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 "Night of the Living Dead" is actually a breakthrough for the horror genre. In its day, it must have been the goriest one out there. Most horror films prior to the 70's were goreless and perhaps bland by today's standards, and it is striking to see a black & white film from the 60's actually show bodies being chewed up and blood dripping all over the floor. Showing these things back then was basically a taboo in the movie industry, and one reason for this film's cult status is that it dared to take gore to a new level. It dared to redefine "hardcore". After over 30 years since its release, the movie has aged very well and can still deliver some genuine shock, more so than a lot of horror movies made today. As with its sequel "Dawn of the Dead", there is some dark humor, much of it coming from the police chief's methods of disposing zombies. Also, the script is written very thoughtfully. George Romero--the writer and director of "Night of the Living Dead"--must have deeply imagined himself being locked up in a strange house surrounded by zombies because the tension and dialogue seems realistic for the most part. The strategies directed against the zombies are pretty original too. This is the first movie where I have seen a lazy boy chair being intentionally set on fire and shoved outside to ward off a monster of any kind! The ending is certainly anticlimatic, but it's deftly handled and provocative. In short, "Night of the Living Dead" is an excellent, original horror film and not "just another zombie movie". |
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QUARTER BY QUARTER ANALYSIS OF MOVIE
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OVERALL RATING
** NOTE: The more dots on the domino, the higher the rating. 11 or 12 dots points to an essential item in a horror video collection. Even the dung beetles would be repelled by a movie rated with one or no dots. ** |
    
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The Worm-Hole Reviews are written by Matt Barnes.