The Zombie Diaries
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| The Zombie Diaries | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Kevin Gates Michael Bartlett |
| Produced by | Kevin Gates Michael Bartlett |
| Written by | Kevin Gates Michael Bartlett |
| Starring | Russell Jones Craig Stovin Jonnie Hum James Fisher Anna Blades Imogen Church |
| Music by | Stephen Hoper |
| Cinematography | George Carpenter |
| Editing by | Kevin Gates Michael Bartlett |
| Distributed by | Revolver Entertainment |
| Release date(s) | August 27, 2006 |
| Running time | 81 min. |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
The Zombie Diaries is a 2006 British independent horror film written, produced and directed by Kevin Gates and first-time feature film maker Michael Bartlett.
The film was shot in a hand-held documentary format on DV and split into three separate parts. Its plot has been described [1] as a cross between The Blair Witch Project and Night of the Living Dead.
Contents |
[edit] Plot synopsis
The film starts by showing footage of the outbreak of a virus throughout the country, emphasising both the dismissive and paranoid reactions of the population. It then moves to footage of a documentary crew's travel to the countryside where in the process of filming material related to the virus, they get involved in survival themselves.
The second part is set one month later and covers a couple's travels and attempts to survive in the post-apocalyptic environment they have become involved in.
The final part shows survivors taking refuge in a rural location whilst defending themselves from the oncoming zombie onslaught.
[edit] Production
The idea for the film was proposed by Michael Bartlett to Kevin Gates in Autumn 2004. Bartlett originally envisaged it as a short film, but Gates felt it was better suited to feature film length. [2]
Casting involved asking actors to improvise entire sequences from the film. Gates and Bartlett picked the largely unknown cast as a result of this process. Shooting took place at weekends between July and November 2005 and post-production was completed during 2006. [2]
The film was completed prior to the announcement of the upcoming George A. Romero film Diary of the Dead, which shares a similar plot device. [2]
[edit] Principal cast
Whilst the cast was made up of professional actors, few were well-known other than a brief appearance from Leonard Fenton, best-known for playing Dr. Harold Legg in EastEnders.
The principal cast consisted of:
- Russell Jones - Goke
- Craig Stovin - Andy
- Jonnie Hurn - John
- James Fisher - Geoff
- Anna Blades - Vanessa
- Imogen Church - Sue
Actor Ian McCulloch, noted star of the BBC's post-apocalyptic drama Survivors was interested in a role in the film at one stage, but declined as the writers were unable to expand his role. [2]
[edit] Release
The film made a small-scale cinema debut on October 29, 2006 at Letchworth Garden City's Broadway Cinema, where on the opening night it became the first film in the cinema's 75 year history to sell out in advance. Followed by a debut in Leicester Square on August 27, 2007 as part of the UK's biggest horror film festival London FrightFest Film Festival (this showing was preceded by an attempt to break the world record for competitors in a zombie walk). The film was also released on DVD on the same day.
