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Reviews
Diary of the Dead (2007)
not bad, but not what you might be expecting!
This is quite a goof effort and the most enjoyable romero film since Dawn.
The problems are that is does feel very rushed at times. Personally I think the narration should be removed and I also think there was too much exposition.
But that said the humour was very good. This film has been totally misrepresented. We were all expecting a 'blair witch meets zombies' stark and bleak film. Int's nothing like that. The acting is very much 'acting' as opposed to being realistic.
In summary: if you want a bleak video diary film about zombies that feels real, so rent The Zombie Diaries a less known brit movie.
For those that want an enjoyable, humorous ride with lots of social commentary about the media, this is the film. It's good fun in the style of AVP.
The Zombie Diaries (2006)
An in-depth review of THE ZOMBIE DIARIES
REVIEW OF THE ZOMBIE DIARIES I have never been a big fan of Zombie Movies if I am going to be honest. I watched Night of the Living Dead when I was young and loved it. Dawn of the Dead then blew me away. Apparently there are hundreds of other 'zombie' movies around but these made it under my radar. I caught 28 Days Later (Which was alright!) and now The Zombie Diaries courtesy of London's FrightFest. The film is not perfect, but I thought it was quite a solid little film. The directors came on stage afterwards and said the film was made on next to nothing, but I didn't have this info during the screening and it never once felt like that. In fact, the entire production was very slick, and despite getting much criticism I found the acting to be pretty good. There are quite a few actors in the film, and I would say maybe 3 or 4 of them could have improved. The rest were very natural and it didn't feel like acting at all (Which was the point). It's basically three "video diaries" inter-cut in a pulp fiction style that show England in the grip of a zomboe plague. It feels very real I must say. My biggest issue with this film was the absolutely ridiculous COVER ART the distributor chose. I am not surprised the film has had the backlash it has when it has been presented as a high-concept Hollywood epic with scenes of chaos and destruction in London. Imagine if they had put some kind of "Independence Day" cover art on a movie like PI? Imagine the response. Well that's what happened.. Putting the cover art to the side I also have a few minor quibbles. As mentioned 3 or 4 of their actors could have done better, and the script felt a little loose (Although I suspect this was to do with the amount of improvisation the filmmakers talked about). The good points would be: The Score, The Natural Acting, The clever way the 3 stories inter-link, and the atmopshere. I really do not like hardcore films that are bathed in blood and have no atmosphere. I found the spooky side of The Zombie Diaries very good. In fact there is a set piece about 20 minutes in set in a farm house that I would rank as one of the best and most atmopsheric moments in any horror film this year. So it's a mixed bag really. The cover art is rubbish and there are a few flaws here and there with over-acting, but on the whole its a decent flick and the special fx are pretty good, although they should have remembered to put make-up on the zombie's hands!! Overall a 7/10. Next time I would like to see the directors given a decent budget and spend more time on their scripts and get a distributor who won't try and lie about the movie. A Hollywood epic it ain't! A solid little indie it is! - that's my advice!