Night of the Living Dead (1968)

A group of people hide from bloodthirsty zombies in a farmhouse.

Director:

George A. Romero

Writers:

John A. Russo (screenplay) (as John Russo), George A. Romero (screenplay) (as George Romero)

Stars:

Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea, Karl Hardman

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Duane Jones	...	Ben
Judith O'Dea	...	Barbra
Karl Hardman	...	Harry
Marilyn Eastman	...	Helen
Keith Wayne	...	Tom
Judith Ridley	...	Judy
Kyra Schon	...	Karen Cooper
Charles Craig	...	Newscaster / Zombie
S. William Hinzman	...	Zombie (as Bill Heinzman)
George Kosana	...	Sheriff McClelland
Frank Doak	...	Scientist
Bill 'Chilly Billy' Cardille	...	Field Reporter
A.C. McDonald	...	Zombie / Posse Member
Samuel R. Solito	...	Zombie / Posse Member
Mark Ricci	...	Washington Scientist

Storyline

Barbra and Johnny visit their father's grave in a remote cemetery when they are suddenly set upon by zombies. Barbra manages to get away and takes refuge in what seems to be an abandoned farm house. She is soon joined by Ben who stopped at the house in need of gas. Beset by the walking dead all around them Ben does his best to secure the doors and windows. The news reports are grim however with creatures returning to life everywhere. Barbra and Ben are surprised when they realize there are 5 people hiding out in the basement: Harry, Helen and Judy Cooper; and a young couple, Tom and Judy. Dissensions sets in almost immediately with Harry Cooper wanting to be in charge. As their situation deteriorates, their chances of surviving the night lessen minute by minute.

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Plot Keywords:

zombie | cemetery | running out of gas | radiation | farmhouse | 

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Taglines:

Pits the dead against the living in a struggle for survival!

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Films sans Frontières [France]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 October 1968 (USA)

Also Known As:

Laugh Track: Night of the Living Dead

Filming Locations:

USA

Box Office

Budget:

$114,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Image Ten, Laurel Group, Market Square Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the working titles for this film was "Night of the Flesh Eaters". Originally, the beings attacking the characters were extraterrestrial in origin, either aliens or humans possessed by an alien pathogen, presumably covering a NASA satellite returning from Venus. Eventually, it was decided that the dead would rise and devour the living, presumably due to radiation that was carried by a NASA satellite returning from Venus.

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Goofs

Ben finds a pair of shoes and puts them on Barbara's feet, but in the very next shot where she's sitting on the couch, she is not wearing shoes nor are they any in the shot with her.

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Quotes

Sheriff McClelland: Boy, somebody had a cookout here.
Vince, Posse gunman: Yeah, it sure looks like it, Tom.

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Crazy Credits

The credits play over still frames of the hunters dragging Ben out of the house with meat hooks. After the credits, there's a short scene of the hunters setting a pile of zombies on fire.

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Connections

Featured in Fade to Black (1980)

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Soundtracks

Eerie Heavy Echo (L-1204)
(uncredited)
Music by Spencer Moore

User Reviews

Classic Horror

Romero is sublime. His ability to take a small budget and turn it into a stratosphericly giant film is unparalleled. This is one of the best apocalypse films ever (along with the rest of the trilogy). The zombies represent a slow moving enemy. It is easy to escape them. You have only to fear your own mistakes. On these the zombies will capitalize. One of the best aspects of this film is the lead character. Romero has always presented intelligent non-stereotypical black characters in his films. This film was made in 1968 while civil rights tensions were high, and the most "in control" character in the whole movie is a black man. If you can get past a couple of cheesy supporting performances, this is one of the best horror films ever.