The Zombie Diaries (2006)

An unknown virus begins spreading and within weeks it engulfs the entire planet. Upon the death of its host, the virus would reanimate the corpse until it was no longer able to support itself. Soon, the planet was infested with the undead.

Directors:

Michael G. Bartlett (as Michael Bartlett), Kevin Gates

Writers:

Michael G. Bartlett (as Michael Bartlett), Kevin Gates

Stars:

Scott Ainslie, Toby Bowman, Victoria Summer

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Scott Ainslie	...	Sgt. Jim McCulloch
Toby Bowman	...	Cpl. Jez Nicholson
Victoria Summer	...	Leeann (as Victoria Nalder)
Juliet Forester	...	Sharon Buckley
Vicky Blades	...	Vanessa (as Anna Blades)
Craig Stovin	...	Andy
Leonard Fenton	...	Bill
Jonathan Ball	...	Matt
Alison Mollon	...	Elizabeth
Kyle Sparks	...	Greg
Jonnie Hurn	...	John
Sophia Mackie Ellis	...	Anna McKenzie (as Sophia Ellis)
James Fisher	...	Geoff
Russell Jones	...	Goke
Imogen Church	...	Sue

Storyline

In the early part of the 21st century, an unknown deadly virus is spreading among the population. The planet becomes infested with a new threat unlike any other The Undead. Three compelling video diaries chart the beginning of the plague through the last days of the apocalypse. In the first, a documentary film crew traveling the countryside becomes caught in the outbreak and are forced to survive at all costs. In the second, a husband and wife flee London and meet a mysterious hitchhiker, scavenging the remnants of dead towns where shadows lurk at every turn. In the third, a group of survivors escape the virus, making their way to a farm for refuge, only to find themselves attacked by the creatures who now rule the night.

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Plot Keywords:

infection | zombie | 

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Taglines:

Brace yourself... This time it's for real.

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence/gore, language and some nudity

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Cinemassacre's Monster Madness: Land of the Dead (2013)

User Reviews

It had potential...

Zombie films have been all the rage in the past few years. George Romero has returned to the fold, making new entries in his long-running "living dead" series; different countries have been putting their own invigorating spins on the genre, like Spain's sublime REC. THE ZOMBIE DIARIES is a distinctly British spin on the genre, but sadly it turns out to be an almost worthless exercise in box-ticking that had the potential to be so much more.

First off – the false advertising. The DVD box shows a scene of gun-toting survivors battling a huge horde of the undead as London burns. It looks like some big budget mayhem is due, in the same vein as 28 WEEKS LATER. Once you begin watching the film, you quickly realise the budget is in the same region as THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT – i.e. this is a shot on video film with a handful of actors and never more than half a dozen zombies on screen at once. I didn't mind the budget constraints too much, as at least realism is often heightened in such productions.

And, indeed, the film starts off on a strong footing. The zombie outbreak is vaguely explained with just the right level of detail, and there's mucho atmosphere building as a quartet of documentary filmmakers find themselves in a seemingly abandoned rural farmhouse. All the locals have vanished, and just what is making that thumping behind the bedroom door? The answer is utterly horrifying and genuinely scary, an exceptional bit of well-directed shock that promises so much more than what comes later. I could even forgive the poor acting.

Unfortunately, the film then proceeds to fall apart. Utterly. One of the biggest problems is the stupidity of the script, which is aimless and derivative. For some nonsensical reason, the film cuts between different groups of survivors and we never get to know or care about any of them. Stupid non-linear twists are made which make trying to piece together what's going on even more of a chore, and one that's frankly not worth bothering with. For the rest of the film, it's just seeing people shooting zombies. Oh, and there's a twist in which some of the survivors turn out to be bad eggs themselves – like we haven't seen that one done before.

I didn't have a problem with the lack of budget or scope. The special effects are pretty good, even if they have a Halloween-party look to them. The actors are diabolical, but that's a flaw that's easily overlooked. It's the pointless, plot less story that drags this one down, and the need to repeat endless boring "action" sequences. The film should have stuck with the initial characters and perhaps presented an under siege NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD scenario instead – that would have cut down on budget costs and could have been genuinely tense, if derivative. Instead, THE ZOMBIE DIARIES turns out to be one of the most disappointing zombie films in recent history.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 October 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Zombie Diaries

Filming Locations:

Chapel Street, Baldock, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

GBP8,100 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bleeding Edge Films, Off World Films

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1