BLOOD WORK: HALLOWEEN HORROR DAYS ~ DAY 23: NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968)

Once upon a time the word "Zombie" didn't mean flesh-eating ghouls re-animated by a virus or celestial phenomenon. At one time it referred to voodoo magic, the result of the dead or seemingly dead people enslaved by the power of a "Houngan" or "Mambo" (voodoo priest and priestess). These zombies were essentially mindless thralls and not necessarily dead either, but those under the spells of voodoo. Classic horror films like WHITE ZOMBIE (1932), I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE (1943), and THE PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES (1966) are some of the best examples of these black magic shambling husks.

In 1968 a film came out with the title NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Directed by George A. Romero, this film didn't exactly feature zombies in the traditional sense, but a worldwide phenomenon of the recently deceased rising from the grave. These shambling corpses had a taste for human flesh and were slaves to no one save their own insatiable appetite. It would be years later when these living dead would be dubbed zombies, not by the filmmakers but by the fans. Now the commonly used definition for zombies is that of the creatures first featured in George Romero's immortal classic.

Night of the Living Dead changed the horror genre forever across all mediums.

THE PLOT

Barbara and Johnny's evening trip to the cemetery becomes a living nightmare as they are attacked by reanimated corpses. Johnny is killed and Barbara flees into the woods where she comes across an abandoned farm house. A man named Ben, fleeing from similar marauders, bursts into the house too. He and Barbara barricade the windows and doors and secure the house. As night falls more of the living dead descend upon the house. The more that come the more the barricades begin to weaken. Barbara and Ben have to decide whether or not to flee while they still can or defend themselves from an endless horde of flesh eating ghouls.

THE GOOD

Simplicity. While the film revolutionized the horror genre its strength lies in its simplicity. Cannibal corpses lay siege to a farm house and the occupants try to survive the night. Nothing fancy. It's a straightforward zombie survival story. The characters are your basic archetypes and the roles are well acted and well presented. Even the zombies are fairly simplistic in design and demeanor. And within this setup is a tense and exciting narrative. Say you'd never seen a zombie movie before and never heard of the concept. That's exactly what situation these characters are in. An event like this has never occurred before. They don't know what's happening. The audience learns along with the characters.

The Living Dead. Zombies today are as common and world renown as Frankenstein, Superman, and King Kong. Everyone knows them and knows the rules. Back in 1968 audiences watching had no idea what kind of creatures were attacking Ben and Barbara. Recently deceased people standing up again and a simpleminded unrelenting desire to rip you apart and eat you. No reason as to why the phenomenon was occurring either. Today zombie designs have come a long way. Even so, the living dead in this film are as frightening and disturbing as the zombies today. Standout scenes in the film being the zombies chowing down on chunks of raw flesh, a little girl zombie stabbing her mother with a trowel, and piles of zombies burning. No matter how good future zombie movies and television shows are, the original still holds up today.

THE BAD

Nothing. This isn't a perfect movie. No movie is. But this film is damn near perfect. If it suffers from anything it would be imitation. Like many great classic horror films Night of the Living Dead spawned an endless stream of copycats and imitators. As a result the concept has become incredibly familiar. But even so most of these imitators haven't improved upon the concept of this film. Sure, maybe some have more advanced gore effects and zombie make-ups, but for the majority of them the rules and setup are just as Romero and his crew laid out. If you are in a position to introduce someone to the world of modern zombies, do them a favor and show them this film first before the others.

THE VERDICT

The first and still the best of the cannibal zombie films. A genius of simplicity and suspense, Night of the Living Dead introduced the world to what we now call the modern zombie. Every rule you ever heard about zombies came from this movie. Enhanced by glorious black and white and nightmarish visuals far ahead of their time, Romero's classic fright film still holds up today as one of the best modern horror films ever made.

Overall Ranking: 10 out of 10

Leaves a lasting impression. Above Repute

Nude-O-Meter: 2 out of 10