NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD
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| Not Rated
| | Copyright 1968 Image Ten Inc.
| | Reviewed by Andrew Borntreger on 'a long time ago'
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- Ben - Our hero, he is deadly with any improvised weapon and displays more common sense than ten of the other characters. Unfortunately shot by an overzealous bunch of zombie hunters.
- Barbra - Spends most of the film in shock, right after her wits return she ends up the main course.
- Harry - Wormy little asshole (now there is some verbal imagery) who does not like playing second fiddle to Ben. Ends up with 30-30 bullets in his belly and head, plus Karen gnaws his arm off.
- Helen - Harry's wife, not a whole lot of love in the marriage. Troweled to death by her daughter.
- Karen - Harry and Helen's daughter, she was bitten by a zombie and unconscious most of the film until becoming a flesh eating monster.
- Tom and Judy - Country couple. He is definitely a good old corn fed boy, plus an expert at driving pickup trucks. Both are turned into barbecue.
- Johnny - Barbra's mean brother, he gets bounced off a gravestone early on and returns as a zombie.
- Chief McClelland - Leader of the local zombie hunters, he has a belt with some very large bullets in it. (.50 cal?) Odd thing is, they would never fit his rifle.
- The Zombies - Dead people brought back to life by radiation from Venus.
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Any horror buff will instantly recognize this film, actually any respectable film buff should. Shot in black and white on a shoestring budget, it defined the modern zombie movie and set the stage for a bloom of Italian horror films.
Barbra and Johnny drive several hours to visit their father's grave. At the cemetery a frightening man attacks, after watching the zombie kill her brother Barbra realizes she still has feet and quickly beats them to an old farmhouse. This is our main setting, normally being confined as such is a warning sign to audiences, but not here. Soon the others are present and between the characters' interactions with each other, the zombies, and their meager sources for information (radio and television) you will never be bored.
The television delivers the only serious goof. Authorities were not organized until after dark, nor did they realize these were zombies until sunset was long past, so the report showing Chief McClelland and his men creates a paradox. Another question, where was the television hidden upstairs? Did the woman who owned the farmhouse unplug and hide it every night in a closet?
Tom, Judy, and Ben make an attempt to refuel the truck so everyone can escape, but after shooting the lock off the pump a stray torch sets the gasoline stream on fire. The truck explodes (providing the zombies with an impromptu cookout) as Ben flees back to the farmhouse and a confrontation with Harry. With the two dominant males at each other's throats the zombies break in. It is a grim ending, among the most depressing ever, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
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| Things I Learned From This Movie: | |
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- Make sure you bury your parents close to home.
- Zombies are responsible for most cases of vandalism.
- Do not mess with some guy who has a tire iron, especially if his adrenaline level is skyrocketing.
- Funeral clothes are made from polyester.
- A house is full of scrap wood if you are creative.
- Zombies are insectivores.
- Only men are useful in any sort of emergency.
- Zombies love barbecue.
- Entrails have the same entertainment qualities as Play Dough.
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- 8 mins - Yes, yes, you're on the other side of a glass window. I think this zombie was a mime before he died.
- 10 mins - Barbra is running through rough fields with no shoes on. Can you say ouch?
- 12 mins - RANDOM ACT OF VIOLENCE AGAINST A CLOTHESLINE!
- 27 mins - You are wearing an overcoat, no wonder it is hot. Stupid whacked out woman...
- 52 mins - Not very sturdy as doors go.
- 59 mins - Radiation is bringing the dead back to life?
- 76 mins - That is probably a raw cow liver and you sir are the man.
- 79 mins - Here is the suspect TV footage.
- 92 mins - Ben, I would not stick my head out that window...
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| | Audio clips in wav format | SOUNDS | Starving actors speak out | |
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| File | Dialog |  | nightdead1.wav
| Johnny: "They're coming to get you Barbra."
| | nightdead2.wav
| A radio broadcast about the epidemic.
| | nightdead3.wav
| Harry: "You're insane, the cellar's the safest place!"
Ben: "I'm telling you, they can't get in here."
Harry: "And I'm telling you, those things turned over our car."
| | nightdead4.wav
| Reporter: "Are they slow moving, Chief?"
Chief McClelland: "Yeah they're dead, they're all messed up."
| | Theme Song | Listen to a clip from the soundtrack. | |
| | Click for a larger image | IMAGES | Scenes from the movie | |
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| | Watch a scene | VIDEO | MPEG video files | |
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| | Leave a comment | EXTRAS | Buy the movie | |
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