A group of young film students run into real-life zombies while filming a horror movie of their own.
A-lot of people hated the fact that Romero went into the “Found Footage” territory but I thought it was great.
It seems with this release that Romero thought long and hard about what his next step would be, he eventually took a modern day approach. In a world where news is instant and 24/7 we see Romero tackle the zombie rampage in a technology filled world and pull it off.
I know the ‘Found Footage’ setting isn’t for everyone but Romero moulds it into his own style and lets the story do the talking, the camera work is just used so well to incorporate everything that’s going on. It was a well thought out plot that somehow make it more of an intimate feel, great for a zombie flick.
In his previous releases Romero’s characters survivors are holed up somewhere and are stationary, a concept we’d gotten used to from im. This time he shakes it up and let’s his cast go freely, a bold move for him that really paid off although a-lot of fans weren’t happy about it and whilst I do understand there opinion it was fun to see Romero show he still had it in him to make modernistic films.
With the film having more of an independent feel to it than “Land Of The Dead” it feels like a true Romero film this time, huge studio budgets never suited Romero’s work and this is a refreshing feature. It was shot over a period of only 23 days, though it doesn’t look like it but I think it helped.
“Diary Of The Dead” gets a-lot of criticism but I see as Romero embracing the new era of film and showing us he’s still a great storyteller.
Miscellaneous facts about the film:
Begins on the same day as Night of the Living Dead (1968), although the setting has been updated to the present day. The concept for the film evolved from an idea that director George A. Romero had earlier for a “Living Dead” TV series, which also would have begun on the same day as “Night of the Living Dead.”
In the warehouse, when the group is searching the RV for the missing dead body, you can hear a TV report in the background. The report is taken directly from George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (1968), shot nearly 40 years before this film.
The documentary-within-the-film is called “The Death of Death.” This is also the name of George Romero’s four-part miniseries for the DC Comics zombie title “Toe Tags.”
In the scene with the zombie doctors, a voice can be heard on the radio inviting people to aim for the head. This is the voice of Tom Savini, a longtime friend of George A. Romero. In fact, this audio is lifted directly from the bonus features of the remake of Dawn of the Dead.
Quentin Tarantino: Director of films such as Reservoir Dogs (1992) and Pulp Fiction (1994) cameos in a voiceover role as a newsreader.
Stephen King: Author of novels such as “The Shining” and “Pet Sematary” cameos in a voiceover role as a newsreader.
Simon Pegg: Actor from Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Hot Fuzz (2007) cameos in a voiceover role as a newsreader.
Guillermo del Toro: Director of films such as Blade II (2002), Hellboy (2004), and Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) (a.k.a. “Pan’s Labyrinth”) cameos in a voiceover role as a newsreader.
Wes Craven: Director of films such as A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Scream (1996) The Last House on the Left (1972), and The Hills Have Eyes (1977) cameos in a voiceover role as a newsreader.
George A. Romero: police officer presenting a cover-up for the zombie outbreak at a press conference.
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