Oct 2: Night of the Living Dead

Before Viewing: The original Night of the Living Dead (1968) is one of those classic films (horror, or not) that you see parts of on television all the time over the years. I have watched it in its entirety, but it’s been quite a while.

The film has a lot of historical significance being the film that basically put the modern notion of zombies on the map. It also set the tone for low budget horror, showing that sets and big name actors were not needed. A filmmaker could do it all with a few props, some friends and creative camerawork.

I hope to look at this film with fresh eyes after the recent influx of zombie related media, including remakes of this film, and other shows such as World War Z, and The Walking Dead. Like The Walking Dead, Night of the Living Dead is a bleak outlook on the American existence in a post-apocalyptic world. However, Living Dead’s apocalypse is only hinted at, leaving viewers to only wonder at the reason behind the carnage.

Presented below is the Trailer for the film.

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After Viewing: Well first off after viewing, I realize that they talk quite extensively in the newscasts about what may have caused the outbreak. Of course it’s not conclusive, but it’s the best answer we get. The fact that a returning satellite from Venus crashed back to Earth and that is the most likely cause of the outbreak.

“They’re coming for you Barbra!” – Johnny

I will say that Night of the Living Dead still holds up after almost 50 years. It’s methodical revelation of the terror presented by the zombies, and the slow creeping horror that even the remaining survivors will not be able to help themselves. I can only imagine the reactions to people seeing this film originally. While not nearly as graphic as anything shown today (or even in the 80’s), Living Dead still provide plenty of chills and a heightened creep-factor.

Additionally I am still shocked by use of a black man, Ben, as the lead protagonist. In interviews, George Romero had stated that he didn’t intend to cast an actor of color, but that Duane Jones was just the best actor for the job. It’s incredible to see the additional layers of  subtext that the film takes on when the ‘redneck posse’ led by Sheriff McClelland kills Ben, assuming that he is one of the ‘ghouls.’ The shocking imagery over the end credits as the body is meat-hooked and dragged outside to be put on the bonfire is quite the image, and something that continues to be a source of disgust to many, even in today’s more enlightened age.

Night of the Living Dead continues to remind me why I stopped watching The Walking Dead after 4 seasons – the reason being, that the fate of the protagonists was so darn depressing! There is no hope, and no possible “winning” back the world from the undead. Society enters a slow and debilitating decline, with no end in sight. I’ll be continuing with the remainder of George Romero’s zombie films over the next 5 nights. It’s gonna be long start to this marathon!