A young woman and her brother are attacked in a cemetery by a strange shambling figure, and she flees to a remote house where a motley crew of survivors are holing up against a horde of flesh eating zombies. George Romero's Night of the Living Dead is the seminal zombie film that spawned an entire genre, and is an abject lesson that strong ideas can make a brilliant film without a big budget to back it up. Duane Jones is great as the pragmatic hero who keeps a cool head and sets about survival as a job of work, and Romero's choice of a black actor to play the hero was clearly a conscious one. It's a story of the whole fabric of society unraveling; a black man taking centre stage and ordering middle class whites around, the system is shown to be ineffectual and run by bickering bureaucrats, one of our "heroes" is a coward despised even by his own wife, and the dysfunction of the family dynamic is to the point where family members butcher and chow down on each other! The stark black and white photography still looks good, as do the effects which actually hold up better than many later films and it has an edginess of style that has more in common with the likes of Psycho than a splatter flick. Ruthlessly uncompromising through to the shocking conclusion, and one of the most influential horror films ever made. A classic.
Gave the new release of this a re-watch this afternoon.
Still holds up very well, even if some of the characters tend to grate on the nerves after awhile. What the fuck is Cooper on, speed or something? He's so twitchy.
the first true story about politics...and its a horror movie! duane jones says every fucking thing every man was thinking about at that time that didnt care about the color of your skin and he deserved to be the fucking hero romero is a fucking gennius in every way and god bless him for helping the color of your skin not care and if your a hero then your a fucking hero!
I love B-horror movies - this one however was just dull and somewhat depressing. I found the characters annoying (scratch that, Ben was a good character, the women were just hopeless)
The end left me feeling rather glum about it all - I wasn't looking for a 'happy ending', I was just looking for a point (I understand the political metaphor for the times, but yeah. Didn't excite me too much.
This movie kicked soooo much ass and if you're rather interested in watching your new shit you can go die in a painful manner that will only lead to suffering through your death and after-life I hate people who can't enjoy a classic horror.
and yes i mean you fags
This movie kicked soooo much ass and if you're rather interested in watching your new shit you can go die in a painful manner that will only lead to suffering through your death and after-life I hate people who can't enjoy a classic horror.
and yes i mean you fags
The first movie from George Romero! Classic black and white version of Night of the living dead. Pretty creepy with dead people invasion again. Loved this awesome movie! ;)
I struggled to sit through this movie to be honest. I thought it was going to be way better than it was from all the talk I've heard about it. The acting was pretty average, I honestly don't know how anyone could have been scared of this. I did like the concept of how the dead turned into living though!
A triumph for its time in terms of depth of plot and cinematography, this once "only cool" zombie movie has melted with time. The film has tension, but no real action or drive (they seem to be going no where). It still reminds of the "glory" days of American television when you could catch it on Night Flight. Single Tear....
What can I say? I may not be a big fan of NotLD, but I can certainly appreciate what makes it such a classic. The originality here is striking. Very cool, even forty years later.
This movie kicked soooo much ass and if you're rather interested in watching your new shit you can go die in a painful manner that will only lead to suffering through your death and after-life I hate people who can't enjoy a classic horror.
and yes i mean you fags
The movie that put zombies on the map (though the word zombie is never uttered). Johnny and Barbara (O?Dea) are visiting the grave of their father when they are attacked by a strange man in the graveyard. Barbara escapes to a house where she finds Ben who is boarding up the house to defend against the growing hoard. Eventually, thanks to radio and television broadcasts, they find they are up against the walking dead and need to find a way to survive through the night. Whenever one comes across a film that essentially created an entire subgenre of horror, one must take care to view that film without the influence of its many children. Having said that, Romero?s script comes across bleak and dark on the black and white print and does not suffer from the lack of gore. He creates a very real sense of being trapped and hopeless and we see how differently people can handle it: some take charge, some argue, and some become hysterical. At times the horror inside the house among the living is more horrible than what awaits them outside. Thus Romero sets up the ?social commentary through zombie horror? that is present throughout the series.
This is it kids, the granddaddy of them all. Revolutionary in so many respects, I don't even know where to start. Excellent flick, I own several different versions, and I love them all.
It may not be very scary by today's standards, but watch it late at night with all of the lights off by yourself and I guarantee it will give you the creeps.
The birth of the modern zombie movie still holds up as a remarkably good horror film, more for its sociopolitical overtones and interesting characterisations than its scares. But while its shock value ain't what it used to be, it boasts a fine command of suspense and some incredible scenes (the zombie girl stabbing her mother to death, the chilling ending) which put the picture way ahead of its time. These narrative aspects, as well as its nascent use of gore (albeit in black and white), also arguably make it the birth of the modern horror film, full stop. A stunning low-budget debut from a director who would go on to fulfil the promise shown here and become one of the horror genre's masters.
A classic! George Romero is a fantastic director! One of those movies that can still be scary years after it was done. Spawned an entire era of zombie horror flicks. Work of genius...
I have seen so many versions of this film from the uncut original to the TV version and even a fan edited version this is a classic and the Dead movie that started it all for Romero.
As well as being scary, this film seems to touch on topical issues of the 60's (Vietnam war, civil rights movement, etc..) Absolute classic film.. must see!!!
Off the top of my head, I can't think of a more important or influential horror film than the original NOTD.
While it's not my personal favorite horror film, let alone movie, it is very important. Romero started the zombie phenomenon, and eventually brought legitamacy to an unfocused horror market.
MCT:October 10, 2008
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MCT:September 8, 2008
