Here it is children, the grand-daddy of the zombie apocalypse. George Romero's 1968, classic, groundbreaking film; Night of the Living Dead. This is the movie that starts the whole fucking thing. This is the movie that starts everything. I am pretty sure that you can just about credit 99% of modern horror to this movie.
The movie follows Ben Huss, Barbara, and five other people that become trapped in a farmhouse during the zombie apocalypse. The plot seems simple enough, however this one simple plot has spawned a slew of other movies that rely on it as the starting point of the un-dead end. Of course we are talking here about Dawn, Day, City, Diary, and even the Return franchise. This one singular film can be seen, at least in part, in all of these movies.
The casting is impeccable. Ben Huss takes the reigns as your lead character once Barbara falls into a catatonic state. This is a ballsy move since Ben Huss is African American. In 1968 it was almost unheard of for a black male to take the lead role. He is easily the best character in the movie too. He is incredibly smart and ends up being the one that survives the longest (presumably).
The film does a great job of giving off that eerie vibe. Romero really pulls out a win here without the aid of adequate props, costumes, or even a passable soundtrack. The filming is mostly all taken care of in one central location, the farmhouse. Everything from the invasion of the zombies to the incredibly dark ending is all centralized here. It works out really well. This is the kind of movie that leaves you sleeping with the lights on. Kudos to Mr. Romero. I can't wait to jump into his others.
Enjoy suckas!
- When the zombies are eating the bodies in the burnt-out truck they were actually eating roast ham covered in chocolate sauce.
- The film's first scene, the initial cemetery attack on Barbara and Johnny, was the last filmed, in November 1967.
- During production, the film's title was still being chosen. The working title was simply "Monster Flick".
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