NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD
Nearly fifty years on from its original release, George A Romero’s NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD remains one of the most influential contemporary horror films of all time.
The Prince Charles Cinema in London honoured the memory of the late, great director who recently passed away, with a charity screening of the film in Digital, where around two hundred people bought tickets, some of whom were seeing it for the first time on the big-screen with an audience.
Made on a budget of around $114,000 via a series of associates in local Pittsburgh media companies, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD grew from some initial critical resistance to being the template and the battering ram that would usher in a new era of horror and violence with the likes of BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967) and THE WILD BUNCH (1969) helping to break down taboos in portraying violence on screen.
The film spawned several sequels, including DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978) (aka ZOMBIES in the UK), DAY OF THE DEAD (1985) and LAND OF THE DEAD (2005), all of which became fan favourites, particularly DAWN with its amazing make-up FX from Tom Savini.
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD opens as siblings Barbra and Johnny Blair (Judith O’Dea and Russell Streiner) who have arrived at their father’s gravestone in a cemetery in rural Pennsylvania after a three hour drive to leave a wreath and a prayer. Johnny chastises Barbra with memories of childhood pranks, just as a mystery man is walking towards them. Unfortunately, the man is a zombie back from the dead, who kills Johnny after a scuffle, leaving Barbra to flee.
She makes her way to a deserted farmhouse nearby, where she meets Ben (Duane Jones) another fugitive from the increasing hordes of zombies, who have congregated outside the house. Further sounds inside reveal a couple and a family of three, who have found their way to the location in a desperate bid to survive.
Shot in striking black and white, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD can be viewed now as a revolutionary horror film which bridges the gap between the classics of Universal and the modernised horror stories from the likes of John Carpenter, Wes Craven, Tobe Hooper and John Landis, all of whom have cited the film as one of the key influences on their own work, especially HALLOWEEN (1978) and THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE (1974).
Romero openly admitted that he drew inspiration for NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD from Richard Matheson’s I AM LEGEND, which spawned the recent Will Smith movie amongst other version of the book. According to some online reports, a mixture of chocolate syrup and meat from a local butchers provided some of the gory effects, which were kept simple, but thanks to the monochrome cinematography, look as effective today as they ever were.
The film has gone on to become one of the most profitable low-budget films of all time, alongside the aforementioned CHAINSAW and THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975), a film that made it’s money through continuous late-night sell-out shows which prove as profitable today as they did four decades ago.
Romero purists certainly are divided when it comes to selecting which of the first three DEAD films he directed is their favourite, as all have their own followers. In my case, it is DAY OF THE DEAD, which takes place primarily in a disused military compound, but DAWN OF THE DEAD (which has to date had three different versions, one of which is an ‘Italian Cut’ supervised by Dario (SUSPIRIA) Argento, has often been cited as most fans’ favourite in the series.
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD is a movie that should be seen whenever possible on the big-screen with an audience, particularly if you have only ever seen it on DVD or TV. A fresh set of eyes yields a film that is as darkly comic and uncompromising in tone, with a few twists along the way.
