Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Synopsis: A group of survivors try to fend off the hordes of flesh eating ghouls that surround the farmhouse that they have taken shelter in. As their number dwindle the tension rises in the house between the remaining survivors. Who will make it out alive? Will anyone make it out?

The Good: This is the granddaddy of all of the modern zombie films and is a classic of the independent horror scene. The acting here is pretty damn good given that much of the cast weren’t professional actors. The one professional actor in the cast, Duane Jones, does an excellent job in the role of Ben. When talking about the cast you really can’t ignore the fact that Romero cast an African American actor in a lead role and not one word is ever mentioned about it in the script. Guys this movie was made in 1968 and whether this was intentional or not (there is some debate) this makes Night of the Living dead stand out from any other film from the 60s. In addition to a good cast Romero’s directing here is wonderful. The movie is paced very well and moves along nicely. Romero allows the characters to be defined by their actions and avoids the long exposition that many directors and screenwriters use to create the character. The ending isn’t typical for horror films of the 60s and because of that is very effective. Sure the ending is a “downer” but that is why it works so well. The effects are very well done for a low budget picture from the 60s and work very well in a black and white movie. This is one of those rare moments when everything works perfectly and you get an instant masterpiece.

The Bad: The film itself I have no issue with. I will warn you that if you haven’t seen this movie before (and how is that really possible?) then be careful what version you get. This movie is public domain, which means anyone can release it on video and DVD. This has resulted in a lot of terrible copies on the market. I’ve seen some that have audio that drops in and out or copies that are so dark you can’t see them. Don’t blame the film there are nice copies out there.

The Score: 4 out of 4

Sure I’m a huge Romero geek so what? This is an excellent film that all horror fans should have in their collections.

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