THE ZOMBIE DIARIES 2

An infection caused by an unknown virus has killed almost the entire world population, transforming the infected into living dead who feed exclusively on human flesh. Three months after the outbreak of the epidemic, a group of English survivors composed of soldiers and civilians have found refuge in an abandoned military base. Although living conditions are at the limit of human endurance, the survivors continue to nurture hope for a better world, a hope confirmed by the news of the existence in Europe of a safe place where other survivors live and which is located on the coast. When the military base is literally invaded by zombies, the survivors have no choice but to flee in the hope of reaching this mythical safe place. The whole thing is recorded by a journalist who tries to document the events through a kind of report to leave to posterity in case the situation worsens. It is really difficult to write an article about a film like this "World of the Dead – The Zombie Diaries 2" since instinct makes you write only two words: "It sucks". We are faced with the sequel to "The Zombie Diaries" which was already really lacking in many aspects; "The Blair Witch Project" certainly marked a turning point in the way of making horror and thriller films, but this does not mean that it is enough to shoot a "documentary" with a handheld camera to obtain the same pleasant result. Directors Michael Bartlett and Kevin Gates have succeeded in worsening the first chapter of the saga thanks to a film lacking in content and with some really notable narrative gaps; the plot of the film is really too essential and is relegated to the usual "Run otherwise the zombies will reach you and eat you" without paying any attention to the characterization of the characters who end up being completely anonymous and of very little interest. This almost complete lack of screenplay could be overlooked if the film were focused on gruesome or particularly splatter scenes that would shift the viewer's attention to the violent aspect of the film; the problem is that, in this case, there are almost no violent or bloody scenes and the plot twists are relegated to a few moments that are quickly forgotten. The suspense is almost non-existent and this leads to hoping that the protagonists are slaughtered as soon as possible to put an end to this mess. I believe that there are mainly two paths to follow to make an interesting horror documentary: the first path consists of focusing the report on the psychological aspect of the characters, highlighting the anguish that can be felt in situations that cannot be explained by human rationality. The second path that can be followed is that of the "scientific" documentary that seeks to find the cause of the epidemic and to explain the motivations that serve as a backdrop to the real horror film. Unfortunately, in the case of "The Zombie Diaries 2" none of these two paths is followed with the result of leading the vast majority of viewers towards a boredom that is at least embarrassing. Moving on to the special effects, which generally take center stage in horror movies, on this occasion they are almost non-existent with the use of makeup for the zombies that, more than living dead, make them look like people who suffer from insomnia; I therefore cannot understand this choice especially in light of the fact that nowadays the material for basic special effects has a definitely acceptable cost. Last aspect, but not least important, concerns the shots with the handheld camera; one can understand the directors' choice to make the film more similar to a report made with makeshift means, but the use of at least a steadycam would have been appreciated and would have avoided the countless video noises that characterize the vast majority of scene changes which have the sole result of causing nausea attacks in the viewer. This "World of the Dead – The Zombie Diaries 2" is therefore a bad job in all aspects and does not deserve much attention from the public who risks wasting time watching a film that is full of holes. I therefore recommend watching the film exclusively to those who absolutely do not want to miss any film about zombies.