Diary of the Dead (2007)

A group of young film students run into real-life zombies while filming a horror movie of their own.

Director:

George A. Romero

Writer:

George A. Romero

Stars:

Michelle Morgan, Joshua Close, Shawn Roberts

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Todd Schroeder	...	Brody (as Todd William Schroeder)
Laura de Carteret	...	Bree
Amy Lalonde	...	Tracy Thurman
Martin Roach	...	Stranger
Joshua Close	...	Jason Creed (as Josh Close)
Joe Dinicol	...	Eliot Stone
Michelle Morgan	...	Debra Moynihan
Shawn Roberts	...	Tony Ravello
Philip Riccio	...	Ridley Wilmott
Tatiana Maslany	...	Mary Dexter
Daniel Kash	...	Police Officer
Chris Violette	...	Gordo Thorsen
Megan Park	...	Francine Shane
Scott Wentworth	...	Andrew Maxwell
George Buza	...	Tattooed Biker

Storyline

While filming a horror movie of mummy in a forest, the students and their professor of the University of Pittsburgh hear on the TV the news that the dead are awaking and walking. Ridley and Francine decide to leave the group, while Jason heads to the dormitory of his girlfriend Debra Monahan. She does not succeed in contacting her family and they travel in Mary's van to the house of Debra's parents in Scranton, Pennsylvania. While driving her van, Mary sees a car accident and runs over a highway patrolman and three other zombies trying to escape from them. Later the religious Mary is depressed, questioning whether the victims where really dead, and tries to commit suicide, shooting herself with a pistol. Her friends take her to a hospital where they realize that the dead are indeed awaking and walking and they need to fight to survive while traveling to Debra's parents house.

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Plot Keywords:

hospital | mummy | film student | video camera | barn | 

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Taglines:

Where will you be when the end begins?

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong horror violence and gore, and pervasive language

Details

Official Sites:

Bac Films [France] Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 February 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$232,576, 17 February 2008

Gross USA:

$958,961

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,540,941

Company Credits

Production Co:

Artfire Films, Romero-Grunwald Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Simon Pegg: Actor from Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Hot Fuzz (2007) cameos in a voiceover role as a newsreader.

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Goofs

Scranton is 122 miles northeast of Harrisburg; it does not make sense traveling from Pittsburgh (in the western most part of Pennsylvania) to drop a character off in Scranton before swinging down to take another to Harrisburg.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Police Officer: 628 Tremont. 6-2-8. Three dead. No, just the usual. Fuck. Usual. It's no big deal these days, right?

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Connections

Referenced in Midnight Movie Review: Halloween Horror Top 25, nr. 5: 28 Days Later (2010)

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Soundtracks

Prelude in D Flat Major
Opus 28 No. 15
By Frédéric Chopin
Performed by Christine Hye-Su Kim

User Reviews

Romero,Romero,where fore art thou...

After reading some positive reviews from some respected sources I was stoked to see the latest Romero flick,hoping that at the very least,it would be better than his last film Land Of The Dead. Regretfully I must report, that as bad as that film was, this one is even worse. The faux documentary style that was opted for is one of the film's main problems. The acting here is below par, even for a Romero film and they don't do much to make the proceedings here seem real enough. Maybe the screenplay could have been rewritten a couple more times. The narration by our lead and the exposition of the characters make this film as subtle as a shotgun blast to the face,making the social commentary herein redundant to this reviewer. Speaking of which, the shot gun blasts to the face are about the films only redeeming value and Greg Nicotero's effects are what saves the film from being absolutely forgettable. Romero seems to have lost a step or two in his execution as this film is devoid of emotion, suspense and dread that was the hallmark of his original dead trilogy(I hesitate to include the mediocre Land Of The Dead in that mix as the original three are so far superior)One can only hope that in the sequel(already greenlit) Romero can return to some of the originality that sparked his earlier works to the classics of film that they rightly are considered. Still waiting for the return of the king.