Dirs. Michael Bartlett & Kevin Gates, UK, 2006, 85 mins
Cast: Russell Jones, Anna Blades, Imogen Church, James Fisher, Jonnie Hurn
Review by Jean Lynch
Whilst cinema has long enjoyed a necrophillic love affair with the zombie, aside from Hammer’s Plague of the Zombies Britain has only recently staked its claim as a meaty contender for purveyor of fine undead flesh. First, there was Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later (and the recent 28 Weeks Later, directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo) which not only re-animated the sub-genre but breathed life into the corpse of British horror as a whole, soon followed by the brilliant, funny yet oddly moving and somehow realistic Shaun of Dead, a film which even the master of the zombie-genre, George Romero, recognises as a loving homage to his celebrated work.
With The Zombie Diaries, the film that launched a thousand rotting feet on Leicester Square in the bid for the Zombie Walk World Record, one might be forgiven for thinking that, like the aforementioned Shaun, this is a film that embraces the traditional long-standing marriage between horror and humour: it’s time to think again.
Set in a very near-future apocalyptic world, the viewer is presented with three documentary-style stories, shot on the most basic of equipment with a non-professional crew, positing three different groups of people at various points in time following the outbreak of a devastating virus. Initially, we only know that it began in Romania and is considered similar to bird flu.
In the first segment, we are taken on the journey of a documentary film crew who are investigating the early days of the outbreak, before it’s full impact and the reality become apparent. They still have the luxury of shooting mundane vox-pops footage, with ordinary members of the general public voicing their opinions, asking what can the man on the street do – that’s it down to government; that the government should be doing more, and then – in one case – worrying that if the virus hits a school and the information for parents is placed on the web, as planned, what about those who do not have internet access? These scenes capture both the bloody-mindedness of the British character, the attempts to gain control over a helpless situation coupled with the futulity of their situation. In later scenes, we see a Britian whose streets are eerily silent and devoid of people. The nervous and somewhat trifling concerns of the talking heads recede into perspective against the stark reality and everybody’s fight for survival and the fact that, in all probability, these opinionated people have already fallen victim to the disease.
As the film progresses, we are lead by the hand – sometimes treading softly through a darkened room, sometimes fleeing rapidly in abject terror – and uncover that the virus is not only endemic, but is causing it’s victims to rise from the dead. And they are really dead – you can almost smell the putrifying, decaying dead tissue, while the maggots and drone of flies are stomach churning. This is the film that goes beyond entertainment and really posits the question: what would you do? The scene where a sick loved one is restrained in bed because they probably have the virus hits home more than any other zombie film you have seen, counting the human cost of such an outbreak. It is, indeed, a good allegory for the helplessness of any society hit by catastrophe on a giant scale, particularly the breakdown of its infrastructure. Furthermore, as the three stories begin to entwine, it becomes a rumination on the nature of man and how he survives and adapts to any hazardous situation, even hovering over the question as to what can he do at events beyond his control? And who is in control and what should they do?
The style of the film is very Blair Witch Project, marred only slightly by an unnecessary occasional soundtrack, but with effective hand-held camera, candid crew shots, and plenty of night lighting. However, the story and pacing of the film is more traditional thrills and spills than Blair Witch, and full credit for bringing in the cliched campfire scene and making it seem an entirely logical and natural part of the tale. All the horror elements you’d expect are here; the hairs on the back of your neck are guaranteed to stand on end, and yet The Zombie Diaires is both believable and particularly horrific because of the sheer human aspects and mundanity to it all. A most worthy addition to the British horror canon.
Screening as part of Frightfest 2007. Released on Region 2 DVD 27th August.
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