Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Sorry, this movie sucks

Crappy film

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Director/co-writer George Romero and co-writer John Russo bring a fierce and subversive undiluted nihilism to the basic formula horror premise of the dead coming back to life as hideous flesh-eating ghouls that's lost none of its sting throughout the decades: Whether it's a couple of loved ones returning as lethal zombies so they can kill their own mother or sister or the noble Ben (a fine and commanding performance by Duane Jones) being shot dead with a bullet to the head after he's mistaken for a zombie by a posse of trigger-happy rednecks, this film pulls zero punches. Romero and Russo tackle head on major issues that remain timely and topical even today: The unreliability of the clueless media, the danger posed by average citizens having easy access to firearms, people failing to put their differences aside in order to work together so they can survive a perilous situation, and society starting to come apart at the seams when faced with a baffling problem that it's patently unprepared for and hence unable to properly deal with. In a movie rich with dark and delicious ironies, one of the richest and mot biting ironies of all is that the idea proposed by the selfish and cowardly Harry Cooper (well played to the slimy and sniveling hilt by Karl Hardman) to hole up in the basement is much better than Ben's insistence on remaining upstairs. Wholly deserving of its classic status.

Finally after all these years watched the cult hit classic of the now late George A. Romero's "1968's" "Night of the living Dead". And for it's time this low budget independent picture was a masterpiece that helped change the landscape and gave upcoming horror films a new path to follow. For 1968 and being in black and white it had plenty of gore, death, and blood. And even a few twists and turns in the plot were found.Set in Pennsylvania in a small farm town the nearby graveyard starts to come alive and one by the dead have risen! And oddly enough this is a panic and epidemic that is all over the country!It's a battle of will and determination for survival against the walking undead! Many will not like this film when comparing today's standards of special effects, graphics, and "CGI" yet one can see that this old classic was a gateway to current hits like "The Walking Dead".

I do feel bad for not enjoying this movie as much as a lot of people seem to. I think me being so spoiled by modern zombie movies and culture may have something to do with it. For it's time period, it was pretty well done and I definitely noticed how many things current movies have borrowed from it. That being said, I doubt I'll be watching it again. There are plenty of better zombie movies to spend my time on.

This was director George A. Romero's feature film debut — wild to think about considering the classics he has under his belt now (Dawn of the Dead, Creepshow, Monkey Shines) and just how known his name is. Reading some of the reviews that were made at the time is equally wild, such as this one from The New York Times: "Night of the Living Dead is a grainy little movie acted by what appear to be nonprofessional actors, who are besieged in a farm house by some other nonprofessional actors who stagger around, stiff-legged, pretending to be flesh- eating ghouls."I mean, they aren't wrong, but this movie still holds up as a cult classic among horror lovers — who HASN'T said "they're coming to get you, Barbra!" in an imitation of poor short-lived Johnny's voice? It did well upon its release, too — despite a budget of just $114,000 it grossed $12 million domestically and $18 million internationally. It seems surprising now, since much of mainstream horror is FILLED with unspeakably disturbing images, that it was criticized at the time for its "explicit gore". It's part one of three (followed by Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead) — the stories for each film all written at the same time but executed with quite a few years in between each release — and Romero has talked about it being heavily influenced by Richard Matheson's 1954 novel I Am Legend.It was the first movie to introduce the modern idea of a zombie — though they never use the actual word, opting instead for both "murderer" and "ghoul" — as a reanimated, flesh-devouring creature.It's heavily ad-libbed and roughly shot — no real bells and whistles here, though I admired the stark black and white and the use of shadow and light throughout. I think it added to the movie in a real way to have it feel so raw and real.Whether it was initially intended by Romero or not, there's lots of commentary and themes throughout: on society in the 60's as a whole and peoples' disillusionment towards law enforcement and authority as a whole, the Vietnam war ("We may not enjoy living together, but dying together isn't going to solve anything."), and racism (Ben being chased by an all white zombie mob with a torch was very reminiscent of the Ku Klux Klan, the upper class white man being offended and angry by Ben not ceding to his wishes and to his grabs for power, Ben surviving an attack of the undead only to be killed by a group of white law enforcement). Romero has said that he didn't cast Ben — a black lead among an entirely white cast — on purpose, or as any kind of statement; he said he simply gave the best audition. But once Duane Jones was cast and they started filming, they became aware of the symbolism and the themes that it was important to play into. In general, it was less about monsters turning against people, but people turning against people — there is no real community formed, no solid efforts to work together to face the threats head on. They are very divided throughout the whole film, and more of them are killed by human error and mistakes rather than the undead themselves.Barbra was like a silent movie star — so expressive despite not much dialogue. She becomes almost catatonic early on in the movie, and there's lots of tension between her and Ben in several scenes — again, playing into the racism and general attitude towards people of color in the 60's.I do love that they never call them "zombies" — one of the news reports on the radio said "there is an epidemic of mass murder being committed by a virtual army of unidentified assassins", they are called "marauding ghouls", and, one of my favorite lines: "yeah, they're dead, they're all messed up". Apt.There's several amazing shots that I loved: the shot of the open field as the ghouls all silently lurch toward the house is great. The overall feeling of dread and suffocation is awesome. Them feasting on the bodies in the car was definitely a contributor to the "explicit gore" mentioned. And the zombie daughter killing her own mother by repeated stabs with a spade — as writer R.H.W. Dillard, a defender of the taboo in the film, said, "What girl has not, at one time or another, wished to kill her mother?".But maybe my favorite was when the zombies finally are fully encircling the house, beating on doors and windows, and the camera pans to each actor as they express their concern and fear, the lighting as dramatic as ever, everyone SO expressive. The ghouls are slow but unrelenting, and in that moment you kind of feel the full weight of hopelessness.And then there's the ending — solidifying humans being more dangerous to one another than any outside force, the unreliability of those in power, and the fear of any "outsiders" clouding our judgment to a fatal degree. I loved the darkness of it, the finality.I don't think I even need to say it, but it's a classic for a reason — worth a watch if you've never had the pleasure (or a re-watch if you have!).