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My 17-year-old son has seen a lot of horror movies—mostly contemporary films that are bursting with blood and gore. However, the film that filled his head with nightmares was George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead. These memories are still so vivid that when I received the 40th Anniversary Edition of this 1968 horror classic, he refused to watch it with me.
What is it about this low-budget, black-and-white film that continues to frighten audiences? It encompasses the vital elements of classic horror and shock techniques: eerie music, constant thunder, a disconnected phone, use of taxidermy, and even a monotone radio in the background. And it all begins in a cemetery, with a startled protagonist.
Barbra (Judith O’Dea) and her brother, Johnny (producer Russell Streiner), are visiting the grave of their father when Barbra is attacked by a Frankenstein-looking being (Bill Heinzman). Johnny tries to fight him off, enabling Barbra to flee. Though Johnny succumbs to the monster, she’s able to race to the car and drive off. After hitting a tree, she runs into a deserted farmhouse.
Ben (Duane Jones) has barricaded himself in the house, explaining to Barbra that there are many of these creatures outside. They soon discover that a family, The Coopers, is also hiding in the basement. The potential victims fight among themselves, arguing about the best method for survival. They subsequently learn from the television that these killers are eating the flesh of their victims. Dead bodies will be transformed into these flesh-eating zombies unless the bodies are cremated. However, a zombie can be killed by a shot to the head or a heavy blow to the skull.
Eventually, the zombies find the farmhouse. Ben and Harry Cooper (Karl Hardman) do have a gun—but what happens when your own daughter becomes one of the undead?
Though the story is simple, what makes this film fascinating is that, since it’s one of the early zombie movies (though not the first), the humans have no preconceived notion on how to react to these creatures. They think and act irrationally, but you can still understand and relate to them. Also, void of a substantial or even modest budget, the movie relies on basic fright techniques—sound and facial expressions—instead of the gory visual effects and cheesy dialogue apparent in most of today’s horror movies.
This two-disc 40th Anniversary Edition is superior to my old DVD. First, the re-mastering resulted in a crisper visual quality (I’m so glad that they didn’t try to colorize this classic). Second, the bonus features are more extensive. George Romero, along with crew and cast members, explains how the film was made. John Russo, who co-wrote the script with Romero, details the process of writing the screenplay. My favorite part of the features, though, shows Judith O’Dea and Russell Streiner revisiting the cemetery 40 years later and explaining their characters and their experiences while working on the film. Bill Heinzman then wrestles with Streiner and admits that he got his inspiration from Boris Karloff (hence the Frankenstein moves).
Whether you’re are a fan of Romero’s Dead, or you just want to scare your sophisticated teen, film buffs will love this DVD. The history and interviews along with the unforgettable movie itself make the 40th Anniversary Edition of Night of the Living Dead a must-have for any film collection.
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