The Excellent Night Of The Living Dead Redefined Zombies Forever

Though the concept of zombies had existed in pop culture for ages, and even certain movies like Plan 9 For Outer Space had used zombies in their storylines, it was really George A. Romero's 1968 classic Night Of The Living Dead that not only brought the creatures to a greater level of fame in pop culture but also established a number of trademark traits of zombies. Just as the likes of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Halloween would completely upend what moviegoers thought American horror cinema was capable of in the subsequent decade, this particular late 1960's film was a game-changer for both horror fare and how we all think of zombies in general.


The zombie outbreak seen in Night Of The Living Dead is an event that completely alters everyday existence, one that instills a bleak sense of dread in every human being we see. But neither the outbreak itself nor the movie start out with a massive cataclysm that depicts the zombie infestation beginning on a grand scale. Instead, Night Of The Living Dead begins with a more low-key sequence intended to set the stage for the more small-scale horror to come. A seemingly normal visit to their mother's grave ends up becoming something much more terrifying for siblings Barabra (Judith O'Dea) and Johnny (Russell Streiner). While going about their normal business, without warning, a man they perceive to be a normal person turns out to be a zombie (though they never refer to these creatures as that) and promptly attacks the duo with a fervent bloodlust.

Johnny is killed in the attack but Barbara (barely) makes it out alive as she outruns her zombie pursuer and then evades capture by hiding out in an abandoned house. She isn't alone in this home for long, as fellow human survivor Ben (Duane Jones) comes to the house shortly after her arrival. While Barbara is stuck in a state of shock after her experience with that graveyard zombie, Ben immediately takes to boarding up the house to prevent any zombies from potentially getting in. This doesn't sit well with someone else who happens to be in the house, Harry (Karl Hardman), a cantankerous man who believes hiding in the cellar is their only option. A heated rivalry between Harry and Ben forms in this moment, though they and all the other residents of the house (including Harry's wife and child and the plucky Tom) will have to work together if they hope to survive an entire night in a house surrounded by hungry zombies.

While I'd heard plenty of times in my life how scary or well-made Night Of The Living Dead was (both of which are very much true statements), I was personally delighted to discover how much it plays off like a survival thriller more than a traditional horror movie. The well-established contrasting personalities trapped in this confined setting provide plenty of tension on their own merits, especially since the characters themselves come off like actual human beings in this scenario. For instance, even at his most agitated, Harry's actions and his motivation for being so confrontational is understandable since the guy wants to protect his family. The script by John Russo and Romero is great with creating these kinds of interesting characters whose individual personas are challenged in a fascinating way by the larger-than-life scenario they've all found themselves in.

The characters are most certainly well-rendered, but where Night Of The Living Dead truly works as a movie has, of course, gotta be in how it generates scares. No jump scares or any other cheap horror movie tricks to be found here, instead, Night Of The Living Dead is all about establishing tranquil normalcy (most notably in the opening scene or with what happens with Harry's daughter) and then upending it with these creatures motivated by nothing more than a thirst for human flesh. There's a similar emphasis on realism in how the various vulnerabilities of the characters keep getting emphasized in order for the audience to constantly be reminded that these are indeed just normal people fighting a most unnormal threat.

Ben, for instance, isn't a superhero of any kind, he's just a resourceful guy who knows the proper procedures that need to be taken to survive the zombies that have surrounded them. When Ben is outside directly confronting the various zombies, he's obviously terrified by being in their presence and narrowly escapes them with his life. Having these well-written and overtly realistic individuals be placed into the middle of this situation proves to be one of Night Of The Living Dead's best qualities both in terms of creating horror and just overall screenwriting. We've been given this humanistic groundwork upon which Romero builds a heavily stylized and equally eerie tale.

Romero, in his very first directorial effort, shows a remarkably deft ability to execute horror on a visual level, like in how he uses some notably unorthodox camera angles in Barbara's initial encounter with the zombie to create a sense of visual unease to accompany her horror. I'm also particularly a fan of the way he depicts the zombie's hands bursting through the boards put over the windows, there's no real score or distracting sound effects here, we just get this creepy visual of disembodied hands obsessively reaching for humans to munch on. That's such a nerve-racking image and there's plenty of other memorably petrifying visuals throughout Night Of The Living Dead, a movie that, even when separated from its noteworthy context in horror movie history, is still an incredibly well-made motion picture.