The Zombie Diaries (2006)

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... See full summary »

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

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

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:

£8,100 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bleeding Edge Films, Off World Films

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Bad Movie Beatdown: The Devil Inside (2013)

User Reviews

Great Concept, Terrible Everything Else

The premise of the movie is great. After a zombie epidemic, various video diaries are recovered. These video diaries tell the tales of survival of 3 groups of people whose stories eventually interweave.

Sadly, the acting is terrible. The best acting is done by the zombies. The special effects and makeup appear to have been done by students venturing into their first foray into gore. The best makeup/special effect is the clouded contacts and anybody with 20 dollars and Wal-Mart nearby can pull that off. Some zombies look downright comical, almost as if they are wearing cheap Halloween costumes.

This movie has some of the comedy that has come to be expected in the genre, but it's not intentional. In one scene, a shot from about 20 yards away with a rifle takes about two seconds before the zombies head is (poorly) blown apart.

The camera work is terrible. There is no sense of a "diary" in any of the 3 scenarios. Just groups filming their goings on and there's too much of a random feeling to it. And not random in the good way. More like "Why in the world would they be filming THIS?" There should have been more asides and narrating from the cameramen. Instead of having a sense of "this is a diary that recorded their struggles for whoever may find it", you had more of a sense of "this is a bad class project done by middle school children". The dialogue is forced. Whether it was written or improvised, it smacked of trying too hard to "act", and this totally destroyed the feel of "this is real people reacting to real events".

There are about 3 scenes that could have been very powerful. One of them has been done in almost every zombie movie before and the main difference this time around was the age of the "victim". The other two scenes were more confusing than anything. There's a difference between leaving things opened for interpretation and just totally dropping the ball.

All in all, I was very disappointed. A great concept was ruined.