This was the time and place that George A. Romero unleashed what some call his greatest film, Night of the Living Dead. The theater was filled with people of all ages, including children. At that time, the MPAA rating system was not in place, and wouldn't be for another month, so children were allowed into the theater. 96 minutes later, a stunned audience left the theater in silence, not able to comprehend what they just saw. Sure, they had seen horror films before, but they were not prepared for the film that changed horror forever.
As a film buff, I had been wanting to see Night of the Living Dead for a long time. I finally got around to seeing it when I was a senior in high school. At the time, I worked at the public library and when the film landed in my hands to shelve for the next patron to rent it, I couldn't let it go. I had to see what was go great about this film.
What I saw was a very well made, funny at times, suspenseful, gory, and shocking film that rocked my high school mind. Horror films from the 60's were typically terribly acted and cheesy to most audiences with exceptions for a few great films. Film makers filled American movie screens with all kinds of horror such as Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 hit Psycho, Roger Corman's B-films, the cheesy Hammer Horror remakes of Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Mummy, and Roman Polanski's classic Rosemary's Baby. All of these films hold a significant place in film history, but non so much as Night of the Living Dead.
NOTLD took the genre in a new direction, showing audiences how to incorporate social commentary in very abstract ways, though Romero's claims this was unintentional. The main topics that were explored in NOTLD are the Cold War and racism. Some feel it was a critique of America's involvement in Vietnam. Whatever the thought or intention, the finished product had a lasting impact on the horror genre. NOTLD's zombies established the modern idea of zombieism. Before this, zombie were related to voodoo and were under the control of someone external. Romero's zombies were an unstoppable force, created by radiation exposure, and were driven by their hunger for flesh. The dead rose to feed on the living. Once someone was bitten by a zombie, it was not long before they too would turn and hunt those around them.
I could go on about the various themes that Romero created through his daring casting, but what I really want to emphasize was the shocking ending. This is not a film with a happy ending. I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't see it, but I will say that this film may have created the snap surprise ending that many films still utilize today. I thought things were going well in the end for the heroes, but I was sadly mistaken and blown away by where the film decided to end.
This is a must see for all fans of horror. Anyone who claims to be a horror fan and has not seen NOTLD needs to stop what they are doing and rent it. Or, click on the title of this entry for a link to HULU and watch this film online for FREE! (It is 100% legal...it fell into "public domain" after the distributor failed to put a copyright indication on the prints...thanks guys!)
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