For the entire month of October, I will be watching some of the most notorious horror films. No, I have not actually watched any of these before, I swear. Since I just watched an older film, I thought this would be a good follow up before moving onto some movies from the 80s. More about those in later posts. For now, it's all about Night of the Living Dead! This is one of the most iconic zombie movies ever made. George Romero became a legend for this film and he only got better as the years went by. This movie became the basis for pretty much every zombie movie that came after this one. I'm not exactly sure what the storyline is for this movie, but I know zombies crawl up out of their graves, I think the military comes in, and a group of people hide out in a house. That's about the extent of my knowledge of the plot of the movie. It feels kind of weird to admit to everyone that I haven't seen this movie, or any of October's movies, really, because I have a Halloween movie marathon every year and you'd think they would have come up at some point in the past six years. I guess there's just something wrong with me. I am about to correct that egregious error on my part, so let's start the movie!
I can see why this movie has lingered in the minds of horror fans, even 50 years later. For being the birth of an entire genre of zombies, it may seem mundane, but I could see why it's used as the inspiration of everything that's come after it. The zombies had minimal decay, but there was a certain level of skill that the special effects make-up artists needed to make simple changes look naturally occurring, such as peeling skin that looks like it really was just peeling off their faces. It was done incredibly well for it's time and budget. The acting was on point, too. Even I wanted to smack the stupid out of Barbara because the shock-induced stupor she was in could get her and everyone else killed. I couldn't believe that Ben straight up punched her right in the jaw instead of an open handed slap, though! That was a bit much of a reaction, if you ask me. The constant struggle between Ben and Mr. Cooper seems like a typical power struggle in any film. Each opinion has merit, but neither is willing to concede that the other perspective might have value, too. I found myself agreeing with Ben more than the others in his response to the situation, but punching a hysterical woman in the face is a line I wouldn't have crossed. I also didn't see the point shooting a man after you've disarmed him and repetitively beating him after he helped to keep the door closed so more zombies couldn't come into the house. For being the most level headed person in that house, those acts seemed a bit out of character, but I guess everyone has their own snapping point.
Barbara has to be one of the most useless characters I've seen in any film, and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one to think that. I understand that some people will naturally go into a state of shock, but those are the types of coping mechanisms that will get you killed in that situation. She was lucky that anyone was able to help her at all, though it didn't help her the entire night. The dynamics between each of the survivors had great contrast to each other, which really seemed to show a wide variety of stress responses in different people. Each of them showed understandable reactions to this situation, but there was some reactions that drove me nuts. The guy that thinks he knows it all and only his way is good enough, the girl that shuts down completely and is a danger to the rest of the group, the woman that just lays down and lets her child stab her without being a mother with a spine to stop that child from doing something bad... That last one kills me. When you raise a child, it's your job to teach them right from wrong and, as best as you can, make sure they don't do something that could cause irreparable damage to another. When your child is still alive, if they were to come at you with a spade and look like they're gonna stab you, you would be taking that item from them and disciplining them for it. If they're back from the dead, you'd at least have a bit of that instinct to take the object from them. I know I wouldn't just lay down to die. I may not be able to shoot my child in the head, but I could tie them up with a rope so they don't harm myself or anyone else.
The youngest couple of the group had their moments, especially when Judy thought that going with Tom was a good idea. Seriously, how are you going to be useful? Or are you going to be a hinderance? That choice cost them both the future they were hoping for. It's kind of amazing how well this movie showed that our decisions are what determine our fate. The main one who didn't get a fate that he created himself was Ben. That was just sad. What irony to wait for the cavalry to come, to only just be taken down by them without a second glance? I don't think I could have been more surprised by the ending of this movie. I had no idea that no one survives this night and how each one goes down in a different way that encompasses a wide variety of possibilities for a situation like this. Even Barbara shows how you may have to face down a loved one who is no longer on your side. Not like she makes a reasonable choice, but whatever! She got most of what she wanted along with a little extra that she didn't. The little girl is the only one that was a true victim in this event.
I can see why special effects artists constantly refer back to this as one of the leading references to the craft today. I especially loved the one girl chewing on what looked like a liver. They got very creative to make it look like they were chowing down on real organs and body parts. I'm sure being filmed in black and white helped because they wouldn't have to worry about getting the color right, just the tone. The zombies themselves were fairly subtle, but there was a good amount of attention to detail on them and since they were supposed to be only recently dead, it makes sense.
I'm glad I can finally say that I've seen this movie considering what a legend it is. It's worth the watch, even if you only do it once. I'll start my 80s Halloween horror movies next time with The Thing! I'll be watching it on HBOMax if you want to watch it, as well. Stay tuned!
For more movie love, check out my other blog, "You're Watching That Again?!"
