Pseudo Review: Diary of the Dead

What if Barbara, Ben, and the rest of the gang from Night of the Living Dead had had a digital camera and internet access at the old farmhouse? That’s the basic premise of George Romero’s newest Zombie opus, Diary of the Dead.This “sort of” of prequel to Romero’s Dead series takes place during the first night of the Zombie outbreak, yet the events that unfold clearly take place during present day. A Student film crew is shooting a horror film when news breaks of “the recently deceased rising from the dead.” Creed, one of the film students, decides these events must be documented for the sake of history and takes it upon himself to film the ensuing carnage. The movie is presented as if it were an actual documentary (shockumentary?) from the footage recorded that fateful night.

In some ways, Diary critiques our “Gotcha” culture that has manifested in this new digital age. Every 12 year old with a digital camera has the means to record someone engaged in all type of embarrassing activity. Look at the ridiculous amount of time the so called “legitimate” news agencies spend on Britney Spears whenever she’s caught in the act of some sort of social faux pas. Does everything need to be news? Do we need footage of every car wreck, tragedy and scandal? At times, Creed is more concerned w/ taping Zombie attacks than actually helping the victims. This doesn’t always show him in a positive light. Of course, if there really were a Zombie outbreak, we’d all want to see this footage regardless of the murky morality that lead to its recording.

On the other hand, Romero is also saying that since “legitimate” news agencies are more concerned with “Spin” and regurgitating whatever message the government wants us to hear, the only way to get the truth is to tape it ourselves and show it to the world. Everything we see on the news has been filtered in some way, be it for ratings or a political slant. You want the real truth? Go to You Tube or some Blog. Just don’t trust CNN and Fox News.

We’ve seen the “actual footage” gimmick used before in Horror, from Cannibal Holocaust to Cloverfield. Where those films used the technique more as a gimmick and to add a certain amount of realism, Diary uses it to actually make a statement about what we watch, what we need to know, and what to believe.

Amidst all this social commentary, we of course have some hot zombie action. Keep in mind, this film takes place at the initial stages of the Zombie outbreak. Compared to Romero’s other Dead films, Diary seems down right subdued. Don’t worry, there are still gore gags and copious amounts of the red stuff, but those expecting the blood bath of previous Zombie films may be disappointed.

The film seems to have divided Horror fans. It’s not perfect by any means but I definitely appreciate what Romero attempts to do. It was a bold decision to deviate from a tried and true formula and do some experimenting. 

Diary is certainly a worthy addition to the Dead series. I know the Zombie sub genre has become watered down in recent years, but as long George Romero is still able to get behind the camera, The Living Dead will continue entertain.