Diary of the Dead (2007)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

George A. Romero

Writer (WGA):

George A. Romero (written by)

Release Date:

7 March 2008 (UK)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Shoot the dead.

Plot:

A group of young film students run into real-life zombies while filming a horror movie of their own.

Plot Keywords:

Professor | Film Student | Car Accident | Suicide | Pistol

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Michelle Morgan	...	Debra Moynihan
Joshua Close	...	Jason Creed (as Josh Close)
Shawn Roberts	...	Tony Ravello
Amy Ciupak Lalonde	...	Tracy Thurman (as Amy Lalonde)
Joe Dinicol	...	Eliot Stone
Scott Wentworth	...	Andrew Maxwell
Philip Riccio	...	Ridley Wilmott
Chris Violette	...	Gordo Thorsen
Tatiana Maslany	...	Mary Dexter
Todd Schroeder	...	Brody (as Todd William Schroeder)
Daniel Kash	...	Police Officer
Laura DeCarteret	...	Bree
Martin Roach	...	Stranger
Megan Park	...	Francine Shane
George Buza	...	Tattooed Biker
Tino Monte	...	News Anchor
Matt Birman	...	Zombie Trooper
Gregory Nicotero	...	Zombie Surgeon (as Greg Nicotero)
Donna Croce	...	Zombie Nurse
Nick Alachiotis	...	I.V. Zombie
R.D. Reid	...	Farmer
Scott Gibson	...	Birthday Party Father
Jamie Bloch	...	Birthday Girl
Kyle Glencross	...	Bupkes the Clown
Boyd Banks	...	White Man
Janet Lo	...	Cell Phone Woman
Jak Birman	...	Billy
Trish Adams	...	Dead Mrs. Moynahan
Alan Van Sprang	...	Colonel
Ron Payne	...	Elderly Man
Shelley Cook	...	Elderly Woman (as Shelly Cook)
James Binkley	...	Trooper
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Anthony Cancelliere	...	Zombie (uncredited)
Wes Craven	...	Newsreader (voice) (uncredited)
Alexandria DeFabiis	...	Zombie (uncredited)
Ara Katz	...	Shopping Cart Zombie (uncredited)
Stephen King	...	Newsreader (voice) (uncredited)
Mani Nasry	...	Zombie (uncredited)
Simon Pegg	...	Newsreader (voice) (uncredited)
George A. Romero	...	Police Chief Arthur Katz (uncredited)
Quentin Tarantino	...	Newsreader (voice) (uncredited)
Guillermo del Toro	...	Newsreader (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
George A. Romero

Writing credits (WGA)
George A. Romero		(written by)

Produced by
Steve Barnett	....	executive producer
Donna Croce	....	associate producer
Paula Devonshire	....	co-producer
Michael Doherty	....	associate producer
Sam Englebardt	....	producer
Dan Fireman	....	executive producer
Peter Grunwald	....	producer
John Harrison	....	executive producer
Ara Katz	....	producer
Art Spigel	....	producer (as Artur Spigel)

Original Music by
Norman Orenstein

Cinematography by
Adam Swica		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Michael Doherty

Casting by
John Buchan

Production Design by
Rupert Lazarus

Art Direction by
Jon P. Goulding		(as Jon Goulding)

Set Decoration by
Justin Craig

Costume Design by
Alex Kavanagh

Makeup Department
Sid Armour	....	key makeup artist
Chris Bridges	....	special makeup effects supervisor
Daphne Esdaille	....	assistant hair stylist
Daphne Esdaille	....	assistant hair stylist: additional photography
Norm Galloway	....	shop coordinator
Kyle Glencross	....	special makeup effects supervisor
Etheline Joseph	....	key hair stylist
Tali Kalb	....	assistant makeup artist
Tali Kalb	....	key makeup artist: additional photography
Marika Latorcai	....	assistant makeup artist: additional photography (as Marikia Williams)
Jonathan Lavallée	....	shop key
Neil Morrill	....	special makeup effects supervisor
Gregory Nicotero	....	special makeup effects producer (as Greg Nicotero)
Andy Schoneberg	....	makeup designer

Production Management
D.J. Carson	....	unit production manager
Paula Devonshire	....	post-production supervisor
Michael Doherty	....	post-production supervisor
Brigitte Rabazo	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Matt Birman	....	second unit director
Jack Boem	....	second assistant director
Tyler Delben	....	third assistant director
Doane Hanus	....	daily assistant director
Jeff Muhsoldt	....	trainee assistant director: additional photography (as Jeff Musholdt)
Martin Walters	....	first assistant director
Jennifer Zabawa	....	trainee assistant director
Michael Zenon	....	additional first assistant director

Art Department
Lisa Amaral-Wright	....	first assistant property master
Roxanne Borris	....	second assistant art director
Steven Ciancamerla	....	set dresser
Dwight Doerksen	....	construction manager: additional photography
David Fujii	....	head painter
Peter Harding	....	construction coordinator
Deirdre Hughes	....	art director: additional photography
Leandro Illescas	....	carpenter
Andrew Kawczynski	....	on-set dresser: additional photography
Kim Maticiw	....	props buyer
Kent McIntyre	....	art department apprentice: additional photography
Doug Moorehouse	....	head carpenter
Jesse O'Connor	....	lead dresser
Julian Peters	....	set dresser: additional photography
Michael Smith	....	on-set dresser
Joe Susin	....	set dresser: additional photography
Giles Vanderholt	....	art department trainee
Peter Waffle	....	set dresser: additional photography
Craig Williams	....	property master

Sound Department
Al Buchok	....	boom operator (as Alex Buchok)
Erik Culp	....	foley recordist
Alan deGraaf	....	sound re-recording mixer
Alfie DiPucchio	....	adr recordist
John Gare	....	sound re-recording mixer
Rose Gregoris	....	assistant sound editor
Sid Lieberman	....	foley artist
Craig MacLellan	....	adr assistant
James Nichols	....	sound consultant: Dolby
Jill Purdy	....	adr editor
Jill Purdy	....	dialogue editor
Adam Raley	....	mix assistant
Regan Ramos	....	audio coordinator
Nathan Robitaille	....	sound designer
Zenon Waschuk	....	production sound mixer

Special Effects by
Mark Ahee	....	special effects supervisor
David Antonacci	....	special effects assistant: additional photography
Sean Armstrong	....	special effects assistant
Joanne Bujouves	....	prosthetic assistant: additional photography
Tim Ferguson	....	special effects assistant: additional photography
Michael Gagnon	....	special effects key (as Michel Gagnon)
Dylan Hankinson	....	special effects assistant: additional photography
Geoff Hill	....	on set key
Geoff Hill	....	special effects key: additional photography
Kevin Hutchinson	....	prosthetic assistant
Kevin Hutchinson	....	prosthetic assistant: additional photography
Quinn Matthews	....	prosthetic assistant: additional photography

Visual Effects by
Neishaw Ali	....	visual effects executive producer
Doug Campbell	....	visual effects producer: SPIN West VFX
Jeff Campbell	....	visual effects supervisor
James Cooper	....	Flame artist
Colin Davies	....	visual effects supervisor
Ashish Dewan	....	compositor (as Ash Dewan)
Eric Doiron	....	lead compositor
Rob Gyorgy	....	digital effects artist
Lisa Hemeon	....	visual effects producer
Terry Hutcheson	....	assistant visual effects producer
Richard Keats	....	systems manager
Petra Lendvai-Lintner	....	visual effects production manager
Steve Lewis	....	senior Flame artist (as Steven Lewis)
Steve Lowry	....	Flame artist
Dave McGhie	....	Flame artist
Kye Yong Peck	....	3D artist
Nick Perks	....	systems administrator
Michael Ranalletta	....	compositor
Mark T. Reid	....	compositor (as Mark Reid)
Tim Sibley	....	3D artist
Sunny Wong	....	compositor

Stunts
Nick Alachiotis	....	stunt actor
Taryn Ash	....	stunt performer
Dan Belley	....	stunt rigger
Ron Bell	....	stunt performer
Leigh Bianco	....	stunt performer
Marco Bianco	....	stunt performer
Matt Birman	....	stunt coordinator
Brad Bunn	....	stunt performer
Desmond Campbell	....	stunt performer
Jericho Carbuntocan	....	stunt performer
Shane Cardwell	....	stunt performer
Tommy Chang	....	stunt actor
Shelley Cook	....	stunt actor
Christopher Cordell	....	stunt performer (as Chris Cordell)
Tig Fong	....	stunt performer
Liise Keeling	....	stunt performer
Darren Marsman	....	stunt performer
Duncan McLeod	....	stunt performer
Simon Northwood	....	stunt performer
Curtis Parker	....	stunt performer
Rick Parker	....	stunt performer
Sue Parker	....	stunt performer
Cheryl Quiacos	....	stunt performer
Kevin Rushton	....	stunt performer
Bryan Thomas	....	stunt performer
Max White	....	stunt rigger

Camera and Electrical Department
Terry Banting	....	electric: additional photography
Roger Bate	....	gaffer
Laurence Bortnick	....	first assistant camera
Roger Bowden	....	Genny operator
Darren Boyce	....	key grip: additional photography
John Couto	....	electric: additional photography (as John Docouto)
William Couto	....	electric: additional photography
Greg Davis	....	grip: additional photography
Christian Drennan	....	key grip
Chad Edwards	....	best boy: additional photography
Kristin Fieldhouse	....	camera trainee: additional photography
David Gibbons	....	gaffer
Mike Gillan	....	best boy
Jeff Harrison	....	grip
Terry Hooper	....	grip: additional photography
Colin Hoult	....	camera operator
Ken Huff	....	grip
Rohan Lawrence	....	best boy grip
Mark Lewandowski	....	video playback operator
Lori Longstaff	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera: additional photography
Edward Makuch	....	grip: additional photography (as Ed Makuch)
Rob Matassa	....	electrician
Dave McKane	....	second assistant camera (as David McKane)
Lincoln McRae	....	grip: additional photography
Jim Neill	....	electrician (as James Neill)
Mike Nieuwland	....	camera trainee
Anthony Police	....	best boy grip: additional photography
Graeme Potts	....	epk videographer
Darcy Rodriguez	....	grip
Gary Simpson	....	genny op: additional photography
Michelle Veza	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera: additional photography
Brad Vos	....	camera operator
Kit Whitmore	....	camera operator: "b" camera: additional photography
Steve Wilkie	....	still photographer
Matt Kiskis	....	grip (uncredited)

Casting Department
Donna Dupere	....	extras casting
Jason Knight	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Karen Eppstadt	....	costume breakdown artist
Jody Hoel	....	costume set supervisor
Stephanie Lees	....	assistant costume designer
William Ng	....	wardrobe assistant: additional photography
Sheila Radovancevic	....	costume truck supervisor
Anita K. Schapansky	....	wardrobe truck coordinator: additional photography (as Anita Schapansky)

Editorial Department
Mark Betteridge	....	digital I/O specialist
Louis Casado	....	color timer
Ryan Kuba	....	digital intermediate project coordinator
Mark Kueper	....	digital intermediate colorist
Eric Myles	....	digital film supervisor
Andrew Pascoe	....	digital film technician
Brigitte Rabazo	....	first assistant editor
Brian Reid	....	manager of digital imaging

Transportation Department
Rosalind Callahan	....	driver (as Roz Callahan)
Brian Clark	....	head driver
John 'Jack' Coupland	....	honeywagon operator (as Jack Coupland)
Michael Drysdale	....	driver
Alex Laframboise	....	head driver: additional photography
Ernie MacKey	....	honeywagon operator
John McIntyre	....	driver (as John McIntiyre)
Chris Radley Walters	....	driver: additional photography (as Chris Radley-Walters)
Tim Reilly	....	honeywagon operator
Dave Rowsell	....	driver
Jeff Steinberg	....	transportation coordinator
David Stetson	....	transportation captain (as Dave Stetson)

Other crew
Sarah Baker	....	trainee assistant accountant
Craig Drikis Barnikis	....	hd downconvert operator (as Craig Barnikis)
Cory Bauer	....	location production assistant
John 'Frenchie' Berger	....	gun wrangler
Michelle Berrigan	....	accountant: additional photography
Joshua Blankman	....	assistant: Mr. Romero
Coralie Brady	....	craft server: additional photography
James Burke	....	production assistant
Stuart Campbell	....	production assistant
Jennifer Chovancek	....	assistant production coordinator
Tammy Cooper	....	assistant to producers
Donna Croce	....	script supervisor
Catherine Currie	....	accountant: additional photography
Dan Feddern	....	assistant location manager: additional photography
Michael Felsher	....	epk producer
Steve Fitzpatrick	....	craft server: additional photography
David Glasgal	....	stock footage coordinator
Lisa Gyorfi	....	assistant production coordinator (as Lisa Elchuk)
Mandy Ketcheson	....	contact lens technician
Marc Lougheed	....	production assistant: additional photography
Sam Malkin	....	adr loop group coordinator
Alfonzo Mattuicci	....	craft server
Chris Mikolovich	....	craft server
Veronica Miller	....	production accountant
Al Newman	....	executive marketing consultant
Kyle O'Connor	....	assistant location manager
Pauline K. Quong	....	first assistant production accountant (as Pauline Quong)
Yan Regis	....	on-set medic
Rancho Relaxo	....	caterer
Rob Shea	....	production coordinator
Philip Spurvey	....	location manager: additional photography (as Phil Spurvey)
Alan Sutton	....	fire safety coordinator
Jonathan Walker	....	assistant production manager: additional photography
Madeleine Wazana	....	accountant: additional photography
Rick Whalen	....	location production assistant: additional photography
Eardley Wilmot	....	location manager
Larry David Wilson	....	production assistant
Kim Yu	....	unit publicist
Steve Holt	....	on-set medic (uncredited)

Thanks
Brian Alexander	....	special thanks
Coll Anderson	....	special thanks
Jinny Barbosa	....	special thanks
Cindy Bradeen	....	special thanks
Nicolas Chartier	....	special thanks
Justin Close	....	special thanks
Wes Craven	....	very special thanks
Nadine DeBarros	....	special thanks
Suzanne Desrochers	....	special thanks
Carl Englebardt	....	special thanks
Kathy Englebardt	....	special thanks
Paul Fireman	....	special thanks
Penny Fireman	....	special thanks
Colin Geddes	....	special thanks
David Gersh	....	special thanks
Rebecca Grunwald	....	special thanks
Dr. Robert Katz	....	special thanks
Leah Katz	....	special thanks
Paula Kaye	....	special thanks
Stephen King	....	very special thanks
Sarah Lash	....	special thanks
Jenn Lee	....	special thanks
Matt Littin	....	special thanks
Arnie Mullen	....	special thanks
Dana O'Keefe	....	special thanks
Simon Pegg	....	very special thanks
Tait Reimers	....	special thanks
Chris Roe	....	special thanks
Tom Savini	....	very special thanks
John Sloss	....	special thanks
Nelly Spigel	....	special thanks
Wally Spigel	....	special thanks
Jay P. Sweet	....	special thanks (as Jay Sweet)
Quentin Tarantino	....	very special thanks
Guillermo del Toro	....	very special thanks

Production Companies

• Artfire Films
• Romero-Grunwald Productions

Distributors

• Weinstein Company, The (2008) (worldwide) (theatrical)
• Coliseo Films (2008) (Colombia) (theatrical)
• Group Power (2008) (Taiwan) (theatrical)
• Optimum Releasing (2008) (UK) (theatrical)
• Pachamama Cine (2008) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Presidio (2008) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Third Rail Releasing (2008) (USA) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2008) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Central Partnership (2008) (Russia) (all media)
• Dimension Extreme (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Madman Entertainment (2008) (Australia) (DVD)
• Nordisk Film Theatrical Distribution (2008) (Finland) (DVD)
• Optimum Home Entertainment (2008) (UK) (DVD)
• P.F.A. Films (2006) (Italy) (all media)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Voltage Pictures (2007) (worldwide) (all media) (sales)

Special Effects

• Gaslight Studio (special makeup effects)
• K.N.B. Effects Group
• SPIN VFX (visual effects)
• SPIN West VFX

Other Companies

• Artifact Design  main title design and animation
• B.F. Lorenzetti & Associates  insurance broker
• Business Affairs  production counsel
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  dollies
• Classic Images  stock footage provided by
• Corbis Motion  stock footage provided by
• DV/HD Cuts  stock footage provided by
• Dead Diary Productions  production services provided by
• Efootage  stock footage provided by
• Focus on Food  craft service (as Focused on Foods)
• Fotosearch  stock footage provided by
• Getty Images  stock footage provided by
• GotFootage  stock footage provided by (as GotFootage.com)
• Hand Prop  props
• Nokia  cellular phones
• Panasonic  digital cameras
• Premiere Insurance  insurance provided by
• Sound Dogs Toronto  sound editing and design
• Spin Productions  visual effects
• Technicolor Creative Services  post-production facilities
• Tellavision  cameras supplied by
• Thought Equity  stock footage provided by (as Thought Equity Motion)
• Video Tape Library  stock footage provided by
• William F. White International  grip and electric equipment

Also Known As:

George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead (USA) (complete title)
Land of the Dead 2 (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong horror violence and gore, and pervasive language.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:14A | USA:R | UK:18 | Ireland:16 | Argentina:16 | Portugal:M/18 | Australia:MA | Taiwan:R-18 | Finland:K-15 | Singapore:R21 (cut) | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:16 | France:-12 | Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Artfire Films

Trivia:

Cameo: [Simon Pegg]Actor from Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Hot Fuzz (2007) cameos in a voiceover role as a newsreader.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: At approximately 17:30 into the movie, an oncoming car beeps and passes by the van where everyone is introducing themselves. As we look at the passing car, its headlights reveal outside that the trees aren't moving and the van we're in is actually stationary.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Police Officer: 628 Tremont. 6-2-8. Three dead. No, just the usual. Fuck. Usual. It's no big deal these days, right?

Movie Connections:

References Dead End (1985)

Soundtrack:

Any Other Way

Romero's Return To His Roots

George A. Romero is one of those filmmakers who shouldn't need an introduction. If you're a horror fan at all, you should be intimately familiar with his Dead series by now, and if you're a movie fan at all, you should at least know Night Of The Living Dead and Dawn Of The Dead, the first and still the strongest entries in the genre. It's no hyperbole to say that Romero essentially invented the zombie movie, gave it the structures and tones that have relentlessly followed the genre through 40 years of movie history.

Diary Of The Dead, Romero's new movie and latest entry into the 5-part series, is a return to the form and feel of his original classic Night Of The Living Dead. The three movies in between (the classic Dawn, hit-or-miss Day and severely underrated Land) showed a world consumed by destruction and fear, already well past the point of no return in an unthinkable apocalypse. Diary takes us back to the beginning, taking place during the first few days of the attacks, documenting how a group of college students (and one drunken professor) cope with the crisis growing around them.

The hook of the movie is that what we're seeing is not presented in a typical film fashion, but instead as a series of homemade video clips made by the characters themselves. While shooting their own low-budget horror movie, the students are interrupted by the sudden, jarring realization that freshly dead bodies are coming back to life and attacking people. What follows is a documentation of their quick departure from their suddenly deserted campus and their long trip to home, safety and any sort of an answer.

If the plot description has you thinking of The Blair Witch Project or Cloverfield, the comparison ends with the initial conceit of horror via home movies. There's no shaky-cam addled suspense here, and you won't ever feel motion sick. The camera's presence in the movie serves to give a heightened feeling of suspense and immediacy. Unlike most other zombie movies, there's no outside camera telling the story, letting us know where the zombies are and when they're coming. We follow the characters through the movie, and the threat of danger is always palpable, even when nothing on screen is particularly frightening. Hitchcock once said that surprise was a bomb going off under a table unexpectedly, while suspense was letting the audience know there is a bomb under the table while the characters remain unaware. Diary is a movie with thousands of bombs waiting under thousands of tables, waiting to explode every time the camera turns a new corner.

After Land Of The Dead, a great movie that felt buried beneath a huge budget and massive studio interference, it's great to see Romero returning to his indie roots. Diary is entirely his own movie, and he gets the tone perfect. The campy scares and the gross-out gore explosions are all present, and will delight fan boys to no end. (They sure got some big laughs out of me.) But what Romero does best is suddenly switch from fun to disturbing when you least expect it. The best moments of Diary come when the gory thrill ride comes screeching to a halt and everything suddenly becomes all too relatable, entirely too real. These are the moments that will stick with you after the gory brain-splatter effects have lost their novelty.

Diary isn't quite a perfect movie though. Occasionally the hand-held camera device becomes too distracting and begins to get in the way of the story. The movie takes too much time rationalizing why the characters decide to film the events, rather than trusting the audience to go along with the idea. At times it feels like the movie is apologizing for its own concept, which it definitely does not need to do. We don't need to know the details of why the movie is edited, or why music has been added. The explanations slow down the movie, and only highlight problems instead of fixing them. Also, the pace slows down quite a bit in the third act, which is when Romero movies usually jolt up to a fevered pitch. Stick it out though, because the movie's last sequence, and especially its last line of dialog, are worth the price of admission alone. This is most likely not the end of the Dead saga, but if it were, it could not have come to a more perfect conclusion than the jarring, horrific last shot Romero gives us.