Review of Night of the Living Dead (1968) by Alex D — 09 Apr 2013

SPOILERS.

Release in 1968. George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead is a classic. With this film, Romero viciously revolutionised the horror movie genre and set a template for future zombie movies. Romero changed cinema, his debut is influential, he is a genius.

The film has a pretty transparent and uncomplicated plot - it follows a group of people who are trapped in a farmhouse, and surrounded by flesh-eating zombies. The zombies seemed to be helpless, or weak, or slow, but they will not stop to fulfil their desires. This oft-copied zombie flick could be quite cheesy and comical at times, but this is a straight dark picture. Roger Elbert once recalled about witnessing a little girl who was sitting still, and crying while watching this frightening movie. Despite being somewhat pulled down by somehow poor acting performances, an opinion in me states that Duane Jones as the character Ben is very believable, and his performance is pretty decent. More praises for this picture would be on its excellent editing and frightening score, which arguably have made this movie to be timeless or great.

This Romero's classic horror picture is genuinely creepy, frightening and gripping, and its unpredictability is there, and surely, that painful ending. Simple, flawed or too dark, this film is and will always remain as one of the most influential films in the history of movies.

[3/4].