Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Directed by George A. Romero
Written by John A. Russo and George A. Romero

Rated R for strong horror violence, mild language, brief nudity and some disturbing imagery.

"Night of the Living Dead" is one of the old movies that is now public domain. This means that anyone with a print of the film can make, duplicate and sell copies with no copyright penalties. So go burn yourself a copy today! Or watch "Night of the Living Dead" for free right now online.

I should warn you before I start: "Night of the Living Dead" is one of my favorite movies ever. Though I will try to give an even, measured review of it, take my bias into account while reading this.

I was first introduced to "Night of the Living Dead" (henceforth to be referred to as "NOTLD") by a friend in high school who shall remain nameless. I watched it alone with the lights off, and basked in the ominous web of tension the film weaves. That initial viewing left me a little depressed and wondering what all the fuss was about. The second time I watched it, I liked it a little bit more, and after the third viewing, I became a fast fan. I have spoken to several other people who have had similar experiences. Like many films, "NOTLD" rewards repeated views. If you've seen it once and didn't love it, I strongly recommend you give it another go.

This time through, I watched the film with some friends who had never seen it before. We watched the digitally colorized version of the film with joke commentary by Mike Nelson of TV's "Mystery Science Theater 3000" turned on for kicks. While it's always fun to laugh at old movies, Nelson's audio track completely destroys the slow-burn suspense of "NOTLD". It is impossible to unnerve an audience with subtle horror while a wise-ass in the front row is making jokes every few minutes. Nelson (in typical MST3K style) tears the film to shreds, criticizing nearly every aspect of the film, from the costuming to the pacing and everything in between. Though many of his criticisms are valid (and many of his jokes are funny), I feel like some of the things that Nelson pokes fun at are the same things that make "NOTLD" such a revered cult-classic.

The acting is pretty bad, but it serves it's purpose, and I've definitely seen worse. Judith O'Dea stars as Barbra ("They're coming to get you, Barbra!"), a young woman who is at a cemetery with her brother Johnny (Russell Streiner) when they are attacked by a zombie (played by Bill Hinzman). Johnny is killed and Barbra flees to a nearby abandoned house to seek refuge. From this point on, Barbra is in shock and completely useless. She's the embodiment of what NOT to do in a panic situation. She's nearly catatonic for most of the rest of the film, little more than set-dressing that would have quickly fallen prey to the zombies if not for the arrival of-

Ben (played by Duane Jones), who comes to the house for shelter after being chased by a mob of the undead. Ben is the embodiment of the perfect horror movie survivor. (Or is he? See enlightening fan discussions of Ben's "heroism" here). He's organized, cool-headed, and doesn't take crap from anybody. Unlike Barbra, who wanders around the house in a catatonic stupor, Ben immediately springs to action reinforcing the house's doors and windows with scrap wood and nails.

In reference to the lengthy scenes of Ben nailing boards to doors and windows, Mike Nelson quips "More than anything, 'Night of the Living Dead' is a film about carpentry." While watching someone nail boards up may sound boring, I feel it adds to the overall sense of impending doom. This film was made before much of what we take for granted as "zombie theory" had developed. Reinforcing a safe location with improvised barricades is now considered to be a zombie movie cliche, but it all started here. The time and energy Ben spends reinforcing the house on-screen highlights the vulnerable nature of modern houses. While people often feel safest behind locked doors, the illusion of safety is quickly shattered when someone kicks down a door or throws a chair through a window. One is also acutely aware while watching these scenes that while shutting the zombies out, the survivors are also shutting themselves in, walling themselves off from the world.

Ben finds a radio and turns it on. The news broadcast informs them of a widespread epidemic in which corpses are coming back from the dead and attacking the living. The sound of the TV entices bald-headed Mr. Cooper, his wife Helen, and a couple named Tom and Judy to come up from the basement, where they had apparently been hiding since before Barbra's arrival.

There is immediate tension between the "upstairs people" and the "downstairs people" due to the uncomfortable fact that the "upstairsies" know that the "downstairsies" stayed in hiding like cowards even though they could hear people alive upstairs. They only came up out of self-interest when they heard that there was a radio upstairs.

Cooper and Ben find a TV, which the plug in so they can all watch the news together. Mike Nelson in his audio commentary quips sarcastically that "There's nothing more exciting than watching people watch stuff on TV." This fictional news broadcast has become another cliche in the zombie genre. In a way, seeing coverage of the outbreak on TV makes it more real for the survivors. They get validation that what they are experiencing is not an isolated fluke, but a widespread epidemic that they cannot outrun. Nearly every major zombie movie made since "NOTLD" has incorporated some sort of news broadcast to economically convey a sense that the epidemic is widespread. A clip of audio from this "NOTLD" news broadcast is even reused in Romero's "Diary of the Dead" (2007), reestablishing the fact that the cliche still works.

The pacing of the film is slow and steady, what would today be called "slow-burn" horror. The action of the film advances like the zombies, slowly but relentlessly, leaving the viewers as restless and agitated as the characters in the film. One of the truly terrifying things about "NOTLD" is that the ordeal could have been survivable if the people involved had cooperated and kept cool heads. The panic, hysteria and paranoia with which the characters responded to the situation was ultimately their undoing.

I won't ruin the end of the movie for those who haven't seen it, except to say that is one of the most memorable and disturbing film endings to come out of the 1960's. You will probably find yourself thinking about it for days after watching it. Something about the unique feel of this film stays with you. "NOTLD" has been the subject of numerous academic debates, including discussions of Ben's role as the first (and one of the only) African-American horror film heroes, as well as a whole debate as to whether or not Ben is the hero of "NOTLD" (which is a little like the theory that the evil Empire in "Star Wars" were really the good guys). I think it's a testament to "NOTLD"'s power as a film that it has spurred such conversation and controversy.

I gave "Night of the Living Dead" a 10/10. It is by far the movie that has had the greatest influence on modern depictions of zombies in film. The current zombie film "cycle" (which has included "Shaun of the Dead", the "Dawn of the Dead" re-make, "Land of the Dead", "Diary of the Dead", "Zombie Honeymoon", "Zombie Strippers", "Zombieland" and the upcoming "Survival of the Dead" to name a few) owes an enormous debt to "NOTLD" and George Romero for establishing zombie fiction as a part of American popular culture. While depressing and cynical, "NOTLD" contains valid social criticisms that are just as relevant today as they were in 1968. A true treat for fans of the genre! Check out the original B/W cut of the film for free right here:

A note on editions:
"NOTLD" is available in several different edits. There is the original black and white theatrical version; a 1998 re-edit with a new musical score; a 30th anniversary re-cut with newly-shot scenes starring the original "ghoul", Bill Hinzman; and a 2004 version that has been digitally colorized by "Off-Color Films" (not to be confused with the 1990 color remake of "NOTLD"), and features an optional comedy audio commentary by "Mystery Science Theater 3000" alumnus Mike Nelson. If you are a hardcore fan like me, you will probably want to own the following two DVDs, which between them include all the different versions of the film:

So after all is said and done, which is the best version to watch? If you've never seen "NOTLD", watch the original black and white theatrical cut. It's the way you would have seen it in 1968 at a late-night screening. If you've seen it before, try the color version. The colorization itself is pretty well-done, though I feel the film was a bit more dramatic in black and white. If you consider yourself a fan, watch the re-scored 1998 edit and the 30th anniversary edit with new scenes. I felt that the majority of the changes made to these edits were completely unnecessary, but they're novel and interesting in their own ways.

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