Night of the Living Dead (1968)

 

No two ways about it: this is not only a stone cold classic but also laid the foundation for horror for decades to come. And all that with a film made by a skeleton crew for a paltry budget! It's close to friggin' poetry, is what it is. What also is most impressive is that the film not only holds up remarkably well, but that its atmosphere of tension and suspense is fully intact, even on repeated viewings. 

Another prime example what determination and talent can do with limited resources. 

The film wastes no time in getting events rolling: Johnny and Barbara are visiting the grave of their father when they are attacked by a strange assailant. Johnny is killed and Barbara flees to an abandoned house, where she finds the resident dead. She quickly becomes almost catatonic through fear, but then Ben (Duane Jones) enters the house. He is trying to find a way out of there, but has the presence of mind to barricade the house and make sure that he and Barbara are safe as outside, more and more ghouls (they're never referred to as 'zombies') gather. 

It turns out there are more people hiding in the house, but they refused to come out because the 'leader' Harry is a complete douche (he is deathly afraid but will never admit it). The group try to escape with a truck, but when things go wrong there is but one option and that is to stay in the house and try to survive as the horde of ghouls mercilessly tries to get in and devour them...

There you go: a simple set-up, things kept deliberately vague and pretty much one setting (the house) and voila! But of course, it wouldn't work if the end result was shoddy. Most of the makers had experience in advertising, which explains to an extent the rapid pace and cool shots that are peppered throughout. For a film from the late '60s, this flies by quickly. The cast - for the most part - is good, especially Duane Jones as Ben, who is clearly the leading man. Which by the way was the first time an actor of colour played the hero/lead. 

Breaking new ground here? Absolutely!

The ghouls aren't as decomposed as later films would portray them. This is because of budget limitations, but also considering this is the start of an undead epidemic it makes sense they wouldn't be as rotten away. But their staggering lurches and the fact they hardly make a sound turns it all pretty unnerving. That they did show rather graphic images of ghouls feasting on flesh was also a first, as this had never been done previously. Again: way ahead of its time. 

All this would have been for naught if the film hadn't been so tense and unnerving. The tensions in the house between the survivors, the threat from outside, the looming desperation: it all clicks right into place. And then I haven't even mentioned what is probably one of the most famous and unnerving scenes in the history of horror... (no spoilers, even if this film is nearing 60 years old)

So in short: this is a must-see for everyone, as it truly is groundbreaking cinema and the absolute basis of pretty much any horrorfilm that came after. Romero would of course expand and elaborate on the zombiegenre with other films that loosely follow this one, but the seeds are all here.