Night Of The Living Dead

Wow. I forgot how good it was!

I have only seen this movie twice now, once a long time ago in my early teens long before I settled on my dream job. And looking at it again really made my day! Should I recount the plot when it's one of the most famous horror movies ever? Yeah sure, why not. There's no real reason as to why the dead are walking the earth as we meet up with several people trying to find shelter and survive, as tensions rise and personalities clash. And I must say for an independent, very low budget movie, with a minimal crew this looks goooood! Oh my God it looks so good, the lighting, camera placement, editing, I've heard a lot of people talk about this movie but they never dug into how it actually looks so I had to profess my love for it. The cast is very good too, it's no real surprise Duane Jones is the shining star of the lot, I just point to about a 3 minute monologue of how he got to where he is at the house and damn I believe every word of it. He deserved that leading man role and nailed it! I have zero issue with Judith O'Dea as Barbara, honestly her acting as a very shellshocked person holds up well but lord help me, this character got grating. Either stonewalling or hysterical, and hardly ever useful. Say what you will about Mr. Cooper but he at least did stuff, despite being a raging jackass but I attest that to good acting from Karl Hardman. The zombies look good to, and since it's black and white the makeup is minimal and works great. It's such a humble genesis to a friggin' juggernaut of a monster nowadays, really comed up with on the spot that the dead don't stay dead and they love eating people. But there's obviously more than actors wandering a field and eating ham glazed with chocolate sauce, there is that human analysis element of why they act this way, what would I do, it's a microcosm of humanity now, thesis thesis thesis, it's good fun to talk about. Smart almost introspective writing in a horror film, that's pretty great. Also pretty sure this was the final push to get a film rating system out, so teen and pre-teen audiences don't have to see intestines ripped apart, so it left a mark just as much then as it does now. And yeah, about that ending....I was livid at the end my first time seeing it, I swear to God I couldn't believe it! It's bold yes and firmly set Romero's undeniable stamp that this is his own body of work, but shiet I was floored. 4 stars, 8/10, and this wasn't the end for dear George and his creations so check in next time for Dawn Of The Dead.