With the imminent approach of Halloween comes the deluge of costumes, candy and creepy décor – but what really sets the mood for thrills and chills is the vast amount of theatrical trailers for the newest up-and-coming horror movies. But why celebrate All Hallow’s Eve with only the most recent horror movies when you could multiply the fun with older films as well? Some of the best horror films are the originals – ones that simply cannot be remade –regardless of how many special effects may be added – because they have already reached perfection. One such film is the infamous “Night of the Living Dead”… and we’re talking 1968 here.
Quite possibly one of the most extraordinary low-budget films of all time, “Night of the Living Dead” is probably one of the best zombie movies you will ever see. Preceding “The Walking Dead” by more than 40 years, “Night of the Living Dead” still gives you that spine-tingling sensation that is a combination of fear and fascination. Nowadays we’re so accustomed to seeing gory images on our TV screens, we don’t even think twice about it, but back in the ’60s, violence and horror on TV was unheard-of.
As its title implies, “Night of the Living Dead” is, in fact, a zombie movie. Director George A. Romero was way ahead of the game when he created a pseudo-scientific reason for his zombies’ existence, rather than the vague explanations in older zombie films. In this film, the dead begin to arise due to radiation brought to Earth from a space mission, causing their brains to reactivate and igniting the urge to kill. This concept was fairly creepy for its time, considering that it seemed like an occurrence that might even be possible.
“Night of the Living Dead” is about a group of people who, for different reasons, end up stranded in an abandoned farmhouse because they are being relentlessly pursued by hordes of bloodthirsty zombies. As the walking dead continue to surround the farmhouse, everyone trapped inside must figure out how to survive, keep the zombies out and possibly escape. Meanwhile, in other parts of the area, the police begin “hunting” the zombies when they realize they can be killed if shot in the brain. But the clock is ticking, and the only hope for a safe getaway lies in the ingenuity of the living surrounded by the dead.
There have been several remakes of “Night of the Living Dead,” but they just don’t compare to this black-and-white classic. There’s something strange about the original that creates an odd mixture of laughter and chills for viewers. Perhaps it’s because the society that we live in has forced us to adjust to and even feel comfortable with gruesome imagery. Regardless, “Night of the Living Dead” dually functions as a dark horror movie and a comedy of sorts. You may find yourself nervously chuckling while simultaneously feeling discomfort creeping under your skin. When I watched it for the first time, I was left feeling uneasy, and that, I believe, is how you can tell a good horror movie from a great one –the good ones scare you in the moment, but the great ones haunt your mind long after you leave the theater.
