Diary of the Dead is a zombie film that follows the exploits and misadventures of a handful of film students and their professor as they trek across back roads trying to hunt down family and eventually shelter. The fifth entry in the waning George Romero “Dead” series is presented as a film within a film. Every scene and piece of dialogue takes place within the context of a student video journal that captures those old familiar horrors of the zombie apocalypse. This is certainly a departure from Romero’s previous work and it shows. The main idea is that everything you are seeing was shot first hand by survivors in this world of the dead rising.
However one can’t help but notice how the lighting is just too perfect and how, despite the supposed spontaneous filming and the hard grungy trek in a broken down Winnebago, all the characters seem to be wearing a lot of make-up. The first day I could understand make-up on the females and maybe one or two males but not the other four male characters and certainly not after so seemingly arduous a journey. The special effects stand out with arrows flying through skulls, heads melting colorfully after being exposed to acid (although the victim’s shirt is somehow immune), and the general gore effects are all just a bit too jarring. In a standard motion picture one can more easily suspend their disbelief since they are not being told that each frame is meant to be a true testament or if the obviously cgi blood wasn’t captured on a handi-cam.
Aside from the amateur documentarian feel the film doesn’t break any new ground. The media is lying, citizens are banding together, the military runs amok, humanity becomes brutalized by exposure to the mayhem, and the survivors must confront the horrible reality of having to shoot friends and family members. My, I do have a thing for lists today. So does this film though, it’s like Romero took out a checklist of zombie apocalypse themes and checked them off one at a time making sure to give each one a little screen time. The story is not a bad one per say but it’s nothing that stands out to, what has become, standard zombie fare. It does stand out however when compared with Romero’s previous work.
The first three films of the “Dead” series were one part horror to two parts angst and they worked well, exploring the shock and disgust of the survivors and then their eventual acceptance and loss of all hope. The theme of suicide in Dawn of the Dead was both shocking and intense, but in Diary it feels as if these themes are thrown in haphazardly over the character interaction. A suicide attempt is made but it’s unexpected, almost tacked on. Taking one’s own life isn’t discussed or even fretted over but instead is just a excuse to go to the hospital and check “have character kill former friend” off the list. The initial three films explored social reaction to the horror but in Diary the reaction is one of muted acceptance. There is only the smallest of initial panic and the grief vanishes from the topic of conversation quickly. Where is the emotional depth of the classic “Dead” series?
The characters range from tired old clichés to nameless faceless seat fillers. The male lead is behind the camera for ninety percent of the film only appearing to give a speech about the need for journalism and to be killed. His girlfriend, the narrator, is irrationally furious at the fact that her boyfriend is documenting the horror. There is also the professor who appears at the start of the film with a horrendously clichéd drunken accent but who later is revealed to be a shockingly good athlete and war veteran not only capable of doing what must be done but also of philosophically consoling his pupils. This change is rather sudden and unexpected by the characters and audience alike. Unless you’re making a slasher flick your audience shouldn’t be surprised, they should have their fears or hopes confirmed. The rest of the cast is hardly there. We have the sarcastic friend, the frat boy who dies after about five minutes of screen time, the clichéd Texas girl, the emotionally fragile driver of the Winnebago who has just slightly less screen time than the jock, and an oddly effeminate nerd who meets a homoerotic end. As you can see some of these characters were almost added as an afterthought without any real investment in them.
The acting is generally mediocre with low moments such as the hammy introduction and the cold lifeless fights over filming. However there are good pieces of acting, especially the speech given by the professor in the hospital. Otherwise there is not much to tell save for the fact that due to a slightly flat delivery and poor writing it is difficult to care for any of the characters. There is not much depth given to them by the script or the actors save, again, for the professor who pours so much emotion into his character at certain points you wish that the story actually gave him more than a single minor soliloquy. One sure signs that the characters were not likeable enough is that I cannot remember a single name, but instead have them categorized in my head by archetype.
What stands out are the rather odd scenes and pieces of self-reference. Two parts of the film in particular felt so out of step with what it wanted to accomplish the rest of the time. The opening scene where the male lead is filming a horror movie for his class. Repeated self-references are made to Romero’s movies. The “mummy” is instructed to shamble, not run, referring to the difference in how undead are portrayed in classic versus modern zombie films. The Texan girl asks why women in horror movies always fall and lose their shoes, taking a feminist jab at the portrayal of Barabara in Night of the Living Dead. When the lead is mocked for his choice of horror film the professor defends him saying that it is actually finely tuned social commentary, lampooning the symbolism often read into Romero’s films. Far too self-referential and meta, it takes one out of the story instead of aiding the viewer to suspend their disbelief. Add to the list of oddities the oddball deaf amish man, the clichéd black leader, and the bizarre chase scene at the end of the film.
Overall the film is a must see by Romero fans if for no other reason than to confirm your fears that he has lost that mojo that made the “Dead” series so good. Otherwise rent it if you are in the mood for shaky-cam horror and you’ve already seen the blair witch project and cloverfield.
I give the movie a letter grade of: C
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