Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea, Karl Hardman

The dead come back to life and eat the living. Several people barricade themselves inside a rural house in an attempt to survive the night. Outside are hordes of relentless, shambling zombies who can ...( read more  read more... )only be killed by a blow to the head.

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85% liked it

46,671 ratings

Critics

95% liked it

44 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 37 min.

Directed by: George A. Romero

Release Date: October 1, 1968

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DVD Release Date: April 12, 2005

 

Stats: 6,343 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (6,343)


  • October 27, 2009
    THIS is considered a classic? WOW. This one belongs high on the list of most overated movies of all time. After all these years, I finally watched this film, and it was still too soon.
    There is NOTING scary about this film. The zombies just looked like old people shuffling...( read more) around on the lawn. Is this supposed to be a comedy? There is no menace, no terror, no tension.... just a whole lot of bad acting, bad camerawork, bad FX makeup, bad music... If I didn't know better, I'd say it was meant as a spoof of horror films.
    People bash horror films, especially most modern horror films. But I will say that even the worst one made in the past ten years looks like an Oscar winner compared to this. And don't give me those lines about "it was the first" or "it was groundbreaking at the time." Just because something had to be the first, doesn't excuse it for being horrible.

    ....and oh yeah, I'll take modern day fast zombies over these laughable "zombie shuffle" ones any day.
  • October 6, 2009
    So much has been written about this now classic film that it's impossible to imagine any new insight, so I'll just share what I enjoy about it. Utilizing a single claustrophobic setting for most of running time, NOLTD has a documentary like quality that gives it a horrifying sen...( read more)se of realism comparable to Orson Welles' infamous WAR OF THE WORLDS broadcast. Regarded as the grandfather of the modern zombie film, NOLTD transformed the zombie from the human afflicted by a voodoo trance into the flesh eating undead.

    It looks so perfect that it makes me wonder why black and white isn't used much for horror any more. When directors copy Night of the Living Dead they copy the zombies and the arguments, rather than things worth copying like cinematography and theme. Many horror movies exist solely to scare the audience. Night of the Living Dead differs because it uses horror to make interesting social commentary.

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  • September 7, 2009
    The first real Zombie film, Night of the living Dead is also first of the Midnight Movies and a genres unto itself. A true original in contemporary cinema with political and racial undertones. This film is fascinating on so many levels and is far too often overlooked as just bein...( read more)g a 'popular horror film'. It's absolutely brilliant.
  • August 9, 2009
    Made in 1968 on a hand to mouth budget by enthusiasts in Pittsburgh, this suitably grungy off?Hollywood production became one of the most influential horror movies ever made.

    George A. Romero?s film has had official sequels (Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, Land of the D...( read more)ead), remakes (one in 3-D), parodies (Return of the living Dead, Shaun of the Dead), rip-offs (Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue) and several horribly mutilated re-releases with useless extra footage, new soundtracks or colorisation. It changed the face of the horror film, setting a precedent for the work of directors like Tobe Hooper, Wes Craven, John Carpenter and David Cronenberg in the 1970s.

    In fact, it?s such an important movie that it runs the risk of disappointing first-time viewers who?ve seen all the later films that copied its licks ? part of its strength is that it?s not a glossy, predictable Hollywood horror and so it has a grainy, semi-amateur, black and white look which gives it a dread sense of conviction. The shambling dead besiege a group of squabbling wannabe survivors in an isolated farmhouse, eating the entrails of those too inept to see them off with a bullet to the brain.

    Many of its plot strands were unprecedented: a heroine who reacts credibly to an appalling situation by becoming a useless catatonic, a black hero who finally has less to fear from the zombies than from the ghoul-hunting posse combing the countryside as if on a Vietnam search and destroy mission, news bulletins that include expert advice (?kill the brain and you kill the ghoul?) from the men on the ground, a relentlessly pessimistic ending.
  • November 2, 2008
    birth of the modern zombie film. i had recurring nightmares for years after first seeing this! :O a landmark that transcends it's genre
  • November 8, 2009
    Un véritable chef d'oeuvre de l'horreur. Le meilleur film de zombies.
  • November 6, 2009
    terrible ... it's bad movie..i'm not scared. but i dont like this movie.no message. just wasting time to watch it.
  • November 3, 2009
    The acting is not really good and the story is a little repetitive, but what makes this creepy film really work is the tense, disturbing atmosphere and the terrifying ending.
  • November 2, 2009
    Strange but a classic. Barbra could not cope very well.

    Felt so sorry for the main guy, bless him.
  • October 31, 2009
    Night Of The Living Dead has the best opening setup for a horror film, ever! It sets the mood perfectly. Its a full on assault of the senses. The cast is brilliantly played by virtual unknowns...at the time. Judith O'Dea is amazing to watch go from calm to hysterical to full blow...( read more)n basket case over the course of the film.
    What can be said about this film that hasnt already been said. Its a perfect film from start to finish. Horror doesnt get much better than this and neither does film for that matter. One of my all time favorite i can watch over and over and never get sick of. The perfect horror film!

Critic Reviews


September 19, 2007
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

I felt real terror in that neighborhood theater last Saturday afternoon. I saw kids who had no resources they could draw upon to protect themselves from the dread and fear they felt. full review

View more Night of the Living Dead reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • elenacocoara
    April 27, 2009
    I KNT WATCH
  • maritescapili0814
    April 7, 2009
    greatzombies ever!
  • tolex04
    March 13, 2009
    cant actually remember the year i saw it but cant never forget the movie. wouldlove to see it again.
  • HorrorMovieCinema
    June 4, 2008
    Great Zombie Flick=)
  • josephmayhew89
    February 4, 2008
    It is such an awesome but horrible movie, well I guess for it being one of the earlier zombie movies, and after seeing the remake of dawn of the dead first i guess my expectations were a little high. As well, I was watching it on Gaiaonline.com, and there was a GIANT yellow smiley face that showed up on the screen most of the way through the movie, it onlyh flashed there, there, but I was like, WTF?
  • Spicecats
    March 27, 2007
    Omg i loved this movie!! One of the best horror movies ever.
  • Donegal
    July 28, 2006
    Best zombie movie ever. Love the ending!

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Night of the Living Dead Trivia


  • Which of these films was NOT previously banned in the UK?  Answer »
  • "They're coming to get you, Barbara, there's one of them now!" is a quote from what zombie film?  Answer »
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