Product Details

• Actors: Leonard Fenton, Russell Jones, Anna Blades, Hiram Bleetman, Craig Stovin
• Directors: Kevin Gates, Michael Bartlett
• Format: Color, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Subtitles: Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Weinstein Company
• DVD Release Date: November 18, 2008
• Run Time: 85 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001DJ7PU0
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #25,987 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Zombie Diaries" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

"Better than Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later" (beyondhollywood.com), The Zombie Diaries has been hailed as "the most realistic zombie film ever made" (twitchfilm.net). Set in England during a world-wide viral infection, this documentary-style frightfest records the rise of the undead from the videocams of several survivor groups. As each struggles against the flesh-eating hordes, an even more horrifying fate lurks among them. "Dark, uncompromising and frighteningly real" (eatmybrains.com), The Zombie Diaries is smart horror at its bloody best.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dear Diary; EERRRGGHH!, September 28, 2009

By	E K Maxmias "Frighteningly Real" (Close enough to Detroit!) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Zombie Diaries (DVD)

I probably don't have to tell you that this independent horror film isn't about zombies writing in their diaries. However, I should point out that the cover art has little to do with anything that happens in the film. In such a case you might conclude that this film is a complete waste of time since most DVD cases with exceptionally enticing and irritatingly deceptive cover art are stinkers. In this case that's not so clear. It depends on what you're looking for. As usual, I'll have to chew this into smaller pieces.

-OH GOD NO!! NOT THE HANDI-CAM AGAIN!!!
That's right. This English film is shot using hand-held video cameras much like "Blair Witch" and "Clover Field". Unlike those films, the cameras are handled with some competence. Though I did get a bit sea sick at moments, overall it was tolerable. Other than the adept use of the cameras there was nothing original about this idea. Strangely and mistakenly, there is some very tight in-camera editing while nobody is holding it.

-PLEASE GET ON WITH IT
The actors do about as well as you'd expect from a low budget independent horror film. However, they often aren't given much to do but drive around, rummage through abandoned buildings and look for resources. We get to know them to a certain degree and they all act fairly natural most of the time. Though probably a realistic approach, it hardly makes for compelling viewing. This film really does take its time getting to the zombie part of the diary.

-PLAUSABILITY TAKES A HOLIDAY.
Aside from the whole idea of zombies, there are problems with plausibility in "Zombie Diaries". The biggest problem is one that threatens the entire concept of the film; three separate and unrelated groups of people are forced together by events beyond their control and all of them happen to be video recording their ordeals. That's just a bit too convenient a coincidence. But hey, I'll buy into the premise. Perhaps the thing that bugged me the most was the inconsistent response to the slow moving and physically inept zombies. At one moment a man can push them over and smash their heads in with little resistance and the next moment he's running aimlessly in fear, screaming and getting bitten. If I could walk up to them, push them over and smash there heads in, I'm never running frantically from the buggers. Escape would not be a problem.

-IT'S STILL CREEPY
Despite my criticisms, "Zombie Diaries" has a scary edge to it. The first half hour is especially frightening even though very little seams to be happening. When we do see the antagonists, it is uber creepy. Even though the zombies moved slowly, they also moved very quietly. This kept me on edge and proved fatal to the protagonists a couple of times. Though I think in real life, without the limited peripheral range of a camera, you'd see these guys coming in plenty of time to act. Regardless, I was constantly on my guard waiting for the protagonists to let their guard down or stumble into the stealthy infected.

-GIVE CREDIT WHERE IT'S DUE
Though almost completely derived from those who came before, "Zombie Diaries" manages to combine the ideas of it's predecessors into something new. Perhaps the most intriguing concept this film tackles is the idea that we'd have more to fear from unfettered sociopaths than the zombies. With a plague shutting down the normal functions of society, even the zombies become victims at these "monsters" hands. They also would make survival for the average person far less probable, as if zombies weren't enough.

-THE FINAL SOLUTION
Whether or not people should see this movie depends strictly on personal tastes. This isn't exciting enough for those who crave high octane action and it isn't thought provoking enough for those who require a challenge. It has scary and edgy moments but might not succeed upon repeat viewing. There is good gore and some nudity but not a lot of either. Yet it definitely has a disturbing and nightmarish mood to it. The DVD has all the requisite extras including deleted scenes, commentary, making of and trailer. Rental might be the way to go if you are curious.

Acting......3.5 stars
Story.........3 stars
Visuals......2.5 stars
Gordity......2.5 stars

Average.....2.88 stars

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't waste your time., February 21, 2010

By	SidheDevil (NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Zombie Diaries (DVD)

As the wife of a huge fan of zombies in any genre and a horror fan herself, we were both severely disappointed by this movie. The acting is completely absent, I've seen better delivery by kindergartners. The plot made little to no sense and the special effects would only pass muster at a church spook trail at night. One scene that included "brains" on the ground had us both wondering, "Was that canned cherries?"

There is a huge bounce in the timeline that made no sense, three groups of characters that made you cheer for the zombies, and a setting that was bland and uninteresting. You lose characters who they go back to at the end for no apparent reason. A lot of "What?" moments throughout. The writing lacked a basic knowledge of what people would do in a situation like this, going from one extreme to the other.

I'm am just very glad that we did not pay much for this movie. It makes "Diary of the Dead" look like it should be an Oscar winner. I would greatly encourage you not to bother with this wanna be zombie movie. As a person that has no experience making a movie, I could do better with a $500 budget and a camcorder.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Misleading Cover Art, December 16, 2009

By	C. B. Hart (United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Zombie Diaries (DVD)

The provided synopsis and great looking cover lead you to believe this movie is a ground breaking piece of cinematic zombie genius. However, this is not the case. The guerrilla-style recording was over played, the zombies themselves were not up to recent zombie movie standards, and the acting seemed as though they were professional actors trying to make a B-rated film. I can tolerate bad/cheesy acting, or not-so-well done zombie makeup, but not both. The plot line was decent enough but I personally couldn't get past the 1970's zombies in a 2008 movie and the real actors trying to play fake actors.