Customer Reviews

The Zombie Diaries

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(46)

 

 

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

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.

No Star for this one but I had to !!!!!!!!!!!! What the hell did the cover have to do with this movie ???? Me personally !! I have no idea !! I'm getting a bit sick and tired of amateurs running around with video cameras trying to make a movie !! Wow if you like looking at fast moving ground - Vague unfocused night scenes - unstable camera movements go waste your money !! Hey you students out there stop coning the public with your cheap rubbish !! Absolute crap ! The Attack of Killer Tomatoes leave you for dead Zombies Ha! Ha! and Romero is still the best Wouldn't mind a refund on this one

The plot and characters are ok, but if you're subject to motion sickness or nausea from movies filmed in the style of "Bair Witch," stay away from this one. Certainly don't purchase it before viewing a rental. The hand-held video camera jerked around so excessively, I was only able to stomach about 20 minutes before feeling ill and ejecting it from my Sony PS3. Buyers beware; very poorly filmed!

Absolutely awful. This is one of the worst zombie movies I have ever seen. The acting was just plain bad, very amateurish. Plus, the characters were so stupid. If there were real zombies, this movie should be used in "Zombie Survival Class" on how not to behave.

This movie is nothing like the cover, it follows a number different groups of people during a zombie outbreak. This is why I hate Zombie moives with SLOW ASS ZOMBIES!!!!!!!!! A bunch of girls screaming for no reason when they can easily out run the zombies. Theres a scene with some survivors, and they go into town to get supplies or whatever, and they see a few zombies walking towards them, WALKING! Then they start panicing trying to get all the stuff into the car.................. Look, this movie is going to have you questioning a lot of S**t, rather than finding someway to enjoy this film. I gave the movie 2 stars instead of 1 because the idea and the plot was there but it just wasnt executed in the right way. If the Zombies ran, I wouldnt care about the make-up of the zombies and I wouldnt care about the acting......... That much. Waste you time if want!

Don't believe the boxart! Cover, back and disc art are NOT of the film at all, neither characters or scenes. Another awful, shaky camera runabout by idiots with better things to be doing than hauling cameras around and staring down into them while spouting whiny diatribes at the hapless viewer.

It takes effort to make Blair Witch and Cloverfield look acceptable and Zombie Diaries goes the extra mile to do so. The film is even cut up into chapters and pieces of chapters of wholy unrelated groups of unlikable whiners, skipping between them all forward and back in time. It's not just trashy film, it's trashy, incoherent film.

Don't expect any happy endings here either. It also takes the tiresomely well trodden path where armed, psycho humans are the bigger villains of the piece. I came to this for some zombie vs survivor action and Zombie Diaries dissappoints on every level. There's very little combat and what little you get has pitifully humble effects. The acting could be worse, but that's not really a compliment either. You won't sympathize with any of the characters, most of whom you can't even name, but you might feel sorry for some of the actors in it.

Do yourself a favor and get World War Z in hard back or audio CD format if you want some quality zombie apocolypse life stories instead of the this no-budget spineless whine fest.

Horrible. Don't waste your money. If you are a fan of the Blair witch project, you won't like this movie. If your not a fan of the BWP (like me) you will hate this movie. Very small camera shots, bad acting, bad effects, bad everything.

I generally have a have a high tolerance for lousy flicks, I just can't get through this one.

Ok so Zombie Diaries wasn't the worst zombie film ever, it kept me watching until the end and i even watched it again with someone else. Acting isn't horrible but of course isn't the best ever either. As for gore it was ok and actually looked pretty real on most scenes. I'm rating it 3 star just because it wasn't a horrible movie but it was a good one either, If you collect zombie films then this will go good in your collection but its nothing to get excited about either. Zombie Diaries isn't as bad as house of the dead 1 or 2 but its not as good as dawn of the dead either. Personally I think the hunt is still on for the perfect zombie movie...