Diary of the Dead

George A Romero is another one of my favorite directors. He has a fetish for zombies much like I do, and that usually translates to a good film.

I confess I have been hesitant to watch Diary of the Dead. The whole "film within a film" aspect is a bit tiresome to me and not very effective. While I did enjoy Cloverfield which also used the same gimmick, I did not enjoy the Blair Witch Project, the movie that really put the concept on the map. It makes me feel like I keep trying to look behind my head without moving it; I can see things in my peripheral, but they never completely come into focus. I didn't let it stop me, though, and I was happy to see that the Diary of the Dead distracted me with bloodshed and mayhem almost from the word go.

The movie starts out with college boy Jason directing a mummy movie (conveniently titled "The Death of Death") in the woods of Pennsylvania. He has very specific ideas about how the dead should "act" and makes no qualms about telling his subordinates how to deliver the part. It's about this time they hear on their radio urgent news reports of the walking dead and heed the advise to take cover as quick as possible.

What started out as such an ordinary day turns brutal in a matter of hours, and soon the crew find themselves using their RV as a weapon against a multitude of zombies, running them through and over, littering the streets in bloody body parts. Unfortunately it's not without consequence, and the RV's driver not being able to withstand the devastating realization of what they had just done puts a bullet to her head.

Now I think this is a perfect time to tell you guys that if you are being chased by zombies and for whatever reason decide to take you own life, make sure you do it right the first time. Cuz I gotta tell ya, if you don't do it right, you will come back as a zombie. Now if that's your thing, then great. Have at it. Just don't say I didn't warn you.

So now we have zombies at every turn, a half dead chick on our hands (cuz she didn't do it right) and a wannabe director who decides that he needs to film all of these events for posterity as a documentary for others to watch and learn from (hence the "film in a film.") What I liked about this one though, is that not every shot was through his camera's lens, so if I did start to feel a little dizzy by the tunnel vision it caused, I was given a reprieve in between shots.

If you know anything at all about horror, then you know that a hospital is probably the last place you want to be, especially when you are dealing with zombies. These kids apparently have never read my blog and opted instead to take dying girl to the local hospital. Needless to say, it was not a smart plan. Things get really brutal at this point, and one by one, the crew ends up undead dead.

Throughout the entire movie, Jason's girlfriend is recapping the events of their horrific ordeal, continuing their testimony where Jason left off. It's immediately obvious that the zombie invasion was unexpected (to say the least,) fast, and devastating. They, like almost every other photographer, videographer, and youtuber not yet un-dead, have made it a mission to transmit the deadly events via internet and tv, to educate and warn those who may not realize the imminent apocalypse was upon them. So people would not forget.

Diary of the Dead was not designed for the action as found in 2004's Dawn of Dead; instead it focuses on the symbolism of us, the living, feeding off of them, the un-dead. I didn't feel the depth I think Romero was going for, but then again, I don't watch zombie movies for depth; I watch them for bloodshed and gore and people getting eaten.

While the action may not be plentiful, the blood certainly is. The graphics were very well executed and well paced for my tastes, not to mention the survivors got a bit creative in their weapon choices. Definite food for thought for any apocalypse we might actually endure in the coming months years.

While I would recommend any zombie fan to watch this movie (how could you call yourself a zombie fan and not watch this movie?) I don't think it will go down as one of the top 10, or even 20 in the genre. With the progression of CGI effects, complex story lines, and fresh meat upcoming eager directors, I think there needs to be a lot more substance to sink our teeth into (and by that I do not mean guts and dismemberment) in addition to hidden meaning and symbolism.

The movie ends as it should, with no real winners and no real end in sight, other than to show what our world inevitably becomes. The last scene is two jethros hillbillies rednecks hunters, out for a good time killing zombies. Their target is a female zombie, hanging by her hair from a tree, and they blow her to smithereens.

The result for me was the sad realization of what our world could easily become in the aftermath, how barbaric we as people could become. How we would have to become in order to survive. I actually found myself feeling sorry for the female zombie, as she was a victim long before she became a victimizer.

If nothing else, this movie makes you think, provided you are of the open mind to consider such things. And if not zombies, then substitute them for say, terrorists, or guerillas. Think in terms of Red Dawn, a absolutely fantastic movie that has nothing to do with zombies.

I’m not sure if I have the sack to blow someone’s brains out, even if they are the walking dead. Of course I would have no qualms about blowing some stinkin’ zombies brains out…..

… but would you?