Review of Birth of the Living Dead (2013) by Ian B — 10 Dec 2013
Unlike vampires and werewolves, whose origins can be traced back to various literary sources through the years, the modern zombie was born from one very specific movie...George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead.
Its importance to the genre, pop culture, and film in general can't be overstated enough. Birth of the Living Dead tries hard to get that importance across, and in some ways succeeds, but a lack of focus and too much recycled material is ultimately what makes this just an average documentary.
Night of the Living Dead fans won't learn anything new (although the average viewer might) and far too many key people involved with the making, and success, of the film are missing. Still, it's worth a watch simply because hearing Romero tell the same stories over and over never gets old.
It's about time someone made a documentary about this man's entire career. For a much more in-depth look into the making of the film I suggest Joe Kane's behind the scenes book or even the documentary "One for the Fire", which is an extra on the official DVD release of Night of the Living Dead.
This review of Birth of the Living Dead (2013) was written by Ian B on 10 Dec 2013.
Birth of the Living Dead has generally received positive reviews.
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