They Won’t Stay Dead!

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968)
Starring: Duanes Jones, Judith O’dea, Karl Hardman, Marilyn Eastman, Keith Wayne, Judith Ridley, Kyra Schon

Night of the Living Dead, directed by George Romero, is a 1968 independent black-and-white horror film. Ben (Duane Jones) and Barbra (Judith O’Dea) are the protagonists of a story about the mysterious reanimation of the recently dead, and their efforts, along with five other people, to survive the night while trapped in a rural Pennsylvania farmhouse.

Release Date: Oct. 1, 1968 – Fulton Theater in Pittsburgh
Running Time: 96 minutes
Director: George A. Romero
Budget: $114,000

Night of The Living Dead is considered to be a cult classic. It is surprisingly quite good even now, some 40 odd years later! And $114,000 for the budget?

I was very delighted to watch this spooky movie on YouTube! Yes, YouTube has full featured length films. Who knew?

I am a sucker for these type of movies. I was hooked as soon as Johnny warns his sister, “They’re coming to get you, Barbra!”

Scenes were filmed near Evans City, Pennsylvania. The opening sequence was shot at the Evans City Cemetery on Franklin Road.

It’s interesting to note that the props were primitive, but interestingly effective. Chocolate syrup was used for blood, roasted ham for flesh, and second hand clothes for the actors.

Reflecting back on the era, there were no ratings for children. Children did get into the cinema, and boy were they in for a shocker!

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times reviews:

The kids in the audience were stunned. There was almost complete silence. The movie had stopped being delightfully scary about halfway through, and had become unexpectedly terrifying. There was a little girl across the aisle from me, maybe nine years old, who was sitting very still in her seat and crying… It’s hard to remember what sort of effect this movie might have had on you when you were six or seven. But try to remember. At that age, kids take the events on the screen seriously, and they identify fiercely with the hero. When the hero is killed, that’s not an unhappy ending but a tragic one: Nobody got out alive. It’s just over, that’s all.