Diary of the Dead (1976)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Arvin Brown

Writers:

Ruth Rendell (novel) and
Robert L. Fish (writer)

Release Date:

1976 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Plot:

An unemployed man who lives with his wife and overbearing mother-in-law sees an opportunity to relieve himself of the old bat, which tangles him in a maze of deception. |

Plot Keywords:

Mother In Law | Neo Noir | Based On Novel | Independent Film

Cast

Hector Elizondo	...	Stan
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ed Binns	...	Mr. McNulty
Joyce Ebert	...	Mrs. Patterson
Geraldine Fitzgerald	...	Maud Kennaway
Salome Jens	...	Vera
Laurie Kennedy	...	Ellie
Joseph Maher	...	Walter Johnson (as Joe Maher)
James Naughton	...	George
Austin Pendleton	...	Dr. Klein
George Spalding	...	Lt. Andrews
Richard Venture	...	Fergy
Lee Wallace	...	Lt. Gart
Kate Wilkinson	...	Ethel Dean

Runtime:

USA:93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG

A unique film that I returned to years after I sold my copy

I purchased, "Diary of the Dead" at a video store's going out of business sale sometime during the mid 90's. During the time after purchase, the movie sat on a shelf for a while. At least a year. During some weekends, nights, and such I would go through movies I purchased, and pick one out I hadn't viewed. When I loaded Diary of the Dead into the VCR, it was not a disappointment.

The beginning of the film is edited in an odd way (flash back), however as the movie picks up everything flows better.

To sum it up, a husband and wife live with the wife's mother. It hasn't always been this way, however the husband is unemployed at the moment. The husband and his mother-in-law don't get along very well, and the mother-in-law's death isn't too far from the husband's mind, however, he keeps things in check and get's through the days and nights. Soon, it is revealed the mother in law has quite a stash of cash (for that time) put aside... Money can do strange things to people.

Due to the title, you can pretty much figure things out from there...

Low budget, however it has a good plot, along with a few twists here and there. Diary of the Dead relies much on it's plot, there isn't much in the way of special effects, or anything of that sort. So, if you're looking for gore, nudity, etc, it's not here. What you get is a story that may hold your attention concerning something that could have been a manageable problem, becoming an even larger problem.

I'm not much for spoiling movies, however, I will say the way the ending "hangs" is pretty nice. Great way to end the movie.

I recently re-acquired a VHS of this film. The second viewing was just as good as I remember. I'll be holding onto this VHS for quite a while, and hope for a nice DVD release in the future. I've only encountered one other person who has seen this movie, and he acquired it the same way I originally did, at a video store out of business sale. This tape doesn't cost too much, so track it down!

Another movie that seems to have a similar tone is, "The Campus Corpse", so if you liked that, give Diary of the Dead a try.