Diary of the Dead

'Diary of the Dead' has somewhat polarised fans and critics alike, some dismissing it as Romero's weakest zombie film by far, others hailing it as his most intelligent and provocative film since 1978's 'Dawn of the Dead'. Consequently I approached it with cautious excitement.

Certainly the opening scene doesn't disappoint. Shot from the point of view of a news camera-man it shows us the outbreak of the zombie plague at the scene of a paramedic emergency. It is brilliantly shot, its horrific events initially in the background, then obscured by the news reporter, frustrating the viewer and inviting an uncomfortable ghoul-like thirst for blood in them. The film's central theme is also introduced nicely when the camera-man asks a paramedic to move his van along as it is spoiling their shot of the crime scene.

This central theme of the media's manipulation and construction of reality, of things not existing unless they happen on camera, is certainly nothing new - cinema has dealt with this postmodernist theory many times before. But it is as pertinent now as it has ever been.

The plot follows a group of film students and their lecturer, caught up in the middle of the rise of the zombies yet determined to capture the unfolding events on camera so that others might see the truth, after realising that the traditional news media is censoring and distorting its depiction of events. Of course, the 'truth' proves to be elusive, their relationship with their medium more complex than they anticipated.

'Diary of the Dead' is a road movie of sorts, the protagonists driving from one location to another in search of a safe haven from the marauding undead, encountering a wide variety of characters both dead and alive. The first hour of the movie is gripping and chilling. Scenes such as the one in an abandoned hospital are seriously creepy, and there are some effective new takes on ideas presented in earlier movies of the director, including a disturbing family re-union. It is also the funniest of his movies, some of the methods of zombie despatch being outrageously inventive.

There is a problem with 'Diary of the Dead' though. And that is the method Romero chooses to deliver his subtext. Or rather 'text'. As with 'Land of the Dead' the social commentary doesn't feel like a naturally occuring layer beneath the horror movie. Rather it feels like the film's rasion d'etre, the zombie apocalypse merely a device for delivering an essay on the nature of visual media in the 21st century. The zombies take a back seat in this one.

There's nothing inherently wrong with that (although it is no doubt the main reason why many fans were disappointed with this film), but what does matter is that the film has made its point about halfway through its duration, and then continues to over-state it again and again instead of racking up the tension in the horror-side of things. What's more, the method of delivering the film's message (mainly monologues to the camera and voice-overs) have the effect of interrupting the flow of the narrative, and this becomes a real problem in the latter half of the film.

That said, the film's commentary on the media, and on a nation afraid of itself, are intelligent and considered. And when that commentary is made visually (rather than being spelled out verbally) it can be incredibly effective indeed. Its just that the film feels unbalanced and talky, and seems to fizzle out rather than build to a climax. Which is a shame, as 'Diary of the Dead' has some glorious moments and is very nearly a superb film. As its however, it is merely very good.