I was a fan of the first ZOMBIE DIARIES. A very interesting, non-linear film about survivors in a post apocalyptic world. Made for nothing, the film did well with reviewers but split audiences down the middle. The terrible artwork depicting a burning London skyline also upset a lot of people. It was a case of one man's gold another man's poison, or whatever the appropriate phrase is.
Anyway, this film looked good from the trailer and it delivered in a number of ways. Let's look at those first: ACTING: The performances were much better this time around. A lot of the good actors from the first Zombie Diaries were brought back and the producers added some new talent. Phil Brodie (MADDOX) was the stand out for me.
PRODUCTION VALUE: With a decent budget, you can see the difference. Two bits that stuck out were the aftermath of a destroyed military base, and also some flashback scenes to an army extermination of civilians.
DIRECTION: There were some marvellous set-pieces, and overall the direction of the film was very good. The final scene was out of this world (And shot like a conventional film). But that just makes all the bad stuff even more frustrating... this COULD HAVE BEEN a great film. COULD HAVE BEEN! The negatives...
THE CHARACTER 'JONES' This guy (who is the audience in a sense) runs around documenting everything on his camcorder. People he know and loves are killed - and he keeps filming. I just don't believe his actions, and he took me out of the film many times.
THE PACING The editing was pretty dreadful. A lot of scenes didn't transition well like the first film with the use of the tape cutting out. They just chopped into each other. It was a bit of a mess. The film also could have been 10 minutes shorter. There was way too much walking around in the woods. There was a lacklustre feeling a lot of the way through the film. Even actions sequences felt a little lethargic at times.
THE REALISM The first film felt real - ironically helped by the amateur acting. But the camera-work is so professional in this film and everything pulls focus perfectly ... well, it is hard to believe these are found tapes. Especially given the behaviour of the Jones character.
So my score is 6/10. Compared to a lot of films out there it is still a very strong film - the atmosphere is bleak with no stupid joking or annoying characters - but after a while it starts to remind you of the British Weather and just seems to fizzle out, whilst Jones continues to be a traitor and film his friends dying. It is a real shame, as this film had huge potential. I think better realism and editing next time round if they do a third part.
Anyway, this film looked good from the trailer and it delivered in a number of ways. Let's look at those first: ACTING: The performances were much better this time around. A lot of the good actors from the first Zombie Diaries were brought back and the producers added some new talent. Phil Brodie (MADDOX) was the stand out for me.
PRODUCTION VALUE: With a decent budget, you can see the difference. Two bits that stuck out were the aftermath of a destroyed military base, and also some flashback scenes to an army extermination of civilians.
DIRECTION: There were some marvellous set-pieces, and overall the direction of the film was very good. The final scene was out of this world (And shot like a conventional film). But that just makes all the bad stuff even more frustrating... this COULD HAVE BEEN a great film. COULD HAVE BEEN! The negatives...
THE CHARACTER 'JONES' This guy (who is the audience in a sense) runs around documenting everything on his camcorder. People he know and loves are killed - and he keeps filming. I just don't believe his actions, and he took me out of the film many times.
THE PACING The editing was pretty dreadful. A lot of scenes didn't transition well like the first film with the use of the tape cutting out. They just chopped into each other. It was a bit of a mess. The film also could have been 10 minutes shorter. There was way too much walking around in the woods. There was a lacklustre feeling a lot of the way through the film. Even actions sequences felt a little lethargic at times.
THE REALISM The first film felt real - ironically helped by the amateur acting. But the camera-work is so professional in this film and everything pulls focus perfectly ... well, it is hard to believe these are found tapes. Especially given the behaviour of the Jones character.
So my score is 6/10. Compared to a lot of films out there it is still a very strong film - the atmosphere is bleak with no stupid joking or annoying characters - but after a while it starts to remind you of the British Weather and just seems to fizzle out, whilst Jones continues to be a traitor and film his friends dying. It is a real shame, as this film had huge potential. I think better realism and editing next time round if they do a third part.