George A. Romero’s Diary of the Dead (review)
I hate to say this -- partly because I don’t want it to be true and partly because it’s such a terrible pun -- but could the zombie movie finally be dead? I mean, if the master, George Romero (Land of the Dead) himself, can’t find a truly fresh angle on it, maybe it’s time to give it a rest...? Nah, we’ll just call this a momentary downward blip on the chart. A gang of film students is in the woods shooting a low-budget horror flick when, wouldn’t ya know it, the dead start to come back to life with a hunger for brains. And thanks to our media-savvy Web 2.0 Scooby gang (played by a fresh-faced band of game unknowns), we get to see civilization fall apart as they do: first via the mainstream television news, and later, as the zombie-pocalypse hits hard, via the only ways left to get the word out: YouTube and bloggers. Oh, and the students are also filming themselves trying to survive the end of the world. The Amish interlude is pretty gonzo -- obviously the plain folk will do just fine come the undead holocaust -- but the rest of the flick is a tad too self-conscious about the “importance” of its “message.” (The students’ film teacher actually makes reference to an “underlying thread of social satire,” striking a particularly awkward note.) You can’t really complain that this is too Cloverfield-y without adding anything new to the science-fiction verite genre -- or even coming close to matching that film’s power -- because this was already showing at festivals before that other flick was even completed. But it’s actually a bit too Blair Witch-y, which was long enough in the past that we’d moved well beyond it years ago. Still, the phrase “shoot me” takes on a whole new meaning here, and, oh yeah, Romero got Stephen King and Wes Craven and Simon “Shaun of the Dead” Pegg and other horrormeisters to do voiceovers as newscasters. Hee hee.
(Technorati tags: George Romero, Diary of the Dead)
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rated R for strong horror violence and gore, and pervasive language
official site | IMDB
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posted by Kate (Sat Mar 08 08, 1:22PM)
I know some people will think this borders on heresy, and I mean no disrespect, but I don't think any of Romero's zombie movies have been good since the first 'Night of the Living Dead.' He's one of the few well-respected, famous horror directors who seems like he's afraid of his own chosen genre or even his own ideas. My impression is that he ends up somehow diluting his own films with campiness or with clunky messages that don't work, or with both. Sorry, George.
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posted by Signal30 (Wed Mar 19 08, 12:41AM)
As someone that grew up with Romero as an idol, I don't think you're talking heresy... it just is what it is.
Between the subtext in Night and Dawn, the guy got a rep for being the voice of The Social Satire of Horror, and he took it to heart (sort of like how George Lucas and the whole Campbell "Hero's Journey" buggered up everything on that side of the fence).
Ultimately, that led to the the hamfisted Land (I haven't seen Diary, but it sounds like more of the same... especially that "underlying thread of social satire" line).
I'd like him to go back to keeping the subtext being just that, and leave the yahoos to draw whatever yahoo thing they're gonna get out of it.
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posted by Thomason (Sat Apr 19 08, 7:50PM)
It what happens when camp no longer is camp.
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posted by robert (Mon May 12 08, 12:01PM)
Kate, I'll do you one better:
I think the original NotLD is in fact a horrible film.
One frustration of being a film fan is that other buffs want you to take everything in its historical context. So because Romero's glorified student film was the first of its kind, I'm supposed to ignore the leaden pacing, the endless hammering of boards (in some ways it's like the worst episode ever of "This Old House"), the lead actress' wooden portrayal, and the bizarre choice on Romero's of having the angry bald white guy infuse every single line with BLINDING. HOT. FURY! (I can imagine this character ordering take out: "DON'T! FORGET! THE! SOY SAUCE! DAMMIT!)
Remove the "place in history" stuff and it's Mystery Science Theater 3000 fodder.
I loved Dawn of the Dead--I saw it in the ideal circumstance; a drive-in, beers, and buddies. But I didn't assign anymore social context to it then than I do now. Day of the Dead however was about as entertaining as an all-zombie panel of the McLaughlin Group and made NotLD's pacing & editing seem like Baz Luhrman by comparison.
Land of the Dead is even more a headscratcher--after a career spent decapitating these things, Romero suddenly wants us to sympathize, even identify with the zombies? My eyes were rolling so involuntarily I thought I was infected myself.
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posted by Iain Swan (Sun Jan 18 09, 4:42AM)
I blame the internet for the fact that I just read review by a JOURNALIST who doesn't know what a pun is. Maybe get a job in a call centre.
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posted by JasonJ (Sun Jan 18 09, 10:48AM)
I have scheduled Diary to record on my DVR. I admit, I am a sucker for zombie movies. Not the super cheesy ones on SciFi channel, but the Romero dead movies are must see. The remake of Night Of The Living Dead wasn't too bad, the original is classic and started the genre so it is still important (for zombithusiasts). The original Dawn was funny, the remake was awesome. Day Of The Dead was okay, it had an appropriate intestine count. I didn't hate Land Of The Dead. Even Return Of The Living dead, the non-Romero zombedy flick had entertainment value. 28 Days and Weeks Later just set the bar higher on the speed zombie genre, completely awesome movies that I have watched many times on DVD. Shaun Of The dead rocked. Much to the chagrin of my wife, I just can't get enough zombie flicks.
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posted by MaryAnn (Sun Jan 18 09, 3:40PM)
Iain, you're treading dangerously close to trollishness. Either explain your comment or it gets deleted.
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posted by Ryan (Sun Jan 18 09, 3:53PM)
MaryAnn was punning on the metaphorical sense: dead(genre) vs. dead(people in the genre)
soooo, technically you are wrong Iain. Sorry.
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posted by Andrew (Wed May 12 10, 6:22PM)
I didn't notice the date of the article until I started my comments, so sorry about the "grave-digging," but since another Romero film is set to release this month, I'm going to let the following stand: I love zombie movies, and Romero is the undisputed Father of Modern Zombies just as George Lucas is the Father of Modern Space Epics, but Robert is 100% right. I expect Hollywood to preach at me a little when I buy a movie ticket or rent a DVD, but it always used to be subtext, which is why Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead were still good popcorn horror movies. Romero must thnk he's been too subtle all these years, because Land of the Dead should have just been titled "I hate the Bush administration and humanity can go to hell." I threw my hand to my forhead at the end of that one- there's Simon Baker smiling whistfully at the zombies-"Gosh, zombies are people, too! This is their land, now, let's go to Canada and be free!" GAWD just retire already! I hadn't even heard of Diary of the Dead until today, so I wasn't sure if I should check it out or not, but after reading this review? I'll pass. And George should pass if they ask him to make any more. R.I.P, zombie movies.
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