Diary of the Dead is the fifth, and hopefully last, installment in Romero's "Dead" series. This installment is such a disappointment, as it fails to live up or revive the forty year old series.
The biggest disappointment is the fact that this series does not follow the original continuity of the series. While that is not necessarily bad, it leaves a faithful viewer feeling cheated, as the classic B-movie feel is completely removed. The notion of a Venus satellite crashing on earth, releasing a gas that reanimates the dead, is entirely ludicrous, but it was somehow more acceptable than the ridiculous plot line in this film.
So, okay, this doesn't follow the storyline, alright. So what? Does it still keep it's satirical nature expected from the series? Night of the Living Dead took a deep look at racism, Dawn of the Dead was about consumerism, Day of the Dead was about how human beings can be more harmful and volatile than the savages they claim to be better than, and Land of the Dead featured humanity profiting off others and Randian social Darwinism. Diary of the Dead tries very hard to feature an ironic look at the media's treatment of disaster, but it ends up failing. The main character is completely masked from the audience, leading one to believe this was meant to somehow be ironic, but it seems like a cop-out, like the audience is just supposed to accept it.
The acting is universally terrible, and while that is expected from a Romero film, this one is just...bad. Really bad. Absolutely no emotion in any dialogue; everything falls flat in delivery.
An aesthetic thing about Romero's movies is the inclusion of elaborate killing sequences. In this film, however, nothing is particularly interesting, save for the one kill with the defibrillators. This is particularly disappointing, as one expects a Romero film to be particularly interesting. Nothing. Absolutely nothing interesting. It might actually have gotten a better score.
All in all, the biggest mark against this film is the ending. It fails to revive the series or end it on a high note. If you want a premium zombie film that actually means something, watch Romero's earlier films. You'll be glad you did.
The biggest disappointment is the fact that this series does not follow the original continuity of the series. While that is not necessarily bad, it leaves a faithful viewer feeling cheated, as the classic B-movie feel is completely removed. The notion of a Venus satellite crashing on earth, releasing a gas that reanimates the dead, is entirely ludicrous, but it was somehow more acceptable than the ridiculous plot line in this film.
So, okay, this doesn't follow the storyline, alright. So what? Does it still keep it's satirical nature expected from the series? Night of the Living Dead took a deep look at racism, Dawn of the Dead was about consumerism, Day of the Dead was about how human beings can be more harmful and volatile than the savages they claim to be better than, and Land of the Dead featured humanity profiting off others and Randian social Darwinism. Diary of the Dead tries very hard to feature an ironic look at the media's treatment of disaster, but it ends up failing. The main character is completely masked from the audience, leading one to believe this was meant to somehow be ironic, but it seems like a cop-out, like the audience is just supposed to accept it.
The acting is universally terrible, and while that is expected from a Romero film, this one is just...bad. Really bad. Absolutely no emotion in any dialogue; everything falls flat in delivery.
An aesthetic thing about Romero's movies is the inclusion of elaborate killing sequences. In this film, however, nothing is particularly interesting, save for the one kill with the defibrillators. This is particularly disappointing, as one expects a Romero film to be particularly interesting. Nothing. Absolutely nothing interesting. It might actually have gotten a better score.
All in all, the biggest mark against this film is the ending. It fails to revive the series or end it on a high note. If you want a premium zombie film that actually means something, watch Romero's earlier films. You'll be glad you did.