History Film / DiaryOfTheDead

* ShoutOut: A radio host mentions Creator/OrsonWelles' ''Radio/WarOfTheWorlds'' during the initial reports of the zombie outbreak.

'''Looter:''' I'm stealing shit. But you.. What a guy with a video camera doing in the women's dorm?

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''"We made a film - the one I'm going to show you now. Actually, Jason was the one who wanted to make it. Like that cameraman from Channel 10, he wanted to upload it so that people, you, could be told the truth. The film was shot with a Panasonic HDX-900 and an HBX-200. I did the final cut on Jason's laptop. I've added music occasionally for effect, hoping to scare you. You see, in addition to trying to tell you the truth, I am hoping to scare you so that maybe you'll wake up. Maybe you won't make any of the same mistakes that we made. Anyway, here it is, Jason Creed's The Death of Death."''

->'''Debra:''' ''"We made a film - the one I'm going to show you now. Actually, Jason was the one who wanted to make it. Like that cameraman from Channel 10, he wanted to upload it so that people, you, could be told the truth. The film was shot with a Panasonic HDX-900 and an HBX-200. I did the final cut on Jason's laptop. I've added music occasionally for effect, hoping to scare you. You see, in addition to trying to tell you the truth, I am hoping to scare you so that maybe you'll wake up. Maybe you won't make any of the same mistakes that we made. Anyway, here it is, Jason Creed's The Death of Death."''

The movie opens on a [[ActionPrologue news report]], being narrated by the FinalGirl, explaining the reasoning behind the movie itself. The main story line starts of with a group of film students, along with their sardonic boozing professor Andrew Maxwell (Scott Wentworth), making a classic cliched horror movie. When the group hears escalating radio reports of people coming back from the dead, the shoot falls apart, with monster-player Ridley (Philip Riccio) departing in his sport cars as the rest of the group leaves in a Winnebago. Going on a harrowing road trip and encountering the ZombieApocalypse equivalent of [[WackyWaysideTribe Wacky Wayside Tribes]].

* BaitAndSwitch: The trooper who is bitten by the zombies that the old couple were hiding says not to shoot them when his comrades are getting angry. Then he clarifies [[KickTheDog to not shoot them in the head, so they wake up dead,]] and [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled caps his own top]] after giving the instruction.

* DeadLineNews: The film opens with a TV news crew covering a murder-suicide in an apartment complex. During filming, the corpses reanimate and begin attacking the [=EMTs=] moving them out of the building. One of the corpses then turns on the TV reporter and cameraman (although the later escapes).

* DistressedDamsel: Tracy is playing as one in their film project. When a later situation eerily similar to their script happens to her for real, she not only [[DamselOutOfDistress rescues herself with ease]], but chews Jason out for just filming it, instead of helping.

** [[spoiler:Poor Mary]]. Worse when you consider she ''didn't even do it right'' and instead of dying a quick, painless death, she has to suffer through a gaping head wound for few hours.

* FinalGirl: [[spoiler:Not played entirely straight. Debra is the narrator and protagonist (and survives), but while she isn't TheLoad, she doesn't actually contribute much to killing zombies or keeping the group safe. Even her quick thinking use of a defibrillator doesn't truly finish off a zombie. Aside from that, [[ActionGirl Tracy]] is still alive and well, just stormed out as far as possible for a group that continuously endangers her life]].

* TheJaywalkingDead: Subverted. The first encounter with the undead involves their Winnebago driving over several zombies walking on the road. [[spoiler: Thinking she committed vehicular manslaughter, Mary shoots herself in remorse]].

* MonsterClown: The recording they found of a zombified clown biting someone at a child's birthday party. Crossed with IncongruouslyDressedZombie.

* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler: The Amish farmer's solution to having a zombie bite him on the neck from behind, is to swing his scythe upwards, straight through his own head and into that his undead attacker]].

%%* BaldHeadOfToughness: Samuel is one of the toughest survivors (although his baldness is hard to tell given the hat he usually wears).

* BaldHeadOfToughness: Samuel is one of the toughest survivors (although his baldness is hard to tell given the hat he usually wears).

The military as a whole doesn't do well, but one video the protagonists watch online shows a group of men in riot gear efficiently, albeit ruthlessly, moving from house to house and clearing out the undead. The one man they lose doesn’t go down easily.

* RaisedCatholic: Mary keeps a St. Christopher medal in her possession. Debra has a pendant of her own in a ConfessionCam featurette and mentions praying.

%%* NerdGlasses: Elliot wears a pair. %%(Entry needs more context)%%

* MirrorScare: When trying to locate a survivor with a heart condition, when he finally shows up [[spoiler: as a zombie]], he's revealed by a sudden appearance in a mirror.
* NerdGlasses: Elliot wears a pair.

* TheLoad: [[TheProfessor Maxwell]] starts off looking like an alcoholic JadedWashout, while appearing to be pretty feeble old man. Subverted, as he turns out to be a war veteran and a [[TheStraightAndArrowPath crack archer]], along with the beacon of reason for the whole group. He still likes to drink, thou.

* JitterCam: Averted, the only times the cameras get shaky are during zombie attacks. Otherwise, the shots stay stabilized.

* ImprobableWeaponUser: Deb is brandishing a trophy like a club when they find her in the dorms and later knocks down a zombie with electro-shock paddles to the head. In that same scene, Elliot stab a zombie with an IV pole. Tony does it by accident, when a can he smashes over a zombie's head turns out to be full of acid.

* IdiotBall: Honestly, half of the victims pretty much deserved to die due to their terrifying moments of stupidity. Special mention goes to the guy who gets killed [[spoiler: because he can't hear a zombie approaching while blow-drying his hair]].

* HandicappedBadass: The Amish farmer Samuel is one of the most efficient zombie killers in the story. He also had a stroke few years prior and can't talk because of it, instead using a small board and a piece of chalk to communicate.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: [[Film/SurvivalOfTheDead "Nicotine" Crockett and his fellow National Guardsman deserters]], who are more of {{Villain Protagonist}}s since they rob the heroes of this picture. Other characters such as Samuel, the troopers, a Japanese woman seen hiding and trying to give advice on a youtube video, Brody the cameraman and the stranger also apply.

* AHouseDivided: The group doesn't really like each other ''before'' zombies come into equation. Over the course of the film, they keep dividing into smaller and smaller groups of interests, which has predictable consequences.

* BottomlessMagazines: Mary's .380 automatic pistol.

* GirlishPigtails: Francine's hairstyle.

* BoomHeadshot: Aside of disposing various zombies, [[spoiler: Mary commits suicide]] this way.

* EveryoneHasStandards: Lampshaded after the National Guardsmen rob them from ''most'' (but not all) of their food, but otherwise leave them be. Maxwell muses that they're thieves, not murderers, and they wouldn't have gone as far as to leave people unarmed with the dead wandering around.

* FinalGirl: [[spoiler: Not played entirely straight. Debra is the narrator and protagonist (and survives) but while she isn't TheLoad she doesn't actually contribute much to killing zombies or keeping the group safe. Even her quick thinking use of a defibrillator doesn't truly finish off a zombie. And aside that, [[ActionGirl Tracy]] is still alive and well, just stormed out as far as possible for group that continuously endangers her life]].
* FunctionalAddict: Maxwell is all but called outright an alcoholic. He's one of the most effective and reasonable members of the group and while constantly drinking, never gets fully smacked.

* DistressedDamsel: Tracy is playing one in their film project. When later situation eerily similar to their script happens to her for real, she not only [[DamselOutOfDistress rescues herself with ease]], but chews Jason out for just filming it, instead of helping.

* DoesntLikeGuns: After giving one of their colleagues who's turning into a zombie the coup-de-grace, professor Maxwell hands the pistol over to someone else, saying it's too easy to use. Later however he picks up a bow saying that it "feels friendlier". We later learn that he's a former member of the archery team at Eton.
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Poor Mary]]. Worse when you consider she ''didn't even do it right'' and instead of dying a quick, painless death, she has to suffer through a gaping head wound for few hours.
** Depending on your interpretation, Jason could count by not wanting to go inside the panic room with Deb and the rest.
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler: Elliot]] makes it pretty far into the movie but then gets ambushed and unceremoniously bitten and electrocuted while coming out of a bath.

* DeadLineNews: The film opens with a TV news crew covering a murder-suicide in an apartment complex. During filming the corpses reanimate, then begin attacking the [=EMTs=] moving them out of the building; one of them then turns on the TV reporter and cameraman (although the later escapes).

* DangerousDeserter: Zigzagged. They encounter two groups of deserters. The first group fortified itself in a warehouse with food, but not only exchanged survival tips, but also gives the protagonists guns and other supplies. The second group, still in their National Guard uniforms, does rob them, but leaves them alive, and with some of their supplies - most notably not even touching weapons and ammunition.

* BrokenHeel: First it's played for laughs when the students are making a HorrorComedy project. Second happens for real when the exact same girl is chased by a zombie, this time for real, and ''[[LampshadeHanging she angrily quips about it]]''.

* CameraAbuse: To keep with the general aesthetics of amateur video log, a lot of shake cam, hits, falls and bumps to the camera happens.
* CantStopTheSignal: Jason is the most obvious example, but the cameraman form the opening scene also uploaded the video of the attack when it was being suppressed and various newscasters are heard giving warnings even as the authorities continue to deny everything.
* ClothingDamage: As part of BrickJoke, Tracy ends up being chased by [[spoiler: zombified Ridley, still in his mummy costume]], and gets her dress torn, exactly as the script of their original project called for it.
* DaddysGirl: Tracy. It's only referenced in one line of the movie but gets more focus in the ConfessionCam bonus features.
* DangerousDeserter: Zigzagged. They encounter two groups of deserters. The first, fortified itself in a warehouse with food, but not only exchange survival tips, but also gives the protagonists guns and other supplies. The second group, still in their National Guard uniforms, does rob them, but leaves them alive, and with some of their supplies - most notably not even touching weapons and ammunition.

* BroadStrokes: Arguably an AlternateContinuity, this film rolls the clock back to the original zombie outbreak, but is set in modern times instead of the late 60s. This applies to all of previous Romero's ''Dead'' movies of course, being part of the same continuity but each filmed in a different decade.