Welcome to bargain bin, a new semi regular feature where the challenge is to find a nights entertainment for only $2.95! First up is George A. Romero genre defining masterpiece Night of the Living Dead!
From the back cover: Seven people secluded in a Pennsylvania farmhouse face relentless attacks by reanimated corpses seeking to eat their flesh. The group, which includes a married couple and their daughter, a pair of young lovers, and an African American man try to keep their sanity as the living dead try endlessly to enter the house.
Background: Night of the Living Dead is the progenitor of the contemporary “zombie apocalypse” sub-genre of horror film, and it influenced the modern pop-culture zombie archetype. Night of the Living Dead (1968), is the first of five Dead films directed by George Romero, and twice has been remade, as Night of the Living Dead (1990 film), directed by Tom Savini, and as Night of the Living Dead 3D (2006).
On its release in 1968, Night of the Living Dead was strongly criticized for its explicit content, but then in 1999, the Library of Congress deemed it “historically, culturally or aesthetically important”.
Is it worth $2.95? Yes. What it lacks in colour and special effects it makes up for in storyline and it’s ability to still have you on the edge of your seat. Sure it’s dated and you have to approach it with a laugh or two, especially at the start.
Slow off the mark, Night of the Living Dead builds up slowly, coaxing you into the story before assaulting you with the relentless terror of being trapped in a house surrounded by an enemy who just won’t give up. What’s more is the fear of who you’re trapped in the house with as, the human spirit can only take so much before it breaks. Carefully crafted, Night of the Living Dead is ripe for a decent remake, but probably won’t get done due to already being re-made twice, which is a shame, as some one like Zack Snyder could inject a re-make with some adrenaline and special effects gore that would introduce the story to a whole new audience.
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