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USA 2007
Director: George A. Romero
Cast: Michelle Morgan, Joshua Close, Joe Dinicol, Shawn Roberts, Philip Riccio, Megan Park
Rating: R
Release Date: 20 September 2007
Running Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
The Movie Review
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| DIARY Of The DEAD |
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Ever since I watched Romero’s first zombie movie entitled The Night of the Living Dead, I've been a fan and always dig zombie movies. At first I was shivered with fear, well I was a kid back then, but then Zombie movies become a horror movie that's actually fun. But somehow, it is only Romero who could bring such fun, only him who knows the recipe of how to make Zombie movies scary and entertaining in the same time. Diary of the Dead is Romero's fifth zombie movie. This time he improvised with handheld camera. Is it good? Let's take a look shall we...
A group of filmmakers are making a movie about mummy deep in the woods. Suddenly they hear an extremely strange news on the radio about dead people that are coming back to live. At first they think of it as a mere hoax, but they also decide to go back home with their camper/truck. On their way, those young people with their professor bump into several dead people roaming the street. Things escalate when one of the filmmakers shoot herself out of desperation. Now the rest of them are frantically looking for a safe place while in the same time trying to figure out what's happening in the world.
Two months ago there was already a horror film using the same technique, Cloverfield (2008). Now both can be compared. As a horror movie, Diary of the Dead is a lot scarier and everything feels more real. Especially the scenes at the hospital. However there were less things going on in Diary of the Dead than in Cloverfield, in a sense there are quite many void moments in DOTD. More surprisingly, the zombies are no longer the stars of the show. Yes, there are plenty of them in the movie. But Romero emphasizes more on the drama than on the gore scenes, unfortunately the drama is not that well-developed and devoid of emotional involvement. Although Romero still imply social awareness insinuation in the storyline, just like his previous movies.
Nevertheless, I still admire the terror DOTD delivers, mainly because of the normal use of handheld camera (not overused like in Cloverfield) and by a more sympathetic person (not fussy like in Cloverfield), and the gritty/dark atmosphere where the students are driving across eerily empty neighbourhood, man one scary experience, I'll say. Yup compare to the latest Romero's flick, Land of the Dead, DOTD is scarier, though less fun.
However, regrettably, the actors are not that capable of showing emotional hysteria. I mean if a horror situation is simulated with handheld camera with the main purpose to make it looked more real, then the emotion the actors are showing should have been looked more raw, blunt, extreme, hysterical and out-of-control.
Diary of the Dead is by far the most disappointing entry on Romero's movies. I hate to say that, I think on some level Mr. Romero has lost his touch. I do hope for the sixth entry from him but with more of a old-school kind of horror that's truly chilling and in the same time, fun.
© iwan pranowo of Movielogy.com
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