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.
This is one of those films that makes you want to be a filmmaker. Romero uses everything at his disposal including fantastic acting and action, to tell a story about the end of the world. One of my favorite elements used in the film is the use of the news report to provide the exposition and allow the characters to be free from that constraint to tell the audience. This is not just a classic but masterpiece.
I recently watched The Criterion Collection's release and wow does this movie hold the fuck up. The ending is especially relevant today, unfortunately.
The budget was apparent, but the story was there. Good old thriller with an amazing main actor that drives the film forward. Even though it's old, the zombie take isn't seen before and has a very realistic ending that makes the film jump up tremendously.
It's the original, but frankly quite boring to watch a bunch of people I don't care much for prep for doomsday. More undead would be delightful
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