The raw
materials are there for The Zombie Diaries
to be a great original zombie-horror concept, but it falls apart on a
couple of levels.
Written
by The Zombie Master Lee
Roberts October 21, 2007
Release: 2006 Written and Directed by: Michael Bartlett
& Kevin Gates
Starring: (it doesn't really matter but ok) Russell Jones as Goke Craig Stovin as Andy Jonnie Hurn as John James Fisher as Geoff Anna Blades as Vanessa
Have you ever finished watching a movie and thought
“That was good.” just to go over it in your head
and think “No, that sucked” and then go back over
it and think “It wasn't that bad.” and continue to
argue with yourself for the next thirty minutes until you have an
aneurysm and your head explodes? Located all of the skull and brain
matter isn’t fun, but at least I can warn you to wrap your
head with duct tape before watching.
The Zombie Diaries starts innocent enough as we see
a team of investigative reporters filming a documentary about the
possibility of a virus, that started in Asia, making it's way to Europe
and the British Isles and eventually the world (sounds like World
War Z). In the
midst of locating a farmhouse, but not the farmer, for an
interview, having their car breakdown, fixing the car and noticing that
the small town down the road is completely empty, the reporters soon
become stuck in the middle of the very pandemic that they were
researching.
Side note: This virus acts like the flu but then kills the infected
and, wait for it, wait for it, reanimates them thus making them
zombies.
Fast forward one month later, we now have a different group consisting
of a couple (could be married) and a man from America. They have been
hiding out from the zombie invasion and now are forced to seek out more
supplies. After watching this video diary for a while we move to
another one where we meet another group of survivors that have holed up
at a farm while hunting and killing the zombies that are around the
area.
I would love to say that there is more to The Zombie Diaries
but alas, outside of an unnecessary hook at the end, there is nothing
else.
Good concept? Definitely. Good follow through? Not so much.
The Zombie Diaries had good
intentions; Have a few people with hand held video cameras tell a story
about a zombie epidemic through the eyes of people that are going
through it, throw in some kudos to the zombie films that came before
and keep it low budget. I see no sense in talking about bad acting,
because it doesn't matter with this type of filming structure. The
directing really doesn't matter either.
One place
where The Zombie Diaries fails is in the editing.
All you need to do is watch Grizzly Man to see how you correctly edit
raw footage. Of course, not everyone can hope to match Werner Herzog
but Bartlett and Gates could have at least taken some cues from him.
The main disappointment with The Zombie Diaries
however, is the hook at the end. Documentary films do not need hooks.
There is no place for one. If you want to film a movie with a hook at
the end then film one - Nothing wrong with that. I like films with
hooks at the end. But no one is going to buy into the reality of
multiple video diaries edited together with a hook at the end. Don't do
it.
I
am a realist. I am going to tell you that you need not waste your time
watching The Zombie Diaries but I know that some of
you will watch it anyway. When you do, wrap your head with duct tape.
It will not keep it from exploding but it will keep all of the pieces
together to make repairs a whole lot easier. Questions
or comments about The Zombie Diaries? Contact us!
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). In the
midst of locating a farmhouse, but not the farmer, for an
interview, having their car breakdown, fixing the car and noticing that
the small town down the road is completely empty, the reporters soon
become stuck in the middle of the very pandemic that they were
researching. 
Side note: This virus acts like the flu but then kills the infected
and, wait for it, wait for it, reanimates them thus making them
zombies. 
The Zombie Diaries had good
intentions; Have a few people with hand held video cameras tell a story
about a zombie epidemic through the eyes of people that are going
through it, throw in some kudos to the zombie films that came before
and keep it low budget. I see no sense in talking about bad acting,
because it doesn't matter with this type of filming structure. The
directing really doesn't matter either. 
to see how you correctly edit
raw footage. Of course, not everyone can hope to match Werner Herzog
but Bartlett and Gates could have at least taken some cues from him. 
