George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead

George Romero reboots "Night of the Living Dead" for the "Blair Witch" and YouTube generation in his return to indie horror cinema. Romero knows how to deliver the undead conventions -- the stumbling chases, the gore, the scrambling survivors who inevitably trip in the panic of their escape -- but he fills his zombie nosh spectacle with commentary on the media and personal responsibility. Romero is not one to coax convincing characters from limited actors, but he does have something on his mind. It's not always subtle, I confess, but interesting and insistent and less verbal than visual and visceral. The commentary by writer/director Romero, director of photography Adam Swica and editor Michael Doherty is a practical track, sharply focused on the technical challenges and solutions of making the film on a low budget with a subjective point of view. "For the Record: The Making of Diary of the Dead" is a collection of five documentaries on the production, "Character Confessionals" features 20 minutes of footage shot but not used in the film, and "Familiar Voices" spotlights guest voice actors Guillermo del Toro, Simon Pegg and Stephen King. Also features the five MySpace contest short film winners, all around three minutes. One of them is directed by and stars Teller (of "Penn & Teller" fame).