Comments on: Roger’s Diary of the Dead Review

By: Roger

Roger — Wed, 21 May 2008 00:00:33 +0000

Diary of the Dead came out today on DVD.

By: Eros Welker

Eros Welker — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 00:31:02 +0000

I shouldn’t judge based on someone else’s review, but the MySpace thing was more than just that site vs. YouTube but more than it was just so ever-present in the film as a plot device. Then again, it don’t matter.

Oh what do I do? I think maybe I’ll just go see it blindly on a Sunday morning, before 12am to get my senior discount…

By: Roger

Roger — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 19:15:41 +0000

I invited Bake and Eros, but I’ve never had your email address. So the blame lies with them. ;p

By: Burnt

Burnt — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 19:07:21 +0000

THANKS FOR THE INVITE, Cocksucker!

By: Roger

Roger — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 16:39:28 +0000

Wasn’t the whole “rich vs. poor” thing done better in Romero’s original Day of the Dead script, though? (Check the DVD for a PDF of this, it’s a great read.)

1) Agreed on this.

2) I think the MySpace vs. YouTube thing was a practical one - it seems that they’re partnered with MySpace as a promotional tool. Is the distributor part of the whole NewsCorp conglomerate? If so, that would explain it. At the Q&A afterwards (I neglected to mention this), Romero said that he’s learned a lot about online video sites through his 17 year old son.

3) The zombies do show up in greater numbers as the film goes on, so there is some sort of progression.

By: Eros Welker

Eros Welker — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 16:10:38 +0000

I have some friends who just saw this as well, two of which thought it was horrible and one (who loves everything) who liked it. All of them agree with you about the message, that Romero is pushing a theme that’s like 40 years old and is less relevant than ever to the world we live in, and that it’s beaten over the heads of the audience. At least, Land of the Dead had an original theme to it, even if there was some of the “the rich vs. the poor” mixed in there.

Also, the three bits from their individual takes that scare me the most are:

1. That it looks like it was filmed in a weekend. I dug Land of the Dead. It’s not a GREAT movie, but it was well made and had some interesting bits. It also looked like it took effort. It’s why I enjoyed Cloverfield, it wasn’t just running around with a handicam; it was with purpose (all you critics be damned!). Maybe I’m wrong, I haven’t even seen the trailer so I shouldn’t just trust that blindly.

2. The whole Myspace thing. I get that he’s trying so desperately to reach out to this generation, being ancient, but it all sounds way too much for me. I know it infuriated my friends that you’re watching people upload and download videos to MySpace. Who does that?! And who cares?

3. Where are the zombies? Yes, there’s some cool gags, but there’s not a lot of zombie action, or at least, enough zombie action.

Of course, I’ll see this, but I suspect on DVD. Convince me otherwise!