ChikPapa Very disappointed :(

PlatinumRead Just so...so bad

Micransix Crappy film

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

jamesgandrew After a zombie outbreak, a group of people arrive at an old farmhouse where they must spend the night to survive. This is a personal favourite of mine and has to be one of the most influential movies, not just to the zombie film but the horror genre itself. Even though it wasn't the first zombie movie it did introduce some of the most iconic tropes of the genre like using the resources you have to survive, zombies being flesh eaters and zombies needing to be shot or severely injured in the head to die.Duane Jones delivers an excellent performance as Ben who's a strong black protagonist who stands out amongst the highly irrational fellow survivors. George A Romero excellently conveys that sense of claustrophobia with the house setting and his direction unflinchingly creates tension and suspense. It managed to be the most successful independent movie of the time, garnering 263 times its budget. The movie features a ballsy ending and I won't give it away unless you haven't seen it but let's just say it's a profound social statement that you won't forget after watching the movie.

dpastrovich-89940 Zombies have never been more popular than they are now and we have Night Of The Living Dead to thank for that. While not the first zombie movie, it is the first that defined zombies as living dead flesh eaters. Previous movies depicted zombies as people under voodoo spells.What I like about the story is that it's never revealed what causes the zombies to rise up. Sure, they mention a theory involving a space probe returning from Venus being deliberately exploded in the Earth's atmosphere when radiation was detected. However, they never reveal whether that is true or not. I think it's scarier not knowing the actual cause.One of the most charming aspects about this film is that it looks older than it actually happens to be. To put it in perspective, Night Of The Living Dead was released in 1968 - the same year as 2001: A Space Odyssey. If one were to view those films side-by-side, you would probably think they weren't made in the same decade; let alone the same year.It's not exactly a technical masterpiece in terms of editing. Often there are scenes that are supposed to take place at night but were clearly shot during daytime and vice versa. There's also a very noticeable jump cut during a conversation between Harry and Helen in the basement.The makeup effects are very subtle. Part of this is likely due to having a low budget, but also because they establish that these are the recently deceased. These are not rotting corpses that climbed out of their grave. Tom Savini had originally signed on to do the makeup effects, but had to pull out when he was called to duty by the US Army to serve as a combat photographer in Vietnam. On one hand, I can't help but wonder how Savini would have done the zombie makeup. On the other hand, perhaps being a witness to real horrors of The Vietnam War helped him become such an amazing horror makeup effects artist.Many people think there is a commentary about racism hidden in this movie. While I can see where people get that impression, it's my understanding that George A. Romero didn't intend that. When he and John A. Russo were writing the story, they didn't plan on making the character black. They simply hired the best actor for the part of Ben. Duane Jones (Ben) thought that the movie should promote that fact that it was one of the first movies with a black lead actor, but Romero thought it was better that they didn't (a decision he's apparently had some second thoughts about).One of the most beautiful things about this film is that it's in the public domain, so it's very easy to find and watch for free. This is due to a copyright error. Originally, the film was supposed to be called Night Of Anubis (the Egyptian god associated with the afterlife), but it was decided to change the title because not many people understood what it was referencing. The title was then changed to Night Of The Flesh Eaters. When it was discovered that there was already a film with "Flesh Eaters" in the title, the filmmakers decided to change the title again to avoid being confused with that movie. The title was finally changed to Night Of The Living Dead. However, when they made the new title frames for Night Of The Dead, the film distributor forgot to put the copyright notice on it.I don't want to spoil anything, but if you're looking for a film where the heroes walk off into the sunset after vanquishing the living dead, this is not the film for you. The tone of Night Of The Living Dead is very somber from the beginning to the very end. I saw this when I was younger and was upset with the way it ended. Now that I've watched it a few more times, I can appreciate just how gutsy the writers were.Without question, this is a classic. It has been selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry. It's a film that should be appreciated not only by horror fans, but film fans in general. It's a perfect demonstration that you don't need a large budget to make a great film - just some creativity and originality. It will continue to live on through new fans who will discover it's infectious storytelling...much like a zombie.

aaronlbacks Compared to most horror films these days, Night of the Living Dead is quite primeval. But that's not to say that it is bad - Primitive Technology on YouTube has shown me time and time again that early man was brilliant. And in a way it was refreshing to take a break from overdone gore and overacting. Well, overacting is still here. The plot is pretty simple by today's standards too. A couple of people, led by a Mr. Ben (Duane Jones) attempt to survive against a wave of zombies while trying hard not to attack each other first. And more than 90% of the movie takes place inside the same house which they barricade and raid for supplies. As far as the simple plot goes, I feel they do it justice, and it is supplemented by the interesting to watch power struggle between Ben and Mr. Cooper (Karl Hardman) and the racial undertones that the movie infers. But aside from the inherent fun this movie offers, about halfway through, the movie becomes a little repetitive. Even though new characters are introduced, the tone feels quite samey for the entire middle leg. It's not until the run where Tom (Keith Wayne), Judy (Judith Ridley), and Ben run out where things get moving again. Perhaps I am just accustomed to today's thrillers which keep up at a breakneck pace for the entire runtime, but it felt not too much was happening during that period. Overall, I think it a successful and worthy grandfather of modern horror.

InaneSwine Night of the Living Dead owns its reputation as one of the most important horror films ever made. Most modern horror films go intensely overboard on both the gore and the pace, while forgetting to include any actual drama for characters to face. George A Romero proved with this film, almost fifty years ago, that he knows how to scare an audience, and really make them think.