Review of Night of the Living Dead (1968) by David C — 22 Nov 2014
Did the perfect zombie (or "ghoul," as this film's antagonists are dubbed) movie spring forth from the head of George Romero fully-formed, or did subsequent iterations simply fail to build on his promising idea? You know the drill even if you are not a zombie connoisseur: the murderous undead are on the loose, and a diverse band of survivors must overcome their disagreements while staving off the hordes.
Romero achieves his vision in "Night of the Living Dead" despite financial and technical limitations. Yet the vision itself is so limited that it hardly extends beyond the premise. In this movie, as in many later knock-offs, there is little character development, little consideration of the theological or scientific implications of the situation, and-despite some claims to the contrary-little social commentary.
The ending is suggestive of the paranoia and pessimism that afflicted many in 1968, but the script's unironic portrayal of women as submissive and incompetent does not indicate a desire to engage with social issues of the day.
"Night of the Living Dead" is decent as far as it goes, but it does not go far, and the genre has rarely aimed higher in the nearly 50 years since.
This review of Night of the Living Dead (1968) was written by David C on 22 Nov 2014.
Night of the Living Dead has generally received very positive reviews.
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