Night of the Living Dead (1968)

It was only a matter of time before I got to the zombie movies.

GENERAL INFO:
Director:  George Romero
Studio:  Image Ten, Laurel Group, Market Square Productions
Starring:  Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea, Karl Hardman
Tagline:  They Won't Stay Dead
MPAA Rating:  NR
Genre:  black and white, horror, thriller, sci-fi, zombie
Scare score:  B
Rating:  A-

Plot overview:  While visiting their father’s grave in rural Pennsylvania, siblings Barbra (O'Dea) and Johnny (Russell Streiner) are accosted by a strange man who then kills Johnny.  Fleeing from the seen, Barbra comes across an old farmhouse and hides inside, in shock of the recent attack.  She is soon joined by Ben (Jones) who luckily has his senses about him and begins to board up the house while the number of bizarre assailants steadily increases outside.  Along with a scared young couple and a family in distress, the group learns via radio and TV broadcasts that the attacks are being committed nationwide by dead bodies who have been reanimated and now feed upon the flesh of the living.  Distraught with panic and protected only by the thin walls of the house, will the small group be able to survive the night of the living dead?

I have always loved this movie, and in my book it’s almost a perfect example of a horror film: somewhat far-fetched yet still acceptable plot; small group of survivors trapped as they fend off a very gripping and disturbing enemy; almost constant terror throughout; and no clear hope of survival.  To be perfectly honest, I’m not even that crazy about zombie movies (as zombies seem to be all the rage these last few years… though I have to chuckle at any creative work which mixes historical fiction with zombies), but with the debut of this film Romero truly started a new era in the horror movie business.

First of all, the plot is very sturdy (if you can accept the whole, you know, corpses returning to life as zombies due to freak radiation brought back from Venus).  When we hear the title, we know exactly what to expect: a night filled with dead people who are living.  The creative staff must have been all straight shooters because there is no random mystery, no missing clues or twists and turns as we see in so many modern horrors.  As you know I enjoy, this movie presents the viewers and its undeserving characters with almost inexplicable horror, without any reasons except that the zombie attack is happening and they must fight to survive.  Throughout the film we are given countless thrills and chills as the so-called “ghouls” make continuous attempts at breaking into the farmhouse as well as a dash of gore in any seen where the zombies are pigging out on human body parts.  Yum.  Furthermore, for a human touch, the protagonists must survive not only the zombie attacks, but they have to survive each other’s company as well.

The somewhat stock characters of this film are fun to follow throughout the ordeal.  O'Dea does a pretty good job as Barbra, which is a tough role insofar as you need to establish a good balance between a sweet blonde and then the victim in shock.  Obviously she couldn’t have controlled the script, so once she enters the house (and goes into shock) she had to rely on the few and far between scenes in which she has a dramatic outbreak in order to establish herself as a decent actress.  I read that more than a few of these scenes were ad-libbed, which makes sense in retrospect.  

I always liked Barbra as a kid even though I was aware of her almost absence due to her massive silence throughout the film.  Well I finally counted up how big a role Barbra actually has.  After coming off as a friendly, likeable young woman in the first few scenes, she dramatically changes following the first zombie attack in the cemetery.  At this point she enters what I like to call her “comatose stage” during which she speaks 4 times in 12 minutes.  At 31” into the film, Barbra and Ben exchange some much needed slaps, and then she remains silent until 67”.  She then says 6 words and remains silent again until 83”, and there’s not much talking on her part after that.  That being said, her job was a little difficult as an actress because she’s a bit annoying spending all that time in delirious shock.  Although we think she will be the film’s main protagonist, she ultimately becomes one of the most tragic figures in the movie.

Jones, while not the best actor/ line deliverer, is the character we find ourselves rooting for throughout the film (unless you’re on the zombies’ side).  The immediate contrast between his black skin and manly attitude against Barbra’s pale complexion and restrained femininity invokes commentary on both sexual and race relations.  I'm assuming that at the time of the film's release, black leading males were still not common.  Bravo to Romero, and also to the character Ben as we needed some stability in this movie.

Once Karl Hardman enters as Harry Cooper at 41 minutes into the film, we are presented with one of the most annoying characters of all time.  I hate how he speaks, how he argues, and how he plans on surviving the attack.  As his wife (one of my favorite characters, performed by Marilyn Eastman) points out in several undermining side comments, Harry is the type of man who needs to be right and who needs to establish his masculine authority.  While he presents the protagonists with internal, human drama throughout the film, he truly gets what was coming for him by the end.  More importantly, though, Mr. Cooper forces us to question ourselves: what would we do in this situation?  Would we stay hiding in the basement?  If we heard human screams would we try and help?  Is our family more important than the general public?  What would you risk your life for?  The film explores human isolation and selfishness, and even existentialism, largely through Mr. Cooper (as well as the zombies, of course).

Lastly, the young, all-American couple Tom and Judy are more reminiscent of the '50s instead of the rebellion we associate with the '60s.  They are clean cut, helpful, and especially Tom is oddly perky throughout.  Not a lot of depth here - except for some altruism they both demonstrate - and I can't help but laugh during their demise.  Did anyone order barbecue?  

More about that existentialism and the human question from before.  The small group of protagonists - easily representative of American society at the time (young, teenage, middle-aged, working class, middle class, black, white, male, female) - finds itself stuck in a small house in middle America, inside a  normal house just like any other, except that outside the reanimated corpses of what use to be people just like them are going wild, thirsting for flesh and blood.  Aside from the possible connection with the radioactive rocket the US Government wouldn't let return from Venus, there is no reason as to why they should have to fight for their lives and suffer so.  There is no purpose here.  As the night goes on, each character is more and more alone, even if they have a loved one nearby.  One of Barbra's random (ad-libbed) rambling moments expresses this existentialism really well, as she explains she and her brother were just going about their business when the unexplained terror simply began.  Why her?  Why Johnny?  Why any of them?  No easy answer, just terror.

*SPOILER ALERT*

I don't think the word zombie is ever used in this film, which is neat.  As much as I tried listening for it, I don't remember ever hearing it.  While this isn't the first zombie movie, it certainly changed the genre, welcoming an onslaught (pun!) of splatter style re-dead/ un-dead films throughout the following decades, a trend that is still immensely popular at the moment. 

I love the zombies in this movie.  Their makeup is simple for the most part, and then little by little we begin to see decaying faces and missing limbs.  The scenes in which the zombies are feasting upon their unfortunate victims are awesomely gory.  I specifically refer to after Tom and Judy's sudden deaths, when we see the hoard of zombies eating ham and entrails, I mean, limbs and intestines.  Chocolate sauce blood is convincing enough in black and white, and audience members are sure to squirm.

It's kind of sad that Barbra doesn't make it through the movie, especially because she comes so close.  Ben's unexpected death in the last scene further stresses the existential question in the film.  Johnny's iconic "They're coming to get you, Barbra" line in the very beginning is one of my absolute favorites that I reference pretty often in public and no one understands.  Lastly, who doesn't love Johnny's triumphant return during the film's final (and fantastic) 10 minutes?

These last 10 minutes have an awesome pulsing sound affect that adds a lot of terror to the footage we are also watching.  Honestly it's just creepy, so the aural input on top of the visual terror makes for a great climax as the night comes to a close.  The only other comment I have on the sound in this film is the rather trippy sequence that sounds during Mrs. Cooper's death.  It's not my favorite, but it is very '60s and a bit unnerving, if anything.

Final critique:  This is an awesome movie, especially because it's so easy to watch and it really delivers.  The last 10 minutes are specifically gross, scary, and dramatic, but we are dished a really pleasant amount of terror throughout.  Will they escape and survive, or have they made the farmhouse their own tomb?  The zombies are scary, and when there's gore, we feel it.  While I don't think this is the best acting we've seen in the horror genre, it doesn't really hurt the overall film.  Lastly, this is a perfect example of why Pennsylvania is a terrifying state and Horror Buff refuses to drive behind cars with that license plate.  Highly recommended to anyone interested in the horror genre; true fans should have seen this many times by now.  If you're easily scared, make sure you're surrounded by friends and have a strong nightlight (and a sturdy bedroom door) to survive the night of the living dead.