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George A. Romero’s: Diary of the Dead – Spoiler Free Review

Some people claim the first sign of old age is poor memory. You how it goes, you walk into a room and can’t remember why you went in. Friends laugh and say things like "oh, you know what they say". Well, while my memory is as sharp as ever. However, I am beginning to show the social signs of old age. With each passing year, I find myself making more claims of, "well, in my day..." This is never more evident than when I speak about horror movies, those of the zombie sub-genre to be more specific. See previous rants about running zombies, living "dead-birth" zombie babies, and (I shudder to write) rage-zombies.

Well excuse me, but that isn’t how zombies acted in my day. Thankfully, some filmmakers still have a healthy respect for the lore and legacy of the living dead. Filmmakers, like George Romero, who are not afraid to stick to the rules of the zombie movie, now get off my lawn!

How does his newest zombie film, Diary of the Dead, fair?

Very well, this simply proves that George A. Romero works best when a major studio isn’t breathing down his neck. He just doesn’t play well within the studio system. Diary of the Dead has a simple premise; the Zombie Apocalypse breaks out while a group of film students shoot a horror movie. Jason, the student director played by Joshua Close, decides he needs to film the events no matter the cost. If this sounds painfully familiar to the "found footage" device in Cloverfield, you would be half-correct. Unlike Cloverfield, Diary of the Dead makes no illusions to the fact that what you are watching is edited to increase dramatic tension. Quite the contrary to Cloverfield, Diary of the Dead flat out tells you it was constructed from Jason’s footage as well as random surveillance and cell phone footage; even the addition of music is addressed in the opening minutes. To put it bluntly, Diary of the Dead is meant to scare you. Hopefully, scare you enough that you are prepared for the coming horrors of living in a world overrun by the living dead!

I believed every moment of it.

Romero directs a scenario that is 100% believable. With intermittent clips from various news reports, security video, and cell phone footage, Diary of the Dead does feel like a narrative documentary intended to scare you into readiness. The film also works up some genuine tension and dread, only giving in to jump scare a few times and even those are effective given the moment. Like so many within the zombie sub-genre of films, the living dead are simply the engine that drives the dramatic tension. The never-ending prospect of a flesh-eating ghoul around every corner generates fear, terror, hopeless, paranoia, and eventual acceptance within the characters and audience in the film. Most of the performances in Diary of the Dead are quite strong. Standouts include Canadian actress Michelle Morgan as Debra, fellow filmmaker and girlfriend to Jason. Michelle is clearly the narrative force in Diary and is the literal reason for the "documentaries" existence. Her transformation within the film is wholly believable, as are most of the characters. Although some do fall prey to horror clichés, as is the case with the character Tracy, played by Amy Cuipak Lalode. (She of the typical hot blonde girl that just so happened to have a grease monkey of a father and can now fix any vehicle).

Then there is the question of social commentary.

While Romero admitted to no intentional commentary in his original zombie film, Night of the Living Dead, fans and critics all but expect it from him now. Yes, there are some strong comments on various aspects of modern society. The need for a home. Racial equality and reparations. The frightening revelation that civilization has more due to faith and hope than actual law and government. The need to inform versus the need to survive. I will admit that Romero lathers all of these commentaries with a rather large brush. Never so much that I found myself rolling back my eyes in annoyance, but enough that I wish he’d pulled back a little. Not saying I can’t have social commentary with my shambling dead, but I don't need a character flat out telling me how to feel and think. Still, Diary of the Dead is a brainless horror movie when compared to the after-school special feel of Land of the Dead. Romero does return to the well a few times, in terms of humanities redemptive value, but only the most die hard of zombie fans will catch these repetitive references. (Course, one could argue that only diehard zombie fans are going to rush out to watch a low-budget Romero zombie movie).

Fine, I will now move onto the gore and kills.

Let me tell you now, this isn’t the goriest horror film of all time. Hell, it isn’t even the goriest Romero film. However, the gore that does grace the camera is very realistic and shocking. With special effects done by fan favorite, Greg Nicotero (who also has a "dead" cameo), you know the blood with flow with harsh reality. Still, anyone hoping for a bloodbath is going to be sorely disappointed. In fact, the lack of gratuitous gore plays in the films favor. When a nasty moment does happen, you are all the more shocked and frightened at the viciousness. Seeing death and gore through the lens of a low quality camera is disconcerting to the audience, it feels all too real. I truly believe there is a portion of our brains that makes the distinction between Hollywood horror and real-life horror. The short moments of voyeuristic terror in Diary of the Dead blur that line, many times.

This is by no means Romero's best work. (That being Dawn of the Dead in this author's not so humble opinion). However, Diary of the Dead can stand proud in the pantheon of modern zombie films. There is a reason George A. Romero is known as the Grandfather of the Undead. Sure, the current generation may like our violence fast and brutal. We might want simple stories of humans blowing away fields of undead. But, that doesn't mean we still can't sit at the foot of an elder and learn a thing or two. Romero tells us to "stay scared". No problem George, you keep filming, we'll keep shivering.