Review of Night of the Living Dead (1968) by Wesley R — 12 Jan 2011

The film that transitioned zombies from the mind-controlled slaves of voodoo to the undead flesh-eaters we know today. Well...they're still a little ways off from the zombies we're familiar with today. The zombies in this film (only referred to as ghouls) are quiet, slow to moderately fast-paced (one gives chase to a car), can experience some forms of emotion (they fear fire), and aren't entirely pre-occupied with eating flesh (several pick up objects as weapons or just ignore freshly killed corpses). In fact, compared to zombie films of the past couple of years the ones in this film are used more for atmospheric effect than the displays of gory violence they're usually known for. This doesn't make the film any less effective, though, since the focus of the film isn't on them but the humans.

Most, if not all, of zombie tales share the focus on how humans react under pressure and their ability, or lack thereof, to survive. It quickly becomes apparent that while zombies are a threat that an even greater threat can come from the hostilities, paranoia, and fear within the human heart. Others have stated that they feel this film is making a point about racism, but these views are unfounded and discredited by Romero himself. The only thing that can be gathered from this film is the question of whether you have what it takes to survive when you find the world is turned against you.