Underrated Shocker
How this film gets panned by everyone while tripe like Zombieland is hailed just makes me sigh. Yeah, it's not Dawn of the Dead--that's the zombie genre equivalent of saying that Manhattan Murder Mystery isn't as good as Manhattan, so it sucks....
- 11.April.2011
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- by: EdtheHead
- EdtheHead rated this movie7/10Good
Underrated Shocker
How this film gets panned by everyone while tripe like Zombieland is hailed just makes me sigh. Yeah, it's not Dawn of the Dead--that's the zombie genre equivalent of saying that Manhattan Murder Mystery isn't as good as Manhattan, so it sucks.
Granted, there are some huge problems with the film--the film's attempts at a "message" about the media lead to rambling voiceovers in a sort of "I'm an idiot who just saw Sans Soleil" kind of way, and dialogue like
"It used to be us against us. Now it's us against them."
"He was right--it was us against them. But they were us."
However, the fact is that the movie is probably the scariest thing Romero's ever done, in terms of building suspense, deploying well-crafted jump scares, and maintaining an ever-present sense of menace. The splatter looks great, and the camera work is skillful and creative.
- 11.April.2011
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- by: EdtheHead
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In the past, Romero laced his zombie flicks with subtext that encouraged the viewer to think about circumstances in the real world, how those circumstances are a projection of our human nature, and so on. In this new film, Romero decides to make the...
- 10.October.2009
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- by: Chucky
- Chucky rated this movie0/10
In the past, Romero laced his zombie flicks with subtext that encouraged the viewer to think about circumstances in the real world, how those circumstances are a projection of our human nature, and so on. In this new film, Romero decides to make the subtext the text, so that characters are constantly explaining to the viewer what they should be thinking, how they should be relating what they see on screen to their everyday lives. The effect is really, really annoying to sit through. This problem is compounded by the fact that Romero, in his quest to return to his indie, low budget roots, went to far in that direction and made a movie that screams "student film." So the entire experience is like getting a lecture from a 16-year-old who's "got it all figured out, man." I will say that the zombie effects are good and there are some cool kills, but the best way to enjoy watching this film is with the sound muted.
- 10.October.2009
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- by: Chucky
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Romero fires up the meat grinder again and pulls off a good, but not great, fifth installment in his saga of the flesh-munching undead. This is a retooling of the beginning of the chaos. The last time things started with "Night of the Living Dead",...
- 03.July.2009
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- by: w00f
- w00f rated this movie
 8/10Great
Romero fires up the meat grinder again and pulls off a good, but not great, fifth installment in his saga of the flesh-munching undead. This is a retooling of the beginning of the chaos. The last time things started with "Night of the Living Dead", it was the news media telling survivors what was happening. Now the media can't be trusted; it has become a government tool used to reassure the panicking public that everything will be fine. It's the bloggers, the You-Tubers, people with video phones that upload the truth which at the same time opens the door to spin from the "too many voices" all trying to tell the story. Romero follows one group of documentarians who aren't anything special; they could be anyone. That's the point. They're not particularly good survivors, warriors or geniuses. They're average Americans with access to enough technology to spread the truth only so much as they experience events. Like "Night of the Living Dead", we never learn why the dead are coming back. Those extra eyeballs don't equate to knowing the truth of anything more than what they're looking at. Romero makes an interesting point about 21st century media and our participation in it (here I am writing a film review, right?) The film itself is good if not quite as gory as his others. It runs smoothly, with good pacing and enough going on to keep zombie horror fans interested. Great makeup effects, too. The acting isn't too strong, and maybe it's not supposed to be for this tale of "average Joes." As much about post-Iraq suspicion of mainstream (embedded) media as it is about the undead, it may yet turn out to be a good point of departure for what comes after it. Absolutely worth a watch for those who have enjoyed Romero's work to date. Not nearly as effective as "Night of the Living Dead", but if you felt good about the original "Day of the Dead" you'll almost certainly like "Diary," too.
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I am a George Romero fan and love horror films. I gave his last film Land of the Dead three stars. It was good but far from a classic. I have been waiting for Diary of the Dead and even had a rainy day in New Jersey on May 20th to make the afternoon...
- 23.March.2009
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- by: prozac pop
- prozac pop rated this movie4/10Disappointing
I am a George Romero fan and love horror films. I gave his last film Land of the Dead three stars. It was good but far from a classic. I have been waiting for Diary of the Dead and even had a rainy day in New Jersey on May 20th to make the afternoon a perfect time to see the newest Romero flick. I knew what I was going to see which was unknown actors and a limited budget so I had low expectations but was excited about Diary. This movie was 2 1/2 stars at best. It kept my interest till the end which was a plus but I'm sorry to say that overall Diary of the Dead was a flop. At times it was trying to be funny which it was not and it was a retread of every other zombie movie. YES I KNOW it has all been done before but that does not give Romero a pass. He had a really interesting concept but it fell apart. It was supposed to be a documentary but was filmed like it was a major motion picture. I wanted to enjoy this film and while I didnt hate it, I was disapointed and can't recommend this to anyone but Romero/zombie diehards and even they might not like this film if they look at it objectively. With fun horror films like The Rise of Lesley Vernon and the Feast, George Romero while a legend needs to re-invent the genre he made popular. See this at your own risk an just understand that it's not as good as it sounds. Man, did I want to like Diary and give it a least three stars but just could not.
- 23.March.2009
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- by: prozac pop
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I have somehow managed to stick with the zombie genre, and I feel like I've seen most everything related to the undead that is available. This movie falls squarely in the middle, in terms of how I would rate it. It's not so bad that you are...
- 22.March.2009
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- by: Matthew
- Matthew rated this movie6/10Okay
I have somehow managed to stick with the zombie genre, and I feel like I've seen most everything related to the undead that is available. This movie falls squarely in the middle, in terms of how I would rate it. It's not so bad that you are constantly groaning at the cheap special effects, but it's also nothing that will make you really happy that you watched - like the 28 Days Later franchise. The acting in this is at times laughably bad. This is mostly due to the lines that have been written for the actors. I do however appreciate that there is some humor that doesn't feel too forced (Yet I cringe when the Texas blonde character exclaims "Don't mess with Texas" in full-on fake accent). I was sickened early on in this movie - not by the gore - but by the blatant and terrible introduction of in-film advertising. The narrator/star has to say twice in the first 5 minutes that the film was shot with "Panasonic HD" cameras, even going so far as to mention the model numbers! I know this is a cheaply made movie, and they needed all of the extra cash they could get, but this is NOT the way to go about that. Middle of the road, wouldn't really recommend it to anyone but zombie film completists. This one doesn't belong in a list of zombie films worth watching, by my estimation.
- 22.March.2009
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- by: Matthew
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Does this gene fit George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead?
