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• Diary of the Dead — for Diary of the Dead
  Written by cosmobrown on 05.08.2009

  There's a reason why George A. Romero is regarded as the king of the zombie movie. While he may not have invented the genre, he was the first to instill a sense of political and cultural relevance to it which transcended the pulpy origins of the genre into something a little bit special. He began in 1968 with Night of the Living Dead, continued onto 1978's Dawn of the Dead, 1985's Day of the Dead and then 2005's Land of the Dead. 2007 saw him re-enter the zombie world with Diary of the Dead, and it shows that the old master has lost none of his magic touch. Set simultaneously with the events of Night of the Living Dead, Diary of the Dead uses the handheld/ found footage style of The Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield, [REC] to take a unique spin on the much-weathered genre. We see through the eyes of a group of film students, caught up in the middle of something they don't understand, as they document everything. They intend to show the world what the media is covering up. That's the political slant that Romero brings to this latest film; despite the fact that we now have 24 hour news coverage courtesy of internet, cable television, mobile phones etc, we still can't believe everything (or anything) we see and hear. Along with this theme, Romero also brings plenty of trademark humour, creativity and originality to proceedings, as well, of course, as plenty of imaginative zombie gore. The dialogue gets a little clunky at times, and Romero lays his messages on a bit thick at time, while the acting feels a little ameuteurish at points, but otherwise Diary of the Dead is another George A. Romero zombie classic. Well made and creative, with an interesting message at it's core, Diary of the Dead is well worth your time.