ign logo IGN.com | AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | GameSpy | FilePlanet | TeamXbox | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | Direct2Drive

RottenTomatoes.com

RT Bug Squash
Home Movies DVD Celebrities News Critics Photos & Trailers The Vine Forums
Box Office | Best Of | Certified Fresh | Showtimes
Register for free site & special features! | Log In | What is RT?
                       
MOVIES / ON DVD / GEORGE A. ROMERO'S DIARY OF THE DEAD
George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead

Rate This Movie

Write a Review
Share This Movie
Add to List
Buy Poster

Bookmark and Share

George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead (2008)

60%
55%
67%
N/A
N/A
N/A
60 %
Reviews Counted: 99 Fresh: 59  Rotten:40 Average Rating: 6.1/10
 
Consensus: Time hasn't subdued Romero's affection for mixing politics with gore. As Diary of the Dead proves, time hasn't subdued George A. Romero's affection for mixing politics with gore, nor has it given him cinematic grace or subtlety. more
 
Rated: 18
Runtime: 1 hr 34 mins
Theatrical Release: 07-03-2008
Synopsis:
Director George A. Romero returns to the subject matter that made him famous with this postmodern take on the zombie genre. DIARY OF THE DEAD begins in innocuous fashion as a group of film students head out into the woods to make a low-budget horror film. This film-within-a-film is directed by... [More]
Director George A. Romero returns to the subject matter that made him famous with this postmodern take on the zombie genre. DIARY OF THE DEAD begins in innocuous fashion as a group of film students head out into the woods to make a low-budget horror film. This film-within-a-film is directed by Jason Creed (Joshua Close), who draws on a group of friends, and his college professor, to get the job done. But the filming comes to an abrupt halt when news comes in that the dead are springing back to life, devouring people, and taking over the world. Film obsessive Creed doesn't put his camera down for long, and he's soon heading out on the road with his friends in a quest to document the real-life carnage as it unfolds. The film is shot entirely from the point of view of Creed and his camera-wielding friends, and in a neat nod to contemporary technology, Romero's feature is full of references to websites such as MySpace and YouTube. This interesting sidestep from Romero's long-running zombie saga is a 21st century take on the initial zombie outburst that occurred in the director's 1968 classic NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Romero unleashes much of his trademark gore and violence as the film progresses, and there are some increasingly witty and inventive ways in which characters become zombiefied. The cast of young unknowns fit snugly into their roles, particularly Michelle Morgan, whose character is in charge of piecing together Creed's film in the editing room. But what really sets DIARY OF THE DEAD apart from its horror-movie contemporaries is the hefty dose of social satire that Romero works into the film, making this a welcome return to the director's trademark style following the more straightforward gore-fest of 2005's LAND OF THE DEAD. [Less]

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Starring: Michelle Morgan, Josh Close, Shawn Roberts, Amy Lalonde, Joe Dinicol

Director: George A. Romero
Screenwriter: George A. Romero
Producer: Peter Grunwald, Art Spigel, Sam Englebardt, Ara Katz, Dan Fireman
Composer: Norman Orenstein

DVD Info

Release:

Aug 5, 2009

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Keep Case
  • Full Frame - 1.33

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital Stereo - English
  • Subtitled - Spanish - Optional

Reviews

 
T-Meter Critics
 
 
Top Critics
 
 
RT Community
 
 
My Critics
 
 
My Friends
 
 
DVD
 
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5
Arrange By: Name | Fresh | Rotten | Date | Source
 
 
Ratings Image

This is hardly a new idea by now, and Romero does it to death with ponderous musings about camcorder culture and the ethics of stopping to look, not to help. Intermittent fun, though.

Full Review | Comment
03/07/08 09:47 AM
Tim Robey
Daily Telegraph
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

The opening news-report sequence is very strong. But from there on in ... well, what more is there to say about the zombie genre and its metaphors for our undead society?

Full Review | Comment
03/07/08 09:37 AM
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

The horror is toothily familiar.

Full Review | Comment
03/07/08 09:29 AM
James Christopher
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

The zombies may be dead but George Romero's taste for social commentary certainly isn't in Diary of the Dead, the latest instalment in his long-running walking corpse series.

Full Review | Comment
03/07/08 08:41 AM
Jamie Russell
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Like the recent ‘Cloverfield’, Romero uses the kinetic immediacy of digital video shot on-the-run, but in a more sophisticated and disturbing way.

Full Review | Comment
03/07/08 08:27 AM
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

An enthusiastic cast are partially up to the challenge, but some of the thesping belongs on a Straight-to-Video shelf.

Full Review | Comment
03/07/08 08:18 AM
Rob Daniel
Sky Movies
Ratings Image

A raw, vivid despatch from the frontline, this melds content with frights in classic Romero style. An outstanding exercise in showing the kids how to do it.

Full Review | Comment
03/07/08 03:15 AM
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Disappointing zombie movie, let down by some appalling acting and a script that fails to do anything useful or interesting with its central set-up.

Full Review | Comment
03/06/08 03:15 AM
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
Ratings Image

sees the writer/director well and truly back from the dead and returning to his independent roots, with a small, character-based production that is intelligent, bleak, and at times jarringly funny.

Full Review | Comment
02/28/08 07:29 AM
Anton Bitel
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

endiaferon ston bathmo poy epizita to simeio kampsis tis ikanotitas mas na ksehorizoyme ti bia piso ap' tin othoni apo ti bia pantoy gyro mas, anti na prospathei na genikeysei tin dipsa gia ysterofimia poy empotizei stoys iroes toy

Full Review | Comment
05/06/08 03:33 AM
Joseph Proimakis
Movies for the Masses
Ratings Image

The combination of horror, humor, and mockumentary works well in this movie.

Full Review | Comment
04/17/08 08:38 PM
Jette Kernion
Cinematical
N/R

No review available.

| Comment
04/14/08 03:16 AM
Manohla Dargis
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

The results are about what you might expect from a student filmmaker operating without a budget or a script - crude and amateurish, with occasional (and possibly unintentional) flashes of brilliance. 'Diary' is no different.

Full Review | Comment
04/09/08 11:11 PM
Rossiter Drake
San Francisco Examiner
Ratings Image

The chilling and relevant film Land tried to be, but never quite was.

Full Review | Comment
03/18/08 11:57 PM
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Ratings Image

George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead proves there's still some life left in the veteran filmmaker's long-running, zombie-movie series.

Full Review | Comment
03/13/08 05:08 PM
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
Ratings Image

Fails to come up with anything fresh or particularly frightening.

Full Review | Comment
03/07/08 01:31 PM
Steve Ramos
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Ratings Image

What saves the film is Romero's peerless command of the language of gore.

Full Review | Comment
03/07/08 01:30 PM
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press
Ratings Image

Disappointing but also bracing, and it ends with the question that has motivated all Romero's work: 'Are we worth saving?'

Full Review | Comment
03/07/08 08:50 AM
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
Ratings Image

It's a shame to speak ill of the dead, but Romero leaves us no alternative.

Full Review | Comment
03/06/08 04:43 PM
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Ratings Image

What undermines the movie is a streak of moralizing undercutting the humor that's a vital ingredient to any good zombie flick.

Full Review | Comment
03/01/08 07:25 PM
Pamela Troy
culturevulture.net
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5
See More Topics...

Related Forums

Diary of the Dead release date is 5/20/08 and a review. Warning Spoilers!!
by: jabber 5/13


Scared me to Sleep!
by: raymel1 5/7


New Review Posted
by: Apartmentzero 4/1


Some Inspired Moments Make This Worth Recommending, But Romero Should Try New Things
by: MH and THE MOVIES 2/28


REEL_REVIEWER
(2008 release)-George Romero's DIARY OF THE DEAD puts the camera in the aud's hands??
by: REEL_REVIEWER 2/25
all

Pictures

all

News

Guide of the Dead - An RT Romero Retrospective
posted by Chris Hewitt (UK) March 07, 2008
As Diary of the Dead hits cinemas, we sit down with George A. Romero to talk retrospectively about what has come from his...


George A. Romero on Diary of the Dead: The RT Interview
posted by Fred Topel February 15, 2008
With sequel talk already on the horizon, RT chats up horror legend George A. Romero about zombie movies and the latest...


Critics Consensus: Spiderwick Weaves Gold, Jumper Goes Over the Shark, Say Yes to Maybe
posted by Tim Ryan and Alex Vo February 13, 2008
This week at the movies, we've got supernatural dwellers, teleporters, a dance dance revolution, and uncertain love....


Romero's Diary of the Dead Gets a Distributor -- and a Sequel?
posted by Jeff Giles September 13, 2007
Our own Alex Vo didn't think much of it, but that hasn't stopped The Weinstein Company from purchasing the domestic...

Around the Network

• George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead at Rotten Tomatoes
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | ModCenter | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive

By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2008, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.