Directed by
George A Romero
96 minutes
Rated R
Reviewed by
David Michael Brown
Night Of The Living Dead
Synopsis: After a radiation charged satellite crashes back to earth the dead start to rise with a thirst for human flesh. While the government tries to cover up what has happened more and more people are infected by the walking undead. The only way to stop them is to shoot them in the brain. Soon a small group of survivors have barracked themselves into a small cottage and await help. The only problem is the zombies know they are inside and are still hungry.The word seminal is far too often used in the horror genre. In the zombie sub-genre in particular many films could stake a claim as the most influential walking dead film every made. Henrik Galeen and Paul Wegener’s 1915 Der Golem can certainly stake a claim as one of the first and Bela Lugoi’s White Zombie in 1932 introduced the oft-used voodoo subplot about the dead walking the earth. Hammer Film’s marvellous 1966 Plague of the Zombies starring Jacqueline Pearce was one of the most atmospheric but there is one film that stands alone, the movie that started the whole gut munching, gore soaked mess, George. A. Romero’s 1968 Night of the Living Dead. Without it there would be no Dawn of the Dead or 28 Days Later. In fact there probably wouldn’t been a Italian horror industry in the '80s. So influential was Romero’s low-budget triumph that it became the blueprint for many modern horror films and not just in the zombie sub-genre.
Night of the Living Dead was groundbreaking on many counts. The close up, excruciating, shots of the zombies chewing on human flesh may have been in grainy black and white but never before had the undead been seen chowing down with such relish. Politically Romero’s was not afraid to mark the end of the peace and love decadewith this harsh, depressing, nihilistic film that was not afraid to kill its hero in the final frame. The fact that the hero was black, a horror film first, only adds to the resonance.
Romero’s masterstroke was funnelling the terror of an entire nation into one small, claustrophobic house. As the zombies are taking over the world a few remaining survivors have boarded themselves up into their own grave. As they desperately fight for their survival, the tensions and characteristics of the human race at its worst are brought to the fore. Only Ben (Duane Jones) shows some humanity amongst his fellow prisoners, and he is shot for his kindness. This enforced microcosm parallel’s the outside world and shows how badly the human race can act under incredible stress - the selfishness of some of the survivors is often as shocking as the zombie attacks they are trying to avoid.
Romero has since delivered three sequels to Night of the Living Dead. Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead and Land of the Dead all expanded on his initial ideas and widened the scope of his on-screen slaughter but none compare with the unnerving atmosphere that the director generates with his debut feature. A horror classic.
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