The man of zombies is back and George Romero once again sets out to thoroughly scare the viewer. Even though the action and scares are quite high in this movie, he does not really add anything new to the genre such as his 2005 movie Land of the Dead.

In actual fact, The Diary of the Dead is a classic zombie movie with a plethora of clichés and sometime over the top acting that makes these movies so thoroughly entertaining and this current zombie epic revolves around a group of film students who are attempting to make a horror movie.

Unfortunately something goes awry and when the members start getting killed, they begin to come back as zombies which challenges the very essence of their reality. The movie also has a Blair Witch feel to its creation with its fake documentary approach.

The characters in the movie are quite self obsessed and it’s difficult to find anything but the lack of contempt for these wannabe film makers, so when they start dying, you’re generally rooting for the baddies. When it comes to gore, this is an extremely violent and blood stained movie that is quite hardcore at times that I’m sure lovers of the horror genre will simply scream with glee as they watch away and then watch again. It may not be the most original zombie movies and it’s a shame that Romero did not get out of his comfort zone as this is probably an above average zombie film.

When it comes to extras, it features commentary by George Romero, editor Michael Doherty and director of photography Adam Swica which is actually quite insightful. Match that with some interviews, featurettes and some mock featurettes and this nicely rounds out this collection.

DVD Special Features

"Master of the Dead" - interview with George A. Romero with foreword by producers
"Speak of the Dead" - George A. Romero looks back on his career and his influences
"Into The Camera" - meet the cast in the film
"You Look Dead!" - a documentary on the make-up FX
"A New Spin on Death" - a look into the visual FX of the film
"A World Gone Mad" - delve into the cinematography and design of the film
"Character Confessionals" - never-before-seen footage from the characters in the film
"Familiar Voices" - discover the famous voices that were used in the background of the film
"The Roots" - interview with George A. Romero
"The First Week" - a filmmaker takes us through the first week of DIARY production
Original Trailer
Stills Gallery