Night of the Living Dead (1968)

If the dead suddenly came back to life, what would you do? In October 1968, all a group of people could do was fight to survive the night.

Directing this 96 minute horror is George A. Romero.

Trying to survive this ghoulish invasion is: Duane Jones as Ben, Judih O’Dea as Barbra, Karl Hardman as Harry, Marilyn Eastman as Helen, Keith Wayne as Tom, Judith Ridley as Judy, Kyra Schon as Karen Cooper and George Kosana as Sheriff McClelland.

Seven individuals soon realize they are trapped in a farmhouse, fighting for their very lives. What’s trapped them there is something no one could ever imagine happening. Something unexplainable… the dead have risen. Wanting answers, they check the radio stations in hope of some sort of news. It seems something has woken the dead from their eternal slumber. Now, the dead walk among us, feeding on the flesh of the living. No one knows how long this will last, so this group must try and come together if they want to remain among the living.

The storyline is pure imagination. It not only gives us, the viewers, a scary, unnatural situation, but also shows us a side of humanity. What could possibly happen when we are put in stressful situation that is out of our control. Will we work together… or fall apart?

We’re talking about a film that was made with a budget of 114,000 (US) dollars, and grossed 12 million (US) dollars domestically! Counting internationally, it made 18 million. Yeah it became a hit pretty quick. I’ve always been a fan of, not only Night of the Living Dead, but also of Romero. Yet, when doing some research for this review I became an even bigger fan, if that’s possible. The work they put into this flick was extraordinary, from the cast to the filming, and everything in between. This 1968 black and white film is pure gold, in my opinion. They didn’t have much to use in terms of sets. The house used in the movie was set to be torn down, so they could do what ever they wanted to and not worry about damages.

Special effects, oddly enough, they used chocolate syrup for blood. As for the “flesh” the zombies ate, it was roast and entrails that one of the actors donated from their butcher shop. All that made for some really cool and scary looking scenes.

This film is an iconic masterpiece that can be used as a template. It shows what someone can do with a film, if you’ve got the right people around you willing to help.

 

Summary : If somehow you've never seen this film, you should. It's a great film that every horror/zombie enthusiast must see.

It's UR (unrated) but has brief nudity, violence and gore.


Rating


Average

5