Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Night of the Living Dead...1968...96 minutes...unrated...starring Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea, Karl Hardman, and Russell Streiner...written by John Russo and George Romero...directed by George Romero

Barbara and her brother Johnny have gone to the cemetary to place flowers on their father's grave, but have picked the wrong night to do it (naturally). After a bit of sibling banter, where Johnny makes fun of his sister and a wandering stranger, Barbara goes to apologize to the passerby and is attacked. Johnny leaps in to protect Barbara but gets killed in the ensuing fight. Barbara flees and, after wrecking the car the pair came in, makes her way to a nearby farmhouse. Still in shock, she encounters other people trapped in the home...all of whom are trying to survive the eerie crisis they find themselves in. All over the country, the dead have started to rise and are now preying on the living, killing and eating anyone they can find.

Honestly, I'm not sure I can say anything more about this particular movie that hasn't already been said. It is the wellspring from which the zombie subgenre of horror has sprung from, and its effects can be seen all over popular culture. Zombies can be found in comics, video games, TV (especially with the new Walking Dead show to premier Oct. 31st), and of course movies. There's even a subdivsion now of zombie comedies, with such films as Shaun of the Dead, the previously reviewed Dead and Breakfast, Fido, and Zombieland just to name a few. Even the phrase "Zombie Apolcalypse" is starting to be found popping up in all sorts of places. While there were movies featuring the idea of the zombie before Romero, this selection truly set the standard from which later creations have come.

But to be fair the movie survives as a classic because it's still a good movie. Certainly at the time, the level of gore and shock value provided was much higher than what we would consider it today, and many people found it to be as offensive and repulsive as many would find the Saw movies of today. Now, to jaded horror fans, the effects are almost quaint...though being in black and white, I would argue that there's still some effective moments that can disturb. More important, though, are the other aspects of the movie: the performances are effective...Judith O'Dea as a woman in shock feels very true...and the pace of the story is steady. I'm truly fond of the dialogue in the movie; from the opening squabble between Barbara and Johnny to the sheriff's comments as he's interviewed. Ultimately, though, what works most effectively is the fact that while the zombies are the danger, it's the inner nature of humanity that decides the fate of the survivors.

The only thing that I might argue is off is the whole "Venusian radiation" theory, but I like to think that it was just something authorities ran with because "We have no idea" just wouldn't fly.

Watch this movie to see where the zombie craze came from. Watch this movie because it's one of the films that horror buffs always talk about. Watch this movie because it's a good movie. I don't care, just as long as you watch this movie.  The rating: 4.5 gnawed limbs out of 5