Night of the Living Dead was the first of its kind but it remains one of the best of its kind.
Barbra (Judith O’Dea) and Johnny (Russell Streiner) drive to a cemetery to place a wreath on their father’s grave. As Johnny teases Barbra about her fear of cemeteries, a seemingly dazed man attacks them. Johnny wrestles with him and falls, hitting his head on a tombstone. Barbra escapes in their car but, without the keys, she’s only able to release the emergency brake and roll a short distance. With the man still in pursuit, she runs from the car to a farmhouse a short distance away.
Finding a way inside, she locks the door and secures a knife from a kitchen drawer. As she explores the house, she finds a mutilated corpse upstairs. Just then, a pick-up truck pulls up to the front of the house. Ben (Duane Jones) jumps out and takes charge. He has encountered other people in a condition similar to the man that attacked Barbra. Ben fights off a more of them outside and then begins to board up the doors and windows while Barbra remains in shock, providing little help. Soon, the pair encounter Harry Cooper (Karl Hardman) and Tom (Keith Wayne,) who emerge from the basement.
The pair inform Barbra and Ben that two women and a child remain in the basement. Ben is livid that they didn’t come up to help him with securing the house. Ben and Harry begin to fight about whether it’s safer to retreat to the basement or stay upstairs. A radio broadcast informs the group that a wave of mass murder has affected all points east of the Mississippi. Soon, they learn that the recently deceased are returning to life. If that wasn’t bad enough, the ghouls also have a taste for human flesh.
Night of the Living Dead was made for less than $120,000 and was released in October, 1968. In the 52 years since its release, it’s inspired countless imitators as well as a few sequels of its own. This is where cinema’s modern version of zombies was born. This is the movie that unleashed visions of the zombie apocalypse. And, yet, for a movie that is so groundbreaking, its scope is surprisingly small. All of the action takes place in one general area: in and around an old house in rural Pennsylvania.
Director and writer George A. Romero and co-writer John Russo patiently dole out the details of what’s happening. For the most part, the audience learns as the characters receive information from radio and TV broadcasts. It’s also interesting to note that at no time are the flesh-eating ghouls referred to as zombies.
Casting Duane Jones, a black man, as the lead in a film in 1968 may seem groundbreaking in hindsight but Romero claims that he simply picked the best actor he found for the job. His performance is outstanding.
It’s easy to review the movie in terms of what it did for horror films and the zombie genre but it’s a film worthy of praise for its own self-contained achievements: The conflict between Ben and Harry that is a metaphor for civil rights. The subtle digs at mass media in their coverage of the events. The shocking special effects that stand up even today. The low budget trappings that give the film a gritty, almost documentary-like feel. And, of course, there are the ghouls themselves. The shuffling, relentless killers who don’t stop coming even when shot (anywhere but the head). The idea of undead monsters who cannot easily be killed and whose numbers grow every time they manage to murder someone is scary stuff indeed.
Night of the Living Dead was the first of its kind but it remains one of the best of its kind.
5.0 out of 5.0 stars
Buy on Amazon!
