1968 Directed by George A. Romero
A group of people try to survive an attack of bloodthirsty zombies while trapped in a rural Pennsylvania farmhouse. Although not the first zombie film, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD is the progenitor of the contemporary "zombie apocalypse" horror film, and it greatly influenced the modern pop-culture zombie archetype.
"it seems to be a sudden, general explosion of mass homicide... eyewitnesses say they are ordinary looking people, some say they appear to be in a kind of trance..."
a violent sickness intrudes a nation, fuelling its anxieties, exacerbating its tensions, eroding any and all social bonds that (barely) keep us from savagery—and still a police state is maybe the scariest result. this is brutally stark filmmaking and perhaps the most ferocious, unflinching portrait of the american psyche in the heat of the vietnam war and civil rights movement. rest in peace romero, you will be sorely missed.
So this really aged well.
I was a bit afraid that with the whole Apocalyptic Running Zombie direction Zombie films were headed this would feel old and tired, but it most assuredly doesn't.
I am not sure if I remember correctly but I seem to recall that Romero was inspired by the novel 'I am Legend' when he was thinking of this film. The feeling of being alone, surrounded by monsters is a strong concept and it is executed to perfection in this film. This is not a full out horror fest most of us are used to. Much like the zombies themselves, it is determined and relentless.
And that's the thing, this film emanates a 'this has never been…
What can I write about Night of the Living Dead that hasn't already been said by hundreds of other people, better than I could put it? At this point, everyone knows that this movie is a major feat--where ghouls are no longer ghouls, but zombies, and soon they will have a set of rules. Everyone knows that this is an influential, revered and beloved film. Everyone knows that George A. Romero created a new breed of monster. Just like vampire films are always referenced back to Bram Stoker, the modern-day zombie film is always referenced back to Romero. The only difference between both is that vampires have been around for centuries; throughout many different cultures, taking different forms in a…
Part of me wants to love this film and yet another can't see past the fact that the film tends to show its age and low budget to frequently to gain any form of a higher opinion on it.
It's a damn fine effort for its time and its many underlying themes make it still relevant to this day, yet I can't deny that some aspects are pretty dated and at least a decent amount of the film was pretty uninteresting.
Not to say the film itself is to blame, I've just never fond zombies that scary of a monster to be up against or the overall setting to offer that much in terms of overall story. Granted, Romero's efforts…
George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead is immeasurable, not just in terms of stature within the realm of horror cinema, but in ways that reflect the grand unraveling of its respective time-period. Tragically disturbing, beautifully grainy, and relentlessly bleak; Romero's film is an unforgettable beginning to the modern Zombie subgenre.
It has been frustrating trying to find a DVD or blu-ray with a decent transfer and English subtitles for many many many years. A few months ago, Criterion finally released their own version with an absolutely gorgeous and breath-taking transfer and subtitles. I can't find enough words to describe how happy I was to finally watch Night of the Living Dead.
The film started with a magnificent boom and immediately got me hooked! The atmosphere is utterly captivating and the tone of black and white is absolutely perfect for building dread, terror, and suspense. Its cinematography is quite stylish for its time and I can tell it indeed inspired a whole lot of horror movies. I can't imagine how scary…
Es una trasgresión a los estándares de la época, porque además La noche de los muertos vvivientes es una bofetada a los valores cinematográficos que los estudios norteamericanos han intentado establecer. El horror es un medio político, y las películas adoptan una imagen xenofóbica, pero el repudio de la película no es político externo sino el interno, de parte de un grupo de personas que están cansadas del autoritarismo y que ven el descontento del verano del amor frente a sus pies.
De un decadente país reflejado en la escena más memorable del filme, con una juventud haciendo carroña por la enfermedad, rebelándose frente a sus padres siendo parte del problema.
Sin miedo a equivocarme, 'Night of the Living Dead' de Romero es LA película que le dio al cine de zombies contemporáneo todas las herramientas para ser funcionales, cuando incluso el argumento es tan simple. Como lo dijeron en una reseña genial de por aquí el Letterboxd. Imagínense tomando a todos por sorpresa con esta película, la gente sacada de onda cuando por las noticias se dice "Hay un ataque de múltiples asesinos", está escalofriante, pero cuando más adelante hacen el llamado de "Los asesinos se están comiendo a las victimas", realmente pensé que estaba ante la obra maestra del cine zombie. Ya nadie le da la importancia a esos detalles de desconocimiento de los que es un zombie, porque…
Can't believe I had never logged this before, this is mandatory viewing for Horror genre fans. OUTSTANDING film.
Also it's available in full for free with no commercials on YouTube for some reason, so if you like horror and haven't seen it you have literally no excuse to not check it out
Night of the Living Dead. I´ve seen this in a big concert hall with musicians, who played over the entire runtime. At first i thought it should be the score of the movie, just played by a band. But when i noticed, that they were playing over the dialogues as well i knew this would be a little different. With lots of retro-wave and rock-music it was kinda cool, sometimes even hypnotic to see the movie with this kind of audio. The film itself was in color (!). I noticed a few things i haven´t since i last saw "Night of the Living Dead". But despite the fact that it was in color, this flick is just one of the best horror-films ever made....
Saw this again up on a big screen, at a bar, with a bunch of people. Good times!
A revolutionary film for the horror genre. I can speak for ages on its historical and cultural significance, but still, I personally can't come to love this film. Its age and lack of budget are apparent, which isn't to the fault of the film at all, but that reason alone is what keeps me from viewing it as highly as other classics. Definitely not denying its artistic value, however, and I do appreciate it for what it is -- Romero does an excellent job with what he's given to work with.
alisa 🌈 168 films
separate links are now added.
most of them are on my list
MasterLundegaard 155 films
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