Night of The Living Dead, a review by Jon
Night of The Living Dead4 out of 5
Gritty, daring and trailblazing, George A Romero's 1968 masterpiece NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD is widely regarded as one of the greatest horror films ever made. It's spawned numerous sequels, a colour remake and is the direct inspiration for all our modern zombie films, teaching a whole generation that great movies can be made whilst bucking the traditional studio system.It’s fun watching
Night of The Living Dead on Blu-Ray. For one thing, the quality is excellent, but also this is possibly the first time I have actually seen this film properly!
Due to naivety on original release, the film was not properly protected. Director George Romero helped Tom Savini remake it in the 90s simply so they could finally hold the rights on the title. Meanwhile the original has been re-released a dozen times in various quality and cuts, especially in the UK where the film had been cut anyway. So, I’ve seen grainy, cut, the awful 30th Anniversary extended version (not by Romero), but never the proper original. Here it is.
Even now it’s confusing because there are two Blu-Rays. Avoid the Network version, which despite having the only absolute correct ration, apparently looks terrible and is still cut. This is the Optimum release and looks really good.
But after all the messing around, is it actually worth it? Absolutely yes. It really stands the test of time, clearly a milestone for several reasons and perhaps most importantly, it’s still fun. The low budget is perhaps most obvious in the sometimes clunky acting, but a clever production overall hides it otherwise and Romero’s tight direction makes for claustrophobic and intense action.
The story is a classic set-up of a handful of survivors defending their base (a farmhouse) from being over-run and is a twist on Richard Matheson’s
I Am Legend. Only a year after
In The Heat of The Night, we have another black lead in Duane Jones as the resolute and resourceful Ben, the only one who keeps a clear head throughout. Duane is excellent too. The rest of the cast are fine, but largely typical of the era and mood the film embodies, so it's more than possible this was by design, not talent. Despite being released in 1968, Romero chose to film in black and white and the plot unfolds like typical b-movie paranoia of the 50s (not unlike Hitchcock using a 40s style to make a very fresh
Psycho in 1960). It sets up a sense of security and makes it easy for the clichés and standards to be gleefully smashed, as well as a handful of moments, which while not gratuitously gory, still make you wince. Apparently Tom Savini found a new lease of life creating fake corpses after all the real horror he saw in Vietnam and that subversively political and bleak tone make the film painfully sharp and potent even today.
Since the 50s at least, it seems American’s make the best films about themselves when they’re bruised, hurting and cynical. Romero used the paranoid tone of the anti-Communist era and freshened it with a big dollop of seething anger, the same anger that might have led to
Dirty Harry. It makes the brutal and ironic ending one of the most brilliant of all time, enforced by the credit sequence made to look like typical photojournalism. The message to the audience was clear.
And the really cool thing? It’s help the film attain a cult status, enjoyed by generations since who don’t understand why the film was made, they just like awesome zombie action! Shaun’s Granddad still has a bit of a kick.
(From Jon's Horror-thon 2010 on October 17th, 2010)
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May 21, 2024, 07:02:47 AM
But I also liked to see that even Clark admits that the world isn't black/white or right/wrong at all times.
Somehow I like it that Lana questions each and every visit of Clark's. It sharpens her senses and she will need them for Lex. And it also keeps them both apart. This way Clark can focus more on the important issues.