I got it a few weeks ago but have only just seen it now.
After seeing the piece of crap "reality" type film Cloverfield; I was really hesitant about watching DoD but much to my delight it wasn't as bad as Cloverfield.
My biggest problem with Cloverfield was that the camera kept spinning wildly or twisting and turning at weird angles or it would go out of focus from time to time. Basically, all the really annoying stuff that happens when an amateur films something. I also understand that, that was the whole point of Cloverfield but it didn't make it any better.
Diary of the Dead was shot with the same idea: Annoying prick films his friends as they try to make their way home as a wave of (unknown) terror sweeps through the world.
While filming a horror movie for a college class in a forest, an aspiring documentary film maker (Jason Creed) and his crew hear stories on the radio of alleged dead people rising up after they have been declared dead. Right off the bat, Jason starts filming everything and everyone.
Freaked out, two of his stars leave to go home. Jason and his crew make their way to the nearby college where Jason's girlfriend is staying. The dorm is abandoned but his gf is still there. She is scared and having a panic attack because her family is not responding to her phone calls. It also doesn't help that Jason is filming her rather than comforting her. The next scene shows Jason, his crew and another girl driving a Winnebago; they are all driving to Jason's girlfriend's house. The plan is to get everyone home one at a time.
As the group travels they still don't know what exactly is happening, save that it is sweeping the globe. Social order quickly collapses as various militia's take over. Hospitals are abandoned, police stations are empty. People are fleeing left and right. It becomes clear very quickly that bite marks kill and can infect and headshots are the only way to kill the walking dead. Initially some of the Jason's entourage outright disbelieve that these are "walking dead" but simply diseased.
In my opinion, Romero combined the elements of Dawn of the Dead (collapse of social order) with the human elements (emotional suffering) of The Walking Dead. Some people can't cope wind up committing suicide, others run away, some gradually come to believe and others are unchanged by these events.
The film is very well done. There are a few instances where odd angles of the camera get annoying but they are few and far between. There are also visible and authentic character evolutions, and changes caused by not only the walking dead but by the documentary filmmaker, Jason. Jason decides very early on not to be part of the group but rather film them. This causes a huge rift to form between him and his friends/crew/girlfriend. Ultimately, she seeks comfort from another person. Jason's alienation from his friends helps shape the course of the film as well.
There is also a hilarious scene with an Amish farmer
CountD, have you seen this film?
Overall, I give the film 3 donuts out of 4.
Diary of the Dead
Moderator: MGM
