These days, finding a decent zombie film is the proverbial opposite to shooting fish in a barrel, more like shooting one fish. In a lake. From a helicopter. With a potato gun. There are literally thousands of zombie films cluttering up various shelves in the deepest, darkest bargain sections of Blockbuster throughout the land.There is a broad range in quality, from the fun (Return of the Living Dead, 1984) to the serious (From Beyond, 1979) to the downright ridiculous (Chopper Chicks in Zombietown, 1981). But when it comes to the debate of content over style, George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (1968) is bar one the film that shaped zombie films as we know them.
In an age where horror is largely popularized via numbers of fresh-faced American teens being dispatched by Lithuanians, or bastardized ‘cut and shut’ jobs on remakes of J-horror classics that maintain the visuals but lose the chills, Night of the Living Dead bares testament to that old maxim that Hollywood tends to ignore; LESS IS MORE.
Shot in grainy black and white (a choice of budget restriction rather than style) Night is significant for a number of reasons. Effectively the first film that gave us the ‘flesh eater’ zombie, as opposed to the schlock styling of the ‘Voodoo zombie’ toiling aimlessly on the plantations under the watchful guise of their master (Bela Lugosi, in the case of White Zombie, 1930). Night also marked the first central performance of a black actor in a horror film in the form of Duane Jones (Ben). Place this into the socio-political context of the burgeoning civil rights movement, which was at full flow around 1968, and it becomes difficult to see why the zombie film evolved into a form of entertainment seemingly meant only for drunken teenagers looking for kicks, and make-up laden Cure fans.
Romero has laid claim to the fact that Richard Matheson’s vampire masterpiece I Am Legend (now a major motion picture) acted as the basis, along with the real life newsreels that were delivering the play by play atrocities taking place in Vietnam at this time. This is echoed in the film, as the survivors pensively receive updates, via radio and television, on the bizarre and brutal situation taking place around them. In an age where we receive much of are information without even leaving our house, or buying a newspaper, due to developments in internet technology and having about a million channels devoted to news, Night of the Living Dead suggests that reliance on truthful media is no less significant now.
As for the zombies themselves, yes, it is very obvious that the budget for special effects make-up stretched as far as several kilos of foundation. It is also particularly notable that Romero’s creatures might place silver or even bronze next to their 21st century counterparts, the ‘running zombie’ (think 28 Days Later), guaranteed to get the adrenaline and legs pumping in equal measures. Romero’s zombies rely on danger in numbers, and the real fear comes from the bleakness of the protagonists’ situation, and the conflict within the house amongst them.
Never has the expression ‘rag-tag’ been used to better effect.
Romero maintains to this day that any issues of racial tension unfolding within his seminal film, as Ben comes up against opposition from the very white and prideful Mr Cooper (Karl Hardman, also a producer), can be attributed to the casting of Jones being coincidental on the basis he was the best actor the director knew.
With this in mind, the shock ending still manages to raise an eyebrow, whether you are looking for a message or not.
Though modern audiences may be used to zombie horror at a breakneck speed, ‘Night’ provides that rare combination of fear and philosophy. If you like your satire with a bit of extra bite, look no further than Romero.
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