Movie Reviews of Night of the Living Dead
- Night of the Living Dead is one of the most monumental films to be released in the horror genre. Produced and directed by George A Romero this film debuted in 1968. It was a hit among audiences for it's gore, suspense, and allowing the zombie to make its appearance onto the horror scene. For some people it's considered a film Noir - not just a film shot in black in white. The shadows that played off the creature's faces and the dramatic angles qualifies it as a Noir. The plot of this film was simple, Romero wanted to create the idea of "flesh eaters" and not really zombies. Perhaps this was the idea that made the start of the film so popular. Although the idea of the living dead returning isn't too abstract, it was scary enough to be the plot of the film. I found the characters portrayed to be authentic and the suspense in the film one of the key elements that made it so popular. The film is rather simple, zombies attack, people hide, they try to escape, and all end up perishing in grotesque ways.
The film packs a statement about society at the time in 1968 by revealing the female Barbara to be defenseless and scared. By casting a black man as one of the leading roles Romero reveals a struggle between white and black America.
I feel that the film instigates one of the first fears about zombies, at the time not many films had zombies as their movie monsters. Romero set the ground rules for ghouls with the making of this film, though he didn't know it at the time. Watching this film you get a certain nostalgia for zombies and you get a sense of the unknown. It remains a favorite for it's build up of suspense and it's fear of the other. I'm able to watch this film again and again and still find more material in it that's entertaining.
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