Let me just say that I love zombies, any and all zombies. From the charming, well dressed zombie in the indie "Fido" to those vicious, intense zombies in "30 Days of Night", I've never met a zombie or a zombie movie I didn't like. So of course I was thrilled to see a new movie written and directed by George A. Romero, the original grandfather of zombie movies and creator of "Night of the Living Dead". His latest, "Diary of the Dead", takes aim at our society's media obsession while giving us plenty of those classic, slow moving zombies at which he excels. A group of film students from the University of Pittsburgh are forced to navigate the ever increasing horror of a world gone crazy when dead people nationwide begin coming back to life as flesh eating zombies. There's nothing new about the zombie storyline, but Romero has a unique way of creating the perfect atmosphere of paranoia, fear and vulnerability to make the audience feel just as terrified as the hapless college students in his film. An excellent cast of newcomers does a good job of bringing a bit of life to the rather under developed characters. There's a sly connection between the student film being made in the beginning of the movie and the new world of zombies. Romero's delightfully sick sense of humor is prevalent throughout, making up for some of his script's deficiencies. Despite the films shortcomings, I still enjoyed this welcome foray into zombie land, though not as much as I did his previous zombie films.
Things to love about this movie: Romero's pointed comments about media spin and influence; some scary moments; zombies in a swimming pool (a new one on me); the ending line (my favorite of the year so far); all those zombies!
Things to hate about this movie: Some heavy handed social commentary; somewhat stereotypical characters
Pleasant surprises: No miracle cure or control for zombies; no heroes in the National Guard; brief appearance by Romero make-up genius Tom Savini as a vicious zombie in one scene
Unpleasant surprises: Nothing really makes this movie pop; not enough zombie attacks
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