Review of Night of the Living Dead (1990) by Carl M — 01 Feb 2013

An unfortunate distribution error left the cast and crew of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD penniless after the film entered the public domain in 1968, but the 90's brought about a big-budget remake that allowed George Romero and company to recoup some of their lost earnings.

After spending much time over the past decade designing the makeup for such creatures, who would be better suited to direct the remake to NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD than the great Tom Savini? Savini does an excellent job in his first feature film, keeping mostly in line with the original with the exception of a few character alterations and the grisly special effects.

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD is best known to Horror fans for introducing Tony Todd into the genre in one of his finest performances as Ben. Todd brings a strength and seriousness to the role that legitimizes the remake.

Tom Towles and Patricia Tallman are very good as well, in an all-around great casting job. Forsaking the stylized designs that he used in DAWN and DAY OF THE DEAD, Savini instead goes for grim realism in the look of the undead, complete with pasty skin and cataracts.

Some of the events in the film have been rearranged to maximize impact, while also giving something fresh to the fans. This includes a powerful new ending that stacks up against the original. Although it rarely strays from Romero's earlier version, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD 1990 is a worthy remake of the 1968 classic.