Inside we've posted Nelson's negative review of George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead, which arrives at retailers on May 20th from Dimension Extreme and Genius Products. The the film will follow a group of college students shooting a horror movie in the woods who stumble upon a real zombie uprising. When the onslaught begins, they seize the moment as any good film students would, capturing the undead in a "cinema verite" style that causes more than the usual production headaches.
There is really only one thing that can be said about Diary of the Dead and it’s that Romero should never attempt to make another film ever again. The film is an exercise in inept directing, bad drama student acting and script writing that gives Uwe Boll fans something to cheer about. In fact, the entire film is an insult to not just horror/zombie fans but to film goers in general.
Now, I’m a Romero fan, I think Night, Dawn and Day are great films. They stand on their own of being intrepid pieces of cinema, even if you strip them of the negative genre stigma that most people associate with zombie films. However, Diary offers nothing to the table. The only thing it does muster up is a feeling of incompetency as Romero hamfists the ‘plot’ and ‘message’ of his movie as if it were being read to a class full of kindergarten students. Think George Bush on 9/11…though I can’t tell which the bigger tragedy is.
The story is convoluted self masturbatory drivel from Romero himself who really should have made this film 10 or 20 years ago when it may have been relevant. The idea of media saturating us empty vessels with violence and blurring the lines of reality and entertainment is nothing new. Sorry George but you completely missed the mark on this one. Either that or your medication.
We have a group of students making a horror movie in the middle of nowhere (accompanied by their drunk yet wise professor) when word of riots and people coming back from the dead is broadcast on the radio. Some terrible acting ensues and the film crew piles into a mobile home and run over a few zombies on the way. Our driver isn’t convinced that they were actual animated corpses and so she pulls over, takes out a gun and shoots herself out of guilt. And no one really cares. For a film that is going off on realism and is filmed/presented in the same vein as Cannibal Holocaust and Blair Witch; no one seemed all that shocked about what was going on. If my description there sounded a tad hasty than you have a good idea as to what you are in store for. A jumbled mess of non linear events that make you weep for zombie fans the world over.
Then there is the bad acting. The, “I can see why you look through this camera, everything doesn’t seem so real” and the “I just shot three people” hospital scene all the way to the Amish guy (what the hell was that all about). There is no convincing realism to the actors portrayal of what is going on around them and all you really want is for them to die as quickly as possible to spare yourself the horror of their acting. And honestly, that’s the only real horrifying thing about this film. Well, that and the terrible CGI effects. Think Exorcist: The Beginning hyena attack scene but worse and more out of place. In the same vein, there are not that many zombies in the film. Fans who want to see the staple violence and gore in a zombie flick are not going to walk away satiated.
Romero-verse or not, this is a very bad movie. The first sequence was great, I thought I was in for a treat but the only thing I was treated to was a zombie-turd sandwich. There is nothing to offer the viewer aside from maybe the thrill of putting a quarter in a vending machine and getting that shitty toy you didn’t want.
I was terribly disappointed by this film. It has nothing to do with the prior Romero "Dead" films. It's attempting to be far too contemporary in terms of 'horror'.
If it were a random zombie movie, without the attached franchise, it still wouldn't be worth watching. As it is, it was genuinely upsetting.
Horrible acting, zero social commentary, not one truly scary moment.
If you're a Romero fan, you owe it to yourself to skip this one. It'll only cast doubt in your mind as to the current relevancy of the director.
Please George, let the franchise die.
I couldn't have said it better myself Glass. I went to Universal Studios to catch this film and I was sooooooooooo FN disappointed. I'm talking SciFI Channel bad.....and that's bad.
-Peace
After nearly peeing my pants with excitement to see this movie, I really didn't enjoy it. The characters were badly acted and annoying, the special effects were plain crap and not even humorously bad like previous movies. The ending was predictable and there was a serious lack of zombie action. I think even the true fans will struggle to enjoy this.
I enjoyed the movie thoroughly, and will be looking forward to Diary 2. The Reviews on this site are extremely lackluster lately, you guys need to remember to take YOUR medications before heading out of the house, the only reviews I've seen lately are so desperately negative, it seems as though you just WANT to piss off the horror fans. Oh well, I need to go back and check out the movies you gave bad reviews to as they seem to be better than the movies you give good reviews to. How much are these studios paying you guys to spew out "Cover-worthy" positive quotes. This movie DESTROYS Automaton Transfusion in every conceivable way, and that movie is SO far from "One of the best zombie films in Decades!". How much of that $30k budget did Mr. Miller send you guys?! Get your fucking money hungry fists out of your ass and do something for this community rather than tear it to pieces whenever you aren't offered a residual check for writing a positive review. I will begin straying away from movies with quotes from BD.com on them, and unfortunately consider this website a strictly news source.
Abiosis, man, you are my fucking idol. I had to register to this site all over again just so I could tear into this site for posting such an ASS BACKWARDS review to what is seriously far better than pretty much everything they flip their shit over. Cloverfield blows and these guys can't wait to see a Nightmare on Elm Street movie without Robert Englund!And you're right about Automaton Transfusion. I returned that shit the day i bought it. It didn't have brain one, and there isn't one scene in that wretched piece of shit I'd prefer to the credit sequence of ANY George Romero movie.
I'm in the minority of people who enjoyed Diary. It took a few viewings, but I grew to really enjoy it for what it was, not for what we all thought is should be. To each his own.
Well, thanks for throwing in the spoiler about the 'driver pulling over,' you JERK! Just because the film seemed substandard to you, that's no excuse to treat the time honored SPOILER protocol so haphazardly. And I'm pretty sure that ol' George still has a better handle than you on what it takes to craft a good film, so I'm going into the whole thing with an open frame of mind -- not counting your too-loose disclosure of details, which is certain to dilute the impact of something which might be a fairly intense scene for some people. For the record, I ain't reading sh*t with your name on it anymore!
Also, I agree with the above: Automaton Transfusion was a total piece of CRAP. Just plain god awful! I traded it in the next day. The Hamiltons was an abomination, too, but seemed to entertain many on this site. Meanwhile, good films -- albeit, with a more mature appeal -- such as The Backwoods or P2, get trounced. Go figure.
Great DVD review you got there, killer!
Is it just me, or did they get the wrong guy to review the DVD? I would have expected somebody with something positive to say when talking about the film, or, at the very least, someone who could stay respectfully neutral and ACTUALLY review the DVD?! I mean, honestly, who do you think will be purchasing this? I'd say the majority will be people who have already viewed the film, enjoyed it and are looking to add it to their collections.. That in mind, I ask you: Why would we care to read your negative review of the film, instead of what was originally advertised in the headline: A DVD REVIEW!? Just doesn't make much sense to me.
Not knocking you for your opinion, as this movie is not for everyone, but I am calling out your lazy effort on reviewing the DVD.
it was lacking and went too straight forward with social commentary unlike the almost subtle touch the other movies had I hate to admit it but I enjoyed the original day of the dead more then this
Yeah it was a little preachy but it was still a quality film by the creator of the genre. It may not be the best, but its definitely an interesting chapter in this franchise. I can't wait to see a sequel.
Hello from Spain! i have to wait til 8th august to see diary at theaters and this review has pissed me off! i was so excited with the movie! I hope it is a good movie at last -remember what a lot of people said about Day in 1985-.
Salute you all. PD: You must see [REC] rigth now f++kers!
I liked Diary, and if you can manage to not compare it to other Romero films (which are superior), and just view it as a zombie movie, I think most people will also be able to like it too. It's better than most zombie movies out there, and vastly superior to the turd referred to as Automaton Transfusion. I mean, seriously, did the camera ever stop shaking? Made the Blair Witch Project look like professional tripod work. :P
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There is really only one thing that can be said about Diary of the Dead and it’s that Romero should never attempt to make another film ever again. The film is an exercise in inept directing, bad drama student acting and script writing that gives Uwe Boll fans something to cheer about. In fact, the entire film is an insult to not just horror/zombie fans but to film goers in general.
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