Finally watched Diary

[deadpunk]

...and I was seriously let down. That didn't even feel like a Romero film.

I didn't care for the narration at all. It gave the film more of a staged feel than the premise already did. In fact, I found her endless prattling to be a huge distraction.

The characters were weak and cliche, not to mention poorly acted.

The plot was...:annoyed:

The deaf amish guy was way too much. Throwing dynamite while writing on his Ray Charles blackboard?!? Then taking himself out with the sycthe and successfully spearing the zombie behind him? *cough*lame*cough*

And why was the rich kid still in his mummy costume? I mean, I got why, it just departed from the realism GAR usually brings us. There wasn't a change of clothes in that entire mansion?

Not to sold on the ease with which they were able to travel around the countryside, either. You start clobbering zombies at high speed with your RV and you're going to do a lot more than bust a fuel line. And only one traffic accident obstructed them the whole way? :rolleyes:



This one made Land seem like a gem.

[sandrock74]

The deaf amish guy was way too much. Throwing dynamite while writing on his Ray Charles blackboard?!? Then taking himself out with the sycthe and successfully spearing the zombie behind him? *cough*lame*cough*

And why was the rich kid still in his mummy costume? I mean, I got why, it just departed from the realism GAR usually brings us. There wasn't a change of clothes in that entire mansion?

Not to sold on the ease with which they were able to travel around the countryside, either. You start clobbering zombies at high speed with your RV and you're going to do a lot more than bust a fuel line. And only one traffic accident obstructed them the whole way? :rolleyes:


This one made Land seem like a gem.

To quote Samuel Jackson, "Please allow me to retort." (I've just always wanted to say that :lol:)

I thought the deaf amish dude was awesome! I mean, what other movie has a sycthe wielding, dynamite tossing, chalkboard writing amish dude? I just liked him because of his complete strangeness. I'd sit down with him and share a coke :)

I agree that the rich mummy kid not changing was indeed lame. Maybe his not changing was supposed to be a visual clue to the viewers that he was in shock and not thinking right...things weren't right with him. On ER, Dr. Carter would have a beard whenever things weren't right with him. It was our visual clue. Or maybe I am just looking too into it.

I didn't think much of there fairly easy trip thru most of the film until I saw people on here bitching about it. I just figured that they said they were sticking to the backroads, so why would they encounter more than they did? Especially in the outset of things? The backroads should have been open and easily accessable! The freeways would have been congested with cars full of paniced people.

The empty hospital was odd thou. There should have been more zombies, or things running fairly normal I think. Not simply deserted. That made no real sense to me.

I dunno, I enjoy all the films. I like some more than others, but I don't have this hate that some have of the newer films. I mean, at the end of the day, they are just movies afterall. :) If GAR makes them, I will watch them and have fun.

[MoonSylver]

I'll agree w/ Sandrock, though the movie is flawed compared to the older ones, I still just enjoyed it for what it is, warts & all.

[JDFP]

This one made Land seem like a gem.

Agreed, to each their own, for me personally I still say that "Diary", with all its flaws, is a great film compared to the major letdown of "Land". "Diary" was a major improvement in my book compared to "Land", if still a very flawed film.

Of course none of them will ever compare to the masterpieces of the trilogy, and on that one I don't think anyone will disagree.

j.p.

[AcesandEights]

I agree completely, Deadpunk. Diary was cack.

[bassman]

....Diary? Is that the one with Bud the vegetarian zombie?

[deadpunk]

To quote Samuel Jackson, "Please allow me to retort." (I've just always wanted to say that :lol:)



I didn't think much of there fairly easy trip thru most of the film until I saw people on here bitching about it. I just figured that they said they were sticking to the backroads, so why would they encounter more than they did? Especially in the outset of things? The backroads should have been open and easily accessable! The freeways would have been congested with cars full of paniced people.


Equate that with going Christmas shopping at Wal-mart in the middle of the night. Sounds like a sound theory, bound to be less people... Except, when a theory is that good, everyone is bound to have the same idea. :)

I'm going to wait a few days and give Diary a rewatch, but I doubt that (like Land) this one will eventually grow on me. It just lacked all the things that seem to keep GAR films above other zombie films. This was like watching someone's first amatuer attempt at entering the genre, not a fifth installment by the guy that is held as the master. :(

[Skippy911sc]

I will state what I have said many times before... This looked amateurish!

GAR is a man with many years under his belt and should know better. Then again look at the star wars prequels? I think this is a trend in movies overall. The directors seem to be getting worse with age rather than better. Except Scorsese!

[sandrock74]

Equate that with going Christmas shopping at Wal-mart in the middle of the night. Sounds like a sound theory, bound to be less people... Except, when a theory is that good, everyone is bound to have the same idea. :)

I'm going to wait a few days and give Diary a rewatch, but I doubt that (like Land) this one will eventually grow on me. It just lacked all the things that seem to keep GAR films above other zombie films. This was like watching someone's first amatuer attempt at entering the genre, not a fifth installment by the guy that is held as the master. :(

You have good logic here under normal circumstances. But, like it was said in Men In Black (and I am parapfrasing here), a person is smart but people are scared and illogical. I firmly believe this is true. I don't think many people would take "the backroads" at the outset...maybe they would be too afraid of being away from other people, who knows? Conversely, the major freeways would be jam packed with people trying to "flee the zombies", even if they don't know exactly where they are fleeing to.

Too many people don't even know where "backroads" are, how to get to them, or where they lead to. They will stick with what they know, then risk traveling into the unknown...hence, the jammed up freeways.

I did think it was rather dumb that there were so many zombies around the amish guys place. I would tend to think that that would be one of the final areas to be overrun by zombies, not the first! I've been to amish areas before, and trust me, they are fairly remote. Hell, when you really think about it, since the amish don't use phones, televisions or computers, would they even know of what's going on until later? That part of the film was flawed, no question. Still, I liked the deaf amish guy!

[darth los]

I did think it was rather dumb that there were so many zombies around the amish guys place. I would tend to think that that would be one of the final areas to be overrun by zombies

Is it any dumber than the farmhouse area in NOTLD being absolutely infested with ghouls as well? I always thought that to be a little off myself.

And you could argue that it's just the local population, as sparse as it may be. But you would have to believe that everyone of them met their demise in the past 2-3 days. Plus, there wasn't another house in sight for that matter!

That doesn't make any sense to me yet we swollow it hook, line and sinker.

:cool:

[Trin]

I agree with Deadpunk in everything said.


The Amish guy was the dumbest thing I've seen in any Dead movie. Not only was it physically unrealistic to believe anyone COULD scythe themselves and the zombie behind them. It's crazed to think anyone WOULD. I hate hearing how it was some "great zombie kill". You know what was a great zombie kill? Peter and Roger in the basement of the apartments slowly and methodically putting rounds into the heads of the corpses held there. That scene brought the horror of the situation to the viewer. Not some gimmicky attempt at being clever.

I'm one of those who says that Land has risen as far as it will. That is, no amount of time or repeated viewings is gonna make me love it any more than I loved it within the first year or so of its release. But in one way that's not true. Diary sucked so bad I actually ended up liking Land more as a result.

I have to wonder if Survival is gonna worsen the situation. It may make me like Land more too... and maybe like Diary more. Wouldn't that be a twist.

[bassman]

The Amish guy was the dumbest thing I've seen in any Dead movie. Not only was it physically unrealistic to believe anyone COULD scythe themselves and the zombie behind them. It's crazed to think anyone WOULD. I hate hearing how it was some "great zombie kill". You know what was a great zombie kill? Peter and Roger in the basement of the apartments slowly and methodically putting rounds into the heads of the corpses held there. That scene brought the horror of the situation to the viewer. Not some gimmicky attempt at being clever.


It's not really fair to comare the two though, is it? One was made for horror while the other was made for comedy. Now whether or not the horror or comedy work is a matter of opinion....but comparing the two is like apples and oranges...

[Trin]

It's not really fair to comare the two though, is it? One was made for horror while the other was made for comedy. Now whether or not the horror or comedy work is a matter of opinion....but comparing the two is like apples and oranges...Made for comedy? We're talking about the amish self-lobotomy zombie kill right? What leads you to believe it was intended to be comedy? I didn't get that sense from the movie itself. Was that in comentary?

If it was intended to be comedic, then sure, apples -> oranges. But that would raise a bigger concern, which is why GAR is killing off characters in tandem with zombie kills and shooting for comedy. Samuel was a pretty cool character otherwise.

[sandrock74]

Is it any dumber than the farmhouse area in NOTLD being absolutely infested with ghouls as well? I always thought that to be a little off myself.

And you could argue that it's just the local population, as sparse as it may be. But you would have to believe that everyone of them met their demise in the past 2-3 days. Plus, there wasn't another house in sight for that matter!

That doesn't make any sense to me yet we swollow it hook, line and sinker.

:cool:

You know, I may be totally crazy here, but I had always assumed the zombies were from the diner Ben had come from. Was that mentioned somewhere in one of the NOTLD films or something? Or did I arrive at this assumption in my own strange mind?

[bassman]

Made for comedy? We're talking about the amish self-lobotomy zombie kill right? What leads you to believe it was intended to be comedy? I didn't get that sense from the movie itself. Was that in comentary?

If it was intended to be comedic, then sure, apples -> oranges. But that would raise a bigger concern, which is why GAR is killing off characters in tandem with zombie kills and shooting for comedy. Samuel was a pretty cool character otherwise.

The entire Amish character scene was written for comedy, imo. It's like the pie fight in Dawn. A bit of fun thrown in the middle.

And the blade to the face is too extreme, but would the zombies ripping people apart by hand in Dawn and Day be believable?

[MoonSylver]

....Diary? Is that the one with Bud the vegetarian zombie?


Santa is sooo gonna stick a lump of...coal...yeah..coal in your stocking for THAT comparison young man!:p:moon:

[bassman]

Santa is sooo gonna stick a lump of...coal...yeah..coal in your stocking for THAT comparison young man!:p:moon:

It wasn't a comparison. Just being silly. I kinda dig Diary even if it is the least of the series.

But damn Mena Suvari is so fine in Diary! I'd like to play football on her forehead. And Nick Cannon is a riot!

[MoonSylver]

It wasn't a comparison. Just being silly. I kinda dig Diary even if it is the least of the series.

Then all is right in the world again.:D


But damn Mena Suvari is so fine in Diary! I'd like to play football on her forehead. And Nick Cannon is a riot!

I need to watch this one again a 2nd time, just so that...I dunno why...maybe to see what a train wreck looks like the 2nd time? I do feel oddly compelled to watch it again though...:stunned:

[MikePizzoff]

In my opinion, the def guy was the only good thing about Diary! :annoyed:

[sandrock74]

I need to watch this one again a 2nd time, just so that...I dunno why...maybe to see what a train wreck looks like the 2nd time? I do feel oddly compelled to watch it again though...:stunned:

I can say that the Day remake gave me nightmares. Not from being scary or anything, but from the fact that I actually watched it! :eek:

[AcesandEights]

I can say that the Day remake gave me nightmares. Not from being scary or anything, but from the fact that I actually watched it! :eek:

I'm still resisting seeing it. I take it one day at a time, but I manage :D

[bassman]

I actually like Day08 in a MST3K kinda way. It's great fun in the worst of ways...


At first I was so shocked that I wanted to kill the people behind it. Now I watch it for a laugh.

[deadpunk]

I will state what I have said many times before... This looked amateurish!

GAR is a man with many years under his belt and should know better. Then again look at the star wars prequels? I think this is a trend in movies overall. The directors seem to be getting worse with age rather than better. Except Scorsese!

Great assessment. I was thinking Star Wars prequels as I was watching it. When I watch NOTLD or Episode IV and then try and watch a Diary or an Episode I, I'm put off by how much the film takes advantage of modern film making. And, in my humblest of opinions, if GAR really felt the need to make a movie that tells a first night story, he should have set it in 1968.

I would have loved to watch GAR take advantage of modern film making techniques to recreate a believable 1968 setting for Diary (and possibly Land).
The time jumps in Dawn and Day are much more believeable and more well explained in Dawn and Day. The story is movie forward. Land doesn't really give you a timeframe. It could be happening from Dawn forward for all GAR really tells us. (Yes Philly, I just validated your opinion slightly ;)) And Diary is clearly a first night story set in modern times...? :annoyed:



Is it any dumber than the farmhouse area in NOTLD being absolutely infested with ghouls as well? I always thought that to be a little off myself.

And you could argue that it's just the local population, as sparse as it may be. But you would have to believe that everyone of them met their demise in the past 2-3 days. Plus, there wasn't another house in sight for that matter!

That doesn't make any sense to me yet we swollow it hook, line and sinker.

:cool:

I grew up in Zelienople. There is a larger populace here than you realize. You could walk to the farmhouse in Evans City (or the cemetary it starts in) from any of the 8 neighboring towns in less than an hour. I could walk there from work in about a half hour. The facility I work in is a Residential Treatment Facility that permanently houses over 200 clients. Plus staff (about 75-100).

To say that 50-100 zombies were surrounding that farm house in 3-5 hours isn't really that unrealistic. Most of the zombies (even those in Night '90) leave you with the impression they had been turned, not recently deceased. I can swallow that much easier than I can swallow most of the plot devices utilized in Diary.



I agree with Deadpunk in everything said.

:D


I'm one of those who says that Land has risen as far as it will. That is, no amount of time or repeated viewings is gonna make me love it any more than I loved it within the first year or so of its release. But in one way that's not true. Diary sucked so bad I actually ended up liking Land more as a result.


I agree. I have come to appreciate Land, if not actually like it. This will never be true of Diary.


It's not really fair to comare the two though, is it? One was made for horror while the other was made for comedy. Now whether or not the horror or comedy work is a matter of opinion....but comparing the two is like apples and oranges...

The problem I have with this is (lengthy :lol:):

First...it wasn't funny. It was so grossly over the top, it lacked humor. Every bit about the amish dude was forced and the character himself was clearly no more than a plot device. Within seconds of seeing him, I knew he wasn't getting on that motorhome when it got repaired ;)

Secondly, the whole premise of Diary revolves around the girl wanting to piece together the documentary her boyfriend had died creating. She even states at the beginning "I've added music in places for effect because I want to scare you." Or something similar. At no place does this imply we should see that much comedy. Accidental comedic value in a documentary is generally tounge-in-cheek style stuff. Not outlandish antics.



It feels like Romero was trying to capitalize on the point-of-view movies like the Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity and rather botched it. Those movies worked because the horror was subtle. This wasn't. The zombie kills were way too action packed to be scary.

This also didn't really show us what we have come to expect from character development from Romero. There really isn't one memorable character from this film. You can spot the fodder from the survivors about 10 minutes in. And among the survivors, there isn't really anyone to identify with:



1. The lead girl. She's a pretty shallow creation. Right away you know she is the type of woman that will only harden as the movie goes on. She is classic Hero material driven by inner strength and determined to save as many people as possible while still feeling for the antagonist.

2. The professor. The old drunk that has a mysterious past that just happens to make him cool under pressure and the ultimate killing machine? Didn't Clint Eastwood establish a career playing this character sans british accent?

3. The non-believer.The guy that just can't bring himself to step up to the plate until the shit finally hits the fan. He just can't admit they're zombies until he is forced to brain one with hydrochloric acid (another cool but over-the-top slay). He again can't step up to the plate as the "better camera man" until it is too late and the kid that films 99% of the movies gets his ass chomped for the sole purpose of filming his own death.



I can't think of one stand-out moment in this movie, for me. The closest I can get is in the hospital, but even that scene makes little actual sense.

Whew...done :)

[JDFP]

Great, yet another "DIARY" bashing thread, as if we haven't been through enough of these. "DIARY" was by no means a great movie, but for me it will always be far superior to "LAND", and most other zombie movies for that matter as the vast majority of them are pure sheisse. It's a matter of opinion of course, but there are plenty of us that feel that "DIARY" is just a better flick compared to "LAND". Apparently, we're just not as vocal about it as you folks here who enjoy ripping "DIARY" apart limb from limb.

It's all a matter of opinion in enjoying a film v. not enjoying a film anyway. But, I'll be the first to go to bat for "DIARY" against "LAND" as being a better movie any day of the week.

In fact, from all this negativity I'm inspired to write a thread on why I feel "DIARY" is FAR superior to the utmost disappointment of "LAND"...

j.p.

[Trin]

The entire Amish character scene was written for comedy, imo. It's like the pie fight in Dawn. A bit of fun thrown in the middle.

And the blade to the face is too extreme, but would the zombies ripping people apart by hand in Dawn and Day be believable?
I guess I can see where the Amish guy scene could be interpreted as written for comedy, but I didn't really get that from it. And it's soooo stupid.

I always thought the pie fight scene (which is kinda hard to defend since I didn't care for it) was a bit of levity and a poke in the eye for anyone who imagines that only intelligent and serious people would survive. It also showcased how the biker's had no respect for the situation or for the dead.

I guess I'd say that if the Amish guy scene were the ONLY bad part of Diary then it's forgiveable. That's how I view the pie fight scene in Dawn. I just kinda ignore it. But Diary leaves me wanting to ignore huge chunks of it by that argument.

I didn't really fixate on the zombies ripping people up as unbelievable, with the exception of Rhodes. That one always makes me groan. I don't remember much of that in Dawn, but that could be rose colored goggles. In any case the people getting ripped to pieces is more believable to me than a dude stabbing himself through the forehead and out the back into a zombie head.

To other people's points, I also thought the hospital scene was odd given the lack of people/zombies. I didn't mind the characters, with the exception of Jason - retard. They might be cliche but they were okay. I did like most of the settings and tone.

I liked the black survival group situation/setup, if not how it all played out. I think that group would be a fun one to follow in a movie.

@jdfp - I'd be interested to see a Land vs. Diary discussion thread, even though I know I'm already on the opposite side of the argument from you. I'd be interested in anything that might improve my opinion of Diary.

[bassman]

In fact, from all this negativity I'm inspired to write a thread on why I feel "DIARY" is FAR superior to the utmost disappointment of "LAND"...



Please don't. The last thing we need is another repeat of the Land/Dawn04 threads.:stunned:

[AcesandEights]

In fact, from all this negativity I'm inspired to write a thread on why I feel "DIARY" is FAR superior to the utmost disappointment of "LAND"...

j.p.

Epic threads, complete with bickering, flaming and fuming, stoked by piles of geekitude have been birthed in such a fashion. One such example is the infamous Land v. Dawn '04 thread (can't find a link :().

I look forward to your efforts with guarded optimism.

[deadpunk]

Great, yet another "DIARY" bashing thread, as if we haven't been through enough of these. "DIARY" was by no means a great movie, but for me it will always be far superior to "LAND", and most other zombie movies for that matter as the vast majority of them are pure sheisse. It's a matter of opinion of course, but there are plenty of us that feel that "DIARY" is just a better flick compared to "LAND". Apparently, we're just not as vocal about it as you folks here who enjoy ripping "DIARY" apart limb from limb.

It's all a matter of opinion in enjoying a film v. not enjoying a film anyway. But, I'll be the first to go to bat for "DIARY" against "LAND" as being a better movie any day of the week.

In fact, from all this negativity I'm inspired to write a thread on why I feel "DIARY" is FAR superior to the utmost disappointment of "LAND"...

j.p.

It wasn't my intention to start this thread to bash Diary. However, this is a Romero dead film message board, and having just viewed the movie, I felt I could go ahead and give my honest opinion of the film. :rockbrow:

[AcesandEights]

So, question for you guys...

Is "Why Diary is Land's Bitch and the Reasons Both Should Bow Before Dawn '04" too long for a thread title?

:p

[darth los]

I grew up in Zelienople. There is a larger populace here than you realize. You could walk to the farmhouse in Evans City (or the cemetary it starts in) from any of the 8 neighboring towns in less than an hour. I could walk there from work in about a half hour. The facility I work in is a Residential Treatment Facility that permanently houses over 200 clients. Plus staff (about 75-100).

To say that 50-100 zombies were surrounding that farm house in 3-5 hours isn't really that unrealistic. Most of the zombies (even those in Night '90) leave you with the impression they had been turned, not recently deceased. I can swallow that much easier than I can swallow most of the plot devices utilized in Diary.

I can believe that there are that many neighboring towns. What i find it hard to believe is (the population can't be that high) that they would produce 100 corpses in less than 3 days and even harder to believe is that they would all congregate around the farmhouse.

As for turned vs. recently deceased, most of the ghouls had no obvious psysical trauma to speak of. The ones that did we have no evidence if it was pre or post mortem.

:cool:

[deadpunk]

So, question for you guys...

Is "Why Diary is Land's Bitch and the Reasons Both Should Bow Before Dawn '04" too long for a thread title?

:p

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc284/thebeergoblin/score.jpg

:lol:

[SRP76]

I can believe that there are that many neighboring towns. What i find it hard to believe is (the population can't be that high) that they would produce 100 corpses in less than 3 days and even harder to believe is that they would all congregate around the farmhouse.

As for turned vs. recently deceased, most of the ghouls had no obvious psysical trauma to speak of. The ones that did we have no evidence if it was pre or post mortem.

:cool:

Zombie activity produced 7 on-screen corpses in about an hour and half. It doesn't take too many chompings of entire families to produce a bunch of zombies.

[Mike70]

Please don't. The last thing we need is another repeat of the Land/Dawn04 threads.:stunned:

i'll second that.

diary would've been better without the voice overs and if it had been shot 3rd person. i'm pretty well sick of first person flicks.

a lot of the characters don't do much for me either, esp. jason. that fucker would've been wearing that camera as a necklace. "last chance, dude. put the camera down and get your head in the fucking game or i'll give you an alternate view of forced perspective." hell, if i'd been the dude with the gun in that situation, there would've been a short and extremely one-sided discussion of the matter.

---------- Post added at 01:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:54 PM ----------


even harder to believe is that they would all congregate around the farmhouse.



yeah, zombies seem to have some fascination for being farmers or maybe they just want to get away from it all.

i find that odd in zombie movies. the out of the way, rural location that in the course of a 90 minute movie becomes a sort of zombie woodstock.

it's like a bunch of zombies got together and were like, "hey, let's go out to where there are hardly any people at all."

makes no real sense when you think of it.

[JDFP]

It wasn't my intention to start this thread to bash Diary. However, this is a Romero dead film message board, and having just viewed the movie, I felt I could go ahead and give my honest opinion of the film. :rockbrow:


My apologies if you felt I was finger pointing at you, I wasn't intentionally singling out any one person. Of course you should give your honest opinion of the film, and you did a great job of expressing your thoughts. I just got a little flustered at other folks on here opening up a field day in ripping "DIARY" apart again without anyone pointing out the tragedy known as "LAND" which I feel is an inferior film. Again, no finger pointing at any one individual intended. :)

j.p.

[darth los]

Zombie activity produced 7 on-screen corpses in about an hour and half. It doesn't take too many chompings of entire families to produce a bunch of zombies.


I don't know how one can tell how much movie time lapses vs. real time but o.k , let's go with that.

That's my whole thing though. You're assuming that there were families that were getting chomped. How was that supposed to happen in this extremely early stage when even you must concede the vast majority of the ghouls walking around at this point where those that died of "natural" causes? Sure there might be a few instances like that of Uncle Rege but it just seems far fetched that even most families would go through a similar scenario at exactly the same time. And in an hour and a half no less!?! :rockbrow:

Once we have established that it just seems like there were too many ghouls around for that rural of an area in addition to the time frame we're talking about.

There are arguments both ways and i understand what you and D.P. (Best accronym of a screen name ever by the way) but i still don't buy it. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on this one.

:cool:

[SRP76]

I don't know how one can tell how much movie time lapses vs. real time but o.k , let's go with that.

That's my whole thing though. You're assuming that there were families that were getting chomped. How was that supposed to happen in this extremely early stage when even you must concede the vast majority of the ghouls walking around at this point where those that died of "natural" causes? Sure there might be a few instances like that of Uncle Rege but it just seems far fetched that even most families would go through a similar scenario at exactly the same time. And in an hour and a half no less!?! :rockbrow:

Once we have established that it just seems like there were too many ghouls around for that rural of an area in addition to the time frame we're talking about.

There are arguments both ways and i understand what you and D.P. (Best accronym of a screen name ever by the way) but i still don't buy it. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on this one.

:cool:

The simple fact that "Uncle Rege" was eaten tells us that zombies had already overrun that area before our heroes even arrived. If zombies weren't the ones who ate him, who did? It HAD to be ghouls.

Not to mention the fact that they weren't on the outskirts of Otherworld there. They were only a couple miles outside a town of several thousand. Which, by Ben's account, was pretty much a slaughterhouse. The Coopers got their car turned by a mob just a mile up the road from the house. There was a cemetery literally across the street. The house wasn't far from a lake where Tom and Judy were going for some swimming (in other words, a popular recreational site), and they HAD NO CAR. I doubt they were out for a 50-mile walk. So they had to live right nearby, and the lake was nearby as well. And then there's the fact that there were probably plenty of neighbors, just not within the 100 yards or so that gets shown around the house. No telling how many other farmhouses were located along that road.

So there was a lot of population to draw zombies from, and not far away to begin with. It's not like 10 people 1000 miles from civilization produced 100 zombies.

[Mike70]

The simple fact that "Uncle Rege" was eaten tells us that zombies had already overrun that area before our heroes even arrived. If zombies weren't the ones who ate him, who did? It HAD to be ghouls.


if i'm not mistaken, uncle rege died of natural causes earlier that day, then reanimated.

tom says something like, "i know he's dead. stone cold dead. he died this morning. me and judy came over to be with..."

i've always taken that to mean that uncle rege died naturally (heart attack or what not) then reanimated during the first wave.

[SRP76]

if i'm not mistaken, uncle rege died of natural causes earlier that day, then reanimated.

tom says something like, "i know he's dead. stone cold dead. he died this morning. me and judy came over to be with..."

i've always taken that to mean that uncle rege died naturally (heart attack or what not) then reanimated during the first wave.

I don't recall that. I just recall a chewed-up corpse on the second-floor landing, and Tom saying that they simply knew the house was there, and they entered.

Are you talking about the remake?

[krakenslayer]

I don't recall that. I just recall a chewed-up corpse on the second-floor landing, and Tom saying that they simply knew the house was there, and they entered.

Are you talking about the remake?

I think what happened was Uncle Rege died of natural causes (he was the fat zombie Barb fights in the house) and then attacked and tried to kill his son. The kid couldn't handle it, so he took the shotgun and blew the back of his own head off "Dawn apartment trooper"-style (he still has the gun barrel in his mouth when Ben finds him). The Uncle Rege zombie then eats off the kid's arm, which later falls through the bannister onto Barb when the Rege zombie is disturbed.

And yeah, this is all in the remake. I thought we were talking about the remake because there is no Uncle Rege in the original, just an old woman with her face eaten off by zombies.

[darth los]

if i'm not mistaken, uncle rege died of natural causes earlier that day, then reanimated.

tom says something like, "i know he's dead. stone cold dead. he died this morning. me and judy came over to be with..."

i've always taken that to mean that uncle rege died naturally (heart attack or what not) then reanimated during the first wave.


I don't recall that. I just recall a chewed-up corpse on the second-floor landing, and Tom saying that they simply knew the house was there, and they entered.

Are you talking about the remake?


The chewed up corpse on the second floor was Tom's cousin/Uncle Rege's son. Tom's acount was that his uncle died naturally, revived and came after his cousin who couldn't bring himself to shoot his dad so he shot himself. Tom, armed with the shotgun couldn't do it either so they fled to the basement.

:cool:

[Mike70]

I don't recall that. I just recall a chewed-up corpse on the second-floor landing, and Tom saying that they simply knew the house was there, and they entered.

Are you talking about the remake?

yeah, the remake. got our wires crossed.

decent point about the body on the landing in the original film. he either ate himself or something helped itself to human tartar.

[darth los]

They were only a couple miles outside a town of several thousand. Which, by Ben's account, was pretty much a slaughterhouse.

"Evans city is 5 miles away, we can make 5 miles on freakin' fumes!"~ Harry Cooper

I would hardly call 5 miles outskirts but i see your point.

:cool:

[SRP76]

http://www.w3bbo.com/forums/Hijack-In_progress.jpg

Apologies to the original poster, but I have to clarify for this side-discussion:

Everything I'm using is from the original moive, not the remake. A. I hate remakes. B. I've only seen the Night remake one time, and long ago, so I don't know much about it.

On-topic:

Yes, I agree, Diary sucks.

[JDFP]

Yes, I agree, Diary sucks.

... but not as badly as "LAND". :D

I agree though that "DIARY" was by no means a great flick, but for me it was more entertaining than most zombie flicks that are made (such as "The Zombie Diaries" and the "Day" remake -- both of these films made "DIARY" look like an Academy Award-winning film in comparison), and "LAND" is still the only Romero zombie flick that I've seen that I try to avoid watching at all costs just because it doesn't work for me.

I'm going to be waiting until I re-watch "DIARY" again (and perhaps force myself into watching "LAND" again) before posting my thread on why "DIARY" is superior to "LAND", but here's a preview for Reason # 1:

Big Daddy is in "LAND", and while "DIARY" has whiny spoiled teens in it, it does not have perhaps the most ridiculous and overwhelmingly horrid creation of a zombie known as Big Daddy in it to groan and attempt to make us "empathize" with the rotting puss-carrier at all the opportune moments. + 1 for "DIARY" right there for me. The whole idea of Big Daddy not being in "DIARY" almost automatically makes it overwhelmingly better for me as a zombie flick, apart from the many, many other reasons why I feel it's a better zombie movie.

j.p.

[Mike70]

I agree though that "DIARY" was by no means a great flick, but for me it was more entertaining than most zombie flicks that are made (such as "The Zombie Diaries" and the "Day" remake -- both of these films made "DIARY" look like an Academy Award-winning film in comparison),

dude, most recent zombie flicks make a documentary on the mating habits of sand fleas look like a must watch.

[SRP76]

I'm basically limited to Romero's movies, and the Dawn remake. I don't scour the straight-to-DVD bin (guaranteed to suck, so why bother), and of the very few that get theatrical release, anything with the words "funniest", "thrill-ride" or "rip-roaring" in the preview descriptions get ignored.

So in other words, I ignore almost all non-Romero zombie flicks to start with. And given what people say on here for the most part, I'm only missing out on shitty movies.

[darth los]

http://www.w3bbo.com/forums/Hijack-In_progress.jpg

Apologies to the original poster, but I have to clarify for this side-discussion:

Everything I'm using is from the original moive, not the remake. A. I hate remakes. B. I've only seen the Night remake one time, and long ago, so I don't know much about it.

On-topic:

Yes, I agree, Diary sucks.

lol like mike said. i think all of us had our wires crossed. However, the points are still valid and i agree with you, Something obviously ate that poor woman upstairs in the original, unlike in the remake where no one in the farmhouse was bitten except sarah.

Quick thought though. Why didn't the body upstairs in the original revive? The obvious answer is that there was sufficient brain trauma making reanimation impossible. but how did that trauma occur? One of the things that has always stuck out to me about gar's traditional ghouls is that they almost specifically (Gar has them on purpose), avoid eating the brain as opposed to the pop culture perception of brain hungry zombies. You could see a body eaten to the nubs but the head will still be intact. Following that pattern isn't it wierd that if indeed the body upstairs was eaten that there was massive brain trauma as well? Imo, that points to other human activity in the house before the protagonists got there, namely taking out the "ghoul" we see when they first enter the house.

:cool:

[Trin]

@jdfp - Land had more and larger failures of plot and storyline than Diary. Big Daddy is one of those. But Land failed more because it attempted more. You have to factor in what was attempted.

Diary had very little plot and/or storyline. It was just a bunch of senseless zombie vignettes as the idiots drove around aimlessly. The only major plot point was the concept of catching the event on film. A concept which was a huge and epic fail since the glory hound cameraman was content to watch the greatest religious and societal event from rural backroads.

So one reason I put Land over Diary is because Diary tried so little and still failed. Or, put another way, if you'd told me GAR needed to step back and make a simpler movie after Land I would've agreed wholeheartedly... simple plot, simple message, really nail it - hell yeah. And what we get is Diary?

[MoonSylver]

Quick thought though. Why didn't the body upstairs in the original revive? The obvious answer is that there was sufficient brain trauma making reanimation impossible. but how did that trauma occur? One of the things that has always stuck out to me about gar's traditional ghouls is that they almost specifically (Gar has them on purpose), avoid eating the brain as opposed to the pop culture perception of brain hungry zombies. You could see a body eaten to the nubs but the head will still be intact. Following that pattern isn't it wierd that if indeed the body upstairs was eaten that there was massive brain trauma as well? Imo, that points to other human activity in the house before the protagonists got there, namely taking out the "ghoul" we see when they first enter the house.

:cool:

This was covered (quite well too) in the official comic adaptation of NOTLD from FantaCo. There was a small prologue & epilogue issue that were not in the move, as well as a couple of scenes that are only narrated in movie (Beekman's diner, the Coopers car escape). Highly recommended if you can track it down. If interested I will post w/ spoilers later when I'm not at work & have more time.;)

[krakenslayer]

If interested...

Very. Post post post! :D

[MoonSylver]

So, question for you guys...

Is "Why Diary is Land's Bitch and the Reasons Both Should Bow Before Dawn '04" too long for a thread title?

:p

Bah. As flawed as both Land & Diary are, I'll still take 'em BOTH over Yawn '04. But I still like all three, so maybe I'm just easy to please. (But as much as I bitch about other things, I highly doubt it. ;) )

[deadpunk]

...... D.P. (Best accronym of a screen name ever by the way)


Totally unintentional on my part :lol: Don't get excited boys ;):p




Big Daddy is in "LAND", and while "DIARY" has whiny spoiled teens in it, it does not have perhaps the most ridiculous and overwhelmingly horrid creation of a zombie known as Big Daddy in it to groan and attempt to make us "empathize" with the rotting puss-carrier at all the opportune moments. + 1 for "DIARY" right there for me. The whole idea of Big Daddy not being in "DIARY" almost automatically makes it overwhelmingly better for me as a zombie flick, apart from the many, many other reasons why I feel it's a better zombie movie.



Yet, one of my biggest problems with Diary is the fact that it is shot in the first person, and we are forced to listen to the narrator continuously tell us that we should empathize with the zombies. At least Land is filmed in the third person and while Romero sets a stage where he would like us to empathize, the choice is left to the viewer.

Land works in the respect that it is a natural progression of what would happen as the rise of the dead continued. Diary doesn't work (for me at least) because it is a step backwards to the first night. Yet, again, it takes place in modern times (which blows any continuity) and quite frankly... it isn't a very realistic look at what would happen.

Also, in Land, the kills are kept within a sense of reality. Here was a film where Romero could have taken the kills over-the-top without ruining the plot. The characters in Land are battle hardened trained scavengers with superior firepower. Yet, in Diary, we get treated to a group of college kids, thier professor and a deaf amish dude that take out zombies the way I picture Riddick would be handling business :rockbrow:

Diary doesn't work from start to finish. It is a POV film that is supposed to be viewed as a documentary but watches like an action film. With the same quality of acting one expects from an action film, to boot. The character development I have come to expect from a Romero film is non-existent. In fact, Diary depends more on FX than any of the previous films we have seen.

Land was not what I wanted from a fourth installment in the LD series. No question. However, unlike Diary, Land could work for me as independent film. I could watch it, unassociated with GAR and still feel like I had watched a fairly decent zombie film. Diary doesn't even have that going for it.

[SRP76]

However, unlike Diary, Land could work for me as independent film. I could watch it, unassociated with GAR and still feel like I had watched a fairly decent zombie film. Diary doesn't even have that going for it.

Exactly. Land at least seems like a movie. Diary is almost exactly the type of shit you get out of a "SyFy Channel original". Anyone who has watched one of those abortions knows exactly what I mean.

[darth los]

This was covered (quite well too) in the official comic adaptation of NOTLD from FantaCo. There was a small prologue & epilogue issue that were not in the move, as well as a couple of scenes that are only narrated in movie (Beekman's diner, the Coopers car escape). Highly recommended if you can track it down. If interested I will post w/ spoilers later when I'm not at work & have more time.;)


I'd be pissed if you DIDN'T share. ;)

I heard of it before. It came out a couple of years back but no, i could never track it down. :(

Anything you could post on it, including a link to where i can purchase a few copies would be greatly appreciated.

:cool:

[sandrock74]

This was covered (quite well too) in the official comic adaptation of NOTLD from FantaCo. There was a small prologue & epilogue issue that were not in the move, as well as a couple of scenes that are only narrated in movie (Beekman's diner, the Coopers car escape). Highly recommended if you can track it down. If interested I will post w/ spoilers later when I'm not at work & have more time.;)

I was toying with the idea of doing something very similar myself, but since this adaptation already did it, I guess it would be kinda silly for me to do it now. :(