George A. Romero’s 1968 film ‘Night of the Living Dead’ has been regarded as one of the most influential films of the horror genre. Upon its initial release, the film garnered controversy due to its violence and earned mixed reviews.
The film eventually garnered a cult following and critical acclaim. And, with ‘Night of the Living Dead’ being one of the films showing during the theater’s Spooky Fest, I figured it was a good idea to add this film to my Halloween review series.
A group of individuals take refuge in an abandoned house when corpses begin to leave the graveyard in search of fresh human bodies to devour. The pragmatic Ben does his best to control the situation, but when the re-animated bodies surround the house, the other survivors begin to panic.
As any semblance of order within the group begins to dissipate, the zombies start to find ways inside one by one, the living humans become the prey of the deceased ones.
Now, even though the original classic may not be as scary as some of the films in the horror/zombie genre today, it’s still a really good watch. This black and white classic features some really creepy moments and ultimately created the infamous zombie sub-genre.
This classic is one of the few great examples of what can be done with a limited budget. The story is fairly simple and all the actors did a fine job. And, of course, who can forget the infamous “They’re coming to get you Barbara” quote that the film is known for.
‘Night of the Living Dead’ really grabs your attention within the first 10 or 15 minutes. The beginning moments of the zombie going through the cemetery can still be tense and effective and is a great way to start the film. In fact, this film does an amazing job grabbing your attention and keeps you entertained until the very end.
I have never seen the color version of this film, but I think the black and white is truly effective and helps the film with its eerie presence in a few scenes. Also, compared to how gory some horror films can be today, this film isn’t nearly that bloody (despite it being controversial due to the excessiveness of the violence during its initial release).
So, if you’re looking for a great classic to watch during the spooky season, I highly recommend ‘Night of the Living Dead’ - the first cinematic zombie treat!
While working on the film’s script, George A. Romero drew inspiration from the Richard Matheson novel, ‘I Am Legend.’ Some scenes were filmed near Evans City, PA (30 miles north of Pittsburgh). Due to the limited budget, Romero used simple props and special effects. For example, they used chocolate syrup for the blood (similar to what Hitchcock used for ‘Psycho’).
The US Library of Congress added this film to the National Film Registry in 1999. ‘Night of the Living Dead’ is the first of six ‘Dead’ films directed by Romero. Following the 1968 film, Romero directed ‘Dawn of the Dead’ (1978), ‘Day of the Dead’ (1985), ‘Land of the Dead’ (2005), ‘Diary of the Dead’ (2007) and ‘Survival of the Dead’ (2009).
Make sure to check the Dietrich Theater website for the show dates and times for this classic. And if you aren’t able to make it, you can stream the film on Peacock, Max and Tubi.
This is one of the most profitable independent movies ever made. Made for $114,000 (equivalent to $977,841 in 2024), it grossed approximately $30 million (equivalent to $257,326,430 in 2024) - over 263 times its budget.
When discussing the film for Bravo's The 100 Scariest Movie Moments (2004), George A. Romero said that the moment they finished editing the film in Pittsburgh, they put the reels into the cans, threw it into the trunk of the car, and drove straight to New York City that night in hopes of having it screened at any willing theater.
When the zombies are eating the bodies in the burnt-out truck, they were actually eating roast ham covered in chocolate sauce. The filmmakers joked that it was so nausea-inducing that it was almost a waste of time putting the makeup on the zombies as they ended up looking pale and sick anyway.
The US movie rating system was instituted on November 1, 1968. This film, released October 1, 1968, is one of the last films released in the US without a rating.
George A. Romero chose Evans City Cemetery for the first scene due largely to its isolated location. The crew didn't want to be interrupted by onlookers or police inquiring about their presence. The cemetery, on top of a hill in a heavily wooded area, allowed them privacy. Ironically, it has become a popular tourist attraction and fan destination in the decades since its release.
Now regarded as a classic, the film attracted considerable criticism at the time of its release for its graphic use of gore.
Columbia Pictures was the only major Hollywood studio interested in distributing this film, but eventually passed because it was in black-and-white at a time when movies had to compete with new color televisions. Columbia did distribute the 1990 color remake Night of the Living Dead (1990). American International Pictures (AIP) considered releasing the film, but wanted George A. Romero to shoot an upbeat ending and add more of a love story subplot.
The town names used in the broadcasts seen in the film were actual town names throughout Pennsylvania, and George A. Romero cites this for the reason they had to make announcements when it first ran on TV stating the events being depicted were not real. "We figured if we had to carry the picture from drive-in to drive-in to get it on screens, maybe people would recognize all these different towns," says John A. Russo. He also notes the networks were worried it would essentially be a repeat of Orson Welles' "War of the Worlds" broadcast and the controversy surrounding that.
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