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TIFF! Another Spy Takes A Page From Romero’s DIARY OF THE DEAD!
Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.
I’m intrigued by the way this one seems to be dividing audiences. I quite liked LAND OF THE DEAD myself, so I’m hoping this offers another new take on this familiar material from the man who basically owns the genre.
Let’s see what this spy thought:
Hey gang,
Long time reader, first time contributor. I just caught a screening of George Romero's "Diary of the Dead" at the TIFF yesterday and thought I'd share a few of my thoughts on the flick. I know you guys don't give a shit how long I waited in line or what I had for breakfast yesterday morning, so we'll just jump right into the review.
First and foremost, to anyone who lost faith in Romero after "Land of the Dead", you can rest assured that "Diary" is a return to form for the man who spearheaded the zombie subgenre. It's a very cool thing, because after countless pale imitations of his work, the only guy who could revive the zombie movie is the one who started it all. This, I think, is the mark of a true master.
The story is basically told through camera footage taken from the beginning of the whole zombie phenomenon (one gets the feeling that Romero is rebooting his series for a new generation, with a brand new way of storytelling) The majority of footage is shot by one guy in particular, an aspiring director, who decides that it's his responsibility to document the whole thing. The movie centers around him and his film student friends as they travel across the state trying to find safety. Aesthetically, the movie is great. Like another reviewer said, this isn't "The Blair Witch Project" with zombies; the story is told cohesively and with a straight narrative stream, and whatever camera they shot it with provides clear and crisp images that are a far cry from the ones in BWP.
Artistically, the movie feels very fresh and full of energy, too, and you leave with the impression that Romero put his heart and soul into making this one. "Diary of the Dead" is fast and focused, a lean piece of filmmaking that runs like a well oiled machine and actually manages to be scary at some points, which I didn't think was really possible in a modern zombie movie. The majority of the audience loved the film and I think one of the biggest complaints from the crowd was that the movie was over too soon (it ran just over an hour and a half and could have gone on for at least a half an hour more if the powers that be wanted it to).
I shouldn't get too ahead of myself, though, because while the film is great and easily the best movie Romero has made since "Day of the Dead" it certainly has its flaws. One being a constant voiceover reminiscent of Sarah Connor's narration in Terminator 2. For example, a piece of narration that goes something along the lines of, "My friends and I decided to document the happenings as we saw them. I've put our footage together, along with videos I've downloaded from the internet to make this film. I've added music to the appropriate scenes to try to scare you. I want to scare you, so that maybe you can learn from our mistakes." …Okay, what the shit was that? The film is strong enough to work on its own merits, and clumsy voiceover narration like that feels amateur, lazy and superfluous.
Another small complaint I had with the movie was the lack of gore we've come to expect from Romero's zombie movies. This could have more to do with a lack of budget than anything else (which, ironically, most of the great things about this movie can be attributed to as well), but aside from countless bullets to zombie heads, the trademark Romero gore (think Captain Rhodes in "Day of the Dead") is practically nonexistent. Another qualm I had with the movie was that much of the blood and gore that did appear was CG. This, as any horror geek worth his salt knows, is never a good thing. On the program, it said the film had been rated 14A (an Ontario rating that could be classified as something between a PG-13 and an R rating in the States), so the "blood and guts quotient" has definitely been toned down from a lot of Romero's previous work.
Overall though, I think the horror community's reception to this film is going to be great. Not only is the film a completely fresh take on the Romero zombie mythology, but it's also a love letter to his previous films and the references to his previous work (as well as veiled criticisms of other horror films being made today) are fired rapidly throughout the film, and the social commentary is laid thick. "Diary of the Dead" heralds not only the return of a true master of the genre, but also the genre itself. And that, my friends, is a beautiful thing.
If you use this, please call me Tarantinoholic.
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...congratulations! Looks like you have a winner on your hands! It was our love of your "Dead" movies that caused us to sign up for Shaun of the Dead. Cheers, George and good luck to ya, big fella! K&N.
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sounds awsome, great review, it sounds like the posotives outway the negatives fuck yes. 2nd
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I hope this has a little more depth than LAND. "They're just looking for a place...."
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i liked land of the dead more then most people, i wasnt a fan of day, but im willing to go back and watch it to give it another chance,
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Maybe one day they can take it out a la Blade Runner and then we all will know why there is 'music to scare' but we wont have to listen to the explanation. The Blade Runner thing this worked with. We learnt a little about the world, so when it was taken out the film seemed better but we still had the knowledge to show off to our friends watching for the first time. And with Land, why does it have to be either great or awful? Heres another opinion: it was ok! A shame when Dawn of the Dead is the best film ever (in my opinion), but still it wasnt too bad, we just wanted more from the big G.
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Sep 12, 2007 5:16:20 AM CDT
I read the same kinds of review when Land came out...
by grandmufftarkin
..."return to form", "master back at work", blahblah, and Land was a piece of shit. I'll wait and see on this one, but part of me thinks Romero has become the Lucas of the zombie world - other people know how to do it better.
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Movieforumz.com
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We Brits love you George and need your zombies in our cinemas - now!
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The Land of the Dead hate; still makes jack all sense to me. It's a Romero film that tells the tale of humans and zombies trying to make a place in the world via the back drop of a world that decided to ignore the problem. If that does nothing for you... you really need to go get Return of the Dead SE. That might be more up your alley.
Nevertheless; the gore in this movie being CG is no big deal. If you can handle it in HOT FUZZ. You can handle it in a horrour flick. It's the 21st century. Roll with it.
Also, the narration, has to be there for a reason: THEY MAKE MISTAKES! You saw the fucking movie and did not get WHY they need the narration? It's supposed to be a viral video explaining to the world how to survive the dead coming back to life. That's the conceit. Without the narration... it doesnt work. -
alright, fanboys, go back and re-watch those "classic" romero films. They may have been groundbreaking for their era, but they stand the test of time the way hammer pants have. The hate for LOTD is bullshit, as it was clearly the most well made Romero film to date (and not just because of the modern effects, either). I loved it and I'm giving this one a shot.
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I'm not necessarily turned off by the idea of a lack fo gore in a zombie movie. If the story telling is good (which the reviwers seem to believe) then I'll be quite happy. Halloween didn't have gore and stands the test of time. Though, I can see people being upset by the lack of gore in a zombie movie - it's the whip cream on top of the dessert.
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that's not Diary of the Dead, and right on Optimus.
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Romero has lost it and stop making fucking excuses for the man.. a pg13 fucking zombie movie christ...
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Let me ask you something - are you guys twins and do your last names start with a W? If you are who I think you are, I'll see you on the DVDactive boards...
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Reminds me of the "Book of the Dead" Series of books that touches on the Romero's universe...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_the_Dead_(anthology)
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Just cause I LOVE that old smoking boozer...
Land of the Dead was FUN...and enjoyable but did NOT have the great ending that Day of the Dead did.
It just seemed like an exercise in 'remember me? I used to do zombie movies!'
Diary seems closer to what made Romero...Romero. Low budget chills, a somewhat dismal view of our future and flesh eaters.
Gore? Eh...a product of the time.
Romero always said that in Night of the Living Dead, he NEEDED to show the dead eating Tom and Judy...to not show what they were doing would have been offensive. To watch them eating out in the moonlight, made them an even greater and real threat. Oh we heard about it on the radio, but to see it...was horrifying.
Back to Diary...if the gore is light, that's ok...theres a reason. I trust that crazy bastard...(the one with the coke bottle glasses and whiskey in his coffee. LOL -
Diary did have a lot of good points (The gore wasn't pervasive but it was very creative) but man, the dialogue and line delivery just killed it. So heavy handed and pretentious.
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...+ so it's been for el jorge for a generation plus now. i think 1/2 the reason his films since _dawn_ (+ 1/2 of _knightriders_, like i always say) have sucked is because his gifts as a writer, never so exceptional to begin with, seem to have bottomed out somewhere along the line. too bad -- as bad as, say, _bruiser_ is, there are shots that look gorgeous and senes paced like the master mr. romero surely is, or can be. or can't be, in the case of the ABYSMALLY ATROCIOUS _land of the dead_. and yet...and yet...even nathan lee in the village voice is talking up _diary_'s "fierce" "unruly" premiere at tiff in this week's issue. i keep trying to get away from george's universe-of-the-dead...and it keeps pulling me back in! anyone know about a u.s. release date yet?
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Fuck. THere are almost as many stories about the man here as he will make shitty zombie movies in the next decade. GIve it a rest.
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Indy 4 is a real movie, not some indie shart zombie movie from washed up hack Romero.
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Land wasn't a terrible movie. Day was and still is one of my favorite gorefests (the scene where the Pvt's head is ripped off and his vocal pitch rises to a snap...Hah!)and Dawn is an all around fantastic, classically paced horror film, and Ken Foree kicks ass! But Night was his most effective in my opinion, not because it was the best film he made, but because the low budget made him really think things through. The rough edges of the film are what made it scary. Now he's doing another rough edge Zombie movie, he's cut the fat and seems to be trying to give us another Night out. Be optimistic.
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Knock it off. I don't even know what it means.
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Usually I am in synch with Mori as far as taste in movies but how any one could find anything redeeming in Land of the Dead is beyond me.
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It's not that bad for what it is, a C grade Snakes on a plane/meets Dawn of the dead direct to dvd movie. You gotta love anything that stars Richard Tyson, I met him a few times, cool guy.
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It's still shit.
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I am gonna find George and slap him in the face! I was going to slap the OTHER George for not releasing the original cuts of the Star Wars Trilogy on DVD, but he did, and saved himself a slap. But a PG-13 George A. Romero horror movie is blasphemy! WTF George? Like that other George you used to be one of my heroes, now it just seems like you want to make a sanitary movie that will be safe enough to make lots of money. Fuck that! And if this movie is Pg-13, Fuck You.All of that being said, if it's rated R, then I still love you man!
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If you love zombies and haven't read this book. I think they may be making a film out of it.
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I was at the premiere of Diary and there was plenty of gore. Flesh munching, gut spilling, head splitting, exploding, head severing (horizontally), tons of headshots, bites, etc. It's very gory... but forget about all that. It's a great damned film. And this reviewer is also way off on the voiceover criticism. We're not watching a Romero film with Diary, we're watching a film edited by the lead character... who happens to be just a little pretentious. The voice over is in character.... this one is multi-layered, folks.
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Romero deserves to retread however much he wants, because your dad and mum are still freaked out by the original. His bomb is your best effort. Pittsburgh loves you George!
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I like the people who rip Romero for the "thinking zombie" in LOTD as unrealistic but then go on to say that "fast zombies" are more scary and such. All you idgets do realize that a reanimated deteriorating corpse climbing on ceilings, jumping 50 ft in the air and running 30 mph is even more unrealistic and corny.
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What about the people that say LotD was just a steaming pile of shit?
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until i see it on dvd. romero was great and invented the genre but he has lost his touch. not a crime. it happens.
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We are indeed twins and you are correct about our initial. And, yes, we do post quite often on the boards at DVDactive. Nice to see you on here!
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An apalling heavy-handed voiceover was one of the things that ruined Idiocracy for me.
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TIFF = Toronto International Film Festival.
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