Night of the Living Dead (1968) (R)

Night of the Living Dead (1968) (R)

Directed by George Romero

Starring: Judith O'Dea, Duane Jones, Keith Wayne, Karl Hardman

Daddy Says:

Back from the dead, it's a new movie review from The Daddy/Daughter Movie Project. Let's just say we've been a little busy in our lives, but hopefully we'll be back to posting regular reviews for a while.

Halloween has come and gone, and while it was here we watched a few scary movies to get in the right frame of mind. One of the ones I was able to talk my daughter into watching was this classic, the very first Dead movie from director George Romero, Night of the Living Dead. Take a look at that date next to the title above and try to realize that this movie is over forty years old. Amazing that it's held up as well as it has, but I think a lot of that credit has to be given to Romero. Even with as little money as he had to work with, he knew he was onto something good here.

After the opening scene in a cemetery, where the first "ghoul" as their sometimes referred to appears (the word "zombie" is never mentioned), most of the film takes place in and around a single farmhouse. I'm sure this was done for budgetary reasons, but the end result is that we feel as trapped inside this house by the zombies as the characters do. When an especially brash character shows up midway through the siege, the tension is ratcheted up even more because now the attacks are now coming from within and without.

The acting isn't the best in the world, and I almost wish it were a little less stagy, but Duane Jones does a great job in the role of Ben. While there isn't any direct racism in the film, you can sense the tension among some of the characters having to deal with a black man being in charge. I was only three years old when this film debuted, so I really can't speak to the mindset of the times, but from what I know this must have been groundbreaking material.

By the time the film's third act begins, with the zombies attacking relentlessly, the scares seldom let up. The scene with the little girl in the basement is the height of the horror. In case you've missed this classic film somehow in the last forty years, I won't describe it further, but suffice to say the scene is almost as hard to watch as the shower scene in Psycho was the first time I saw it.

My daughter didn't care for the ending to the film, but I believe it's one of the most perfect endings a film has ever had. It seems to come out of left-field, but on retrospect it's really the absolute best ending it could have. Sometimes a horror film needs a horrifying ending to make it feel right.

Rating for Night of the Living Dead: *****.

Daughter Says:

Night of the Living Dead is not a really gruesome horror film. Filmed the old fashioned way give this movie a creepier mood to it than movies now a day. Even though there was terrible acting and really bad lighting, it doesn't stop this film from being scary.

I love the makeup in this movie. Some of the zombies were terrifying to look at. I was really grossed out by the zombies after two of the characters were blown up. It was disgusting to watch them eat the people. I really lost my appetite after that scene.

Another really creepy part was when the little girl turned into a zombie. You know it's coming because the zombies bit the girl, but I didn't expect what came afterward.

I thought this movie was brilliant when it came to some things. It's pretty cool to think that a movie that old can give you the creeps. You also have to give credit where credits due in the fact that the director spent hardly any money on this movie. Night of the Living Dead is pretty horrifying for a low budget film.

But I disagree when it comes to saying it's the scariest movie ever. True, at points the movie can be very nerve-wracking. When the zombies are almost about to break into the house I was screaming for the main character to run. But when you put the whole movie together, I don't find it that scary.

But in the end, Dad was right: this was a good movie. I enjoyed watching it. I just hated the ending. It was outrageous! I won't tell you straight out what it was, just in case you want to see it. But it really ticked me off. How could they just end a movie like that? It's a scandal, but I want to see Dawn of the Dead now. It sounds pretty interesting.

I'm still surprised that Dad actually got me to watch this movie. I saw the little joke movie called "Night of the Living Bread" and that scared me, but he talked me into it and now I'm going to have to talk you into watching it. Even with semi-bad acting, gross and disturbing parts, and an outrageous ending, it was still a good movie. So check it out.

Rating for Night of the Living Dead: ****.