Product Description

Joshua Close, Michelle Morgan, Shawn RobertsDirector: George A. Romero

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9948 in DVD
• Brand: Blu-ray Horror
• Released on: 2008-06-30
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .26 pounds
• Running time: 91 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
George A Romero continues his revival of his iconic zombie franchise with Diary Of The Dead, the fifth film in a series that kicked off back in 1968 with Night Of The Living Dead. And while his latest doesn’t manage to match the heights of the earlier films, there’s still something refreshing about watching a genuine master of the genre at work.

This time around then, Diary Of The Dead heads a little back to basics, with a film that follows a group of amateur filmmakers who find themselves under siege from zombies, allowing the legendary director to take some less-than-subtle swipes at the YouTube generation. Sadly, his cast don’t help him very much, ringing in primarily forgettable performances, and this certainly nullifies some of the points that Romero tries to make.

Yet when it comes to the zombie action, there’s no number you’d call faster than Romero’s, and here’s where the great man delivers. Diary Of The Dead does work along the law of diminishing returns, and is the weakest of the series, but it’s not without a general collection of skilful moments that fans of the genre won't want to miss.

Diary Of The Dead isn’t a film that you need to have seen the others before it to appreciate, but it is a primarily quite ordinary film from an often-extraordinary director. That said, it still easily eclipses the army of imitators of recent times (the splendid zombie romantic comedy Shaun Of The Dead excepted, of course), and has more than enough horror to fill an empty night. --Jon Foster

Synopsis
Legendary director George A. Romero proves that his career isn't one foot in the grave with this fifth entry in his zombie series. For DIARY OF THE DEAD, Romero goes back to the indie roots of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD as he focuses on a young team of filmmakers as they try to fend off zombie attacks.

Customer Reviews

Back to basics
George A Romero's latest zombie flick `Diary of the Dead' is about a group of film students who get caught up in the beginning of a outbreak where the dead are coming back to life and document it all on their video camera. The footage is mixed with a collection of uploaded videos from the internet and some narrative from one of the students.

Romero's Dead series has always been the best when it comes to zombie films with classics such as Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead and `Diary...' seems to work really well with the new formula and has also gone back to the beginning when the outbreak first occurred, so there's no giant hoards of zombies in this one in a post apocalyptic setting, so it is a lot more like the original Night of the Living Dead.

I was a little worried about it filmed on a personal video camera as films like Blair Witch and Cloverfield gave me a serious feeling of motion-sickness but this film was surprisingly not too bad as the camera was fairly steady throughout and didn't really shake that much or move about too quickly.

One thing that was disappointing about this film was the acting which wasn't too great, but I felt was intentionally cheesy to give it the real Night of the Living Dead feel and it actually works quite well. The cameraman just stood there too while his friends were being attacked, which was pretty irritating and made it feel more unrealistic. The zombies looked good with some really gory special effects that were quite original for zombie kills.

Overall this isn't the best in the series but is definitely worth a watch if you enjoy zombie films. It's very atmospheric, jumpy, creepy and exciting and is a great addition to the series.

Solid, Intelligent Horror
First purchased upon release last year. Had high expectations as noticed that 'The Economist' and top genre critic Alan Jones gave it much props. whilst viewing the flick was rather puzzled by the awkward acting and blandness of it all. So, thought it was rubbish and gave it to charity. Earlier this year discovered that critic Kim Newman preferred 'Diary' to the majestic 'Rec". This got me thinking I should reassess the movie but damn I gave it away! Re-purchased it at a knock down price, watched it last night and blow me I enjoyed it this time!
As the credits rolled I genuflected at the screen and begged forgiveness from George for ever doubting him. I now see 'Diary' for exactly what it is: a pure distillation of exactly what is on George's warped, superior mind.
Very clever comment on instant online desensitizing culture and very cool gory action. Great Blu-ray with lots of insightful Romero chat.

Great Film - Great Atmosphere
Absolutely loved this film. I originally saw it in the cinema and it blew me away then, so I couldn't wait to purchase it on blue ray. Romero is undoubtedly the master of the zombie genre and his films are packed with social comment and the odd poke at society. I think lovers of modern day, fast paced, all out action, Hollywood style horror movies - such as remake of Dawn of the Dead - wont get this film. But to me it comes across as a wonderfully atmospheric piece of work that portrays the total hopelessness for all those trying to survive the onslaught of living dead. There are some top quality zombie death moments in this film as well - like the jar of acid over the head = melting brain...brilliant!Well done Mr Romero - more of the same please