This is the second film in George A Romero's `second' zombie trilogy and after a promising start with Land of the Dead things are already starting to go downhill fast (like a... Read more
Published 7 months ago by rohall
THE DEAD ARE BACK AGAIN!!!!
ive always loved the work of george a.romero,especially the zombie movies for which he is well known for creating,and this little gem is no exception. Read more
Published 8 months ago by MARKYBOY
A fascinating failure?
Being a huge George A Romero fan, and practically having an almost biblical devotion to the original 'Dead Trilogy', it was with great suspicion that I approached the latest of the... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Pamela Wright
Rubbish.
If you liked Land of the dead, Dawn Of The dead, Day of the dead. Do not make the mistake like I did. I assumed Diary Of The Dead would be of a similar quality. How wrong I was. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Woodsman
Zombie Road movie
This ticks the box as being a solid Zombie movie, without being that amazing. I had to review it because it is better than all the '1' scores that it has been given. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Mr. Robert Fletcher
Second rate zombie movie.
This is easily the weakest of George A. Romero's zombie films. Romero's 'Dead' series always have had a B-movie quality about them, but what set them apart from other run of the... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Ernie
Twilight of an Idol
That Romero was responsible for perhaps the greatest horror film ever made (Day of the Dead) only made the experience of watching this dirge more painful. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Mr. A. Cope
PRETENTIOUS
This has to be the WORST zombie film ever made. Im not saying this because the film was god awful, but I have never rated Romero's films and I think he is way over rated. Read more
Published 23 months ago by FAT MOLLY
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