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Movies / On DVD / Night of the Living Dead
Night of the Living Dead

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Night of the Living Dead (1968)

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Reviews Counted:44

Fresh:42

Rotten:2

Average Rating:8.5/10

Consensus: George A. Romero's debut set the template for the zombie film, and features tight editing, realistic gore, and a sly political undercurrent.

Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Synopsis: George Romero's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD is a low-budget, homegrown classic that had great difficulty finding a distributor at the time of its release in 1968, and has since become one of the most... George Romero's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD is a low-budget, homegrown classic that had great difficulty finding a distributor at the time of its release in 1968, and has since become one of the most influential horror films of all time. (Aside from its visceral impact years before realistic gore became the fashion, the film is also important for its portrayal of a black man as the protagonist during a time when race was an extremely sensitive issue in the United States.) The plot is simple: 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 keep trying to enter the house. Radio news reports tell of the plague taking over the eastern United States, while the ever-decreasing band of survivors rapidly loses ground in the battle to both keep peace with one another and stay alive. [More]

Starring: Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea, Karl Hardman, Marilyn Eastman

Starring: Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea, Karl Hardman, Marilyn Eastman, Keith Wayne, Judith Reilly, William Hinzman

Director: George A. Romero

Director: George A. Romero
Screenwriter: John A. Russo, George A. Romero
Producer: Russell W. Streiner, Karl Hardman

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Nov 30, 1999

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Night of the Living Dead

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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Night of the Living Dead happens to rank squarely with the greatest films ever made, period.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/25/04
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

This little seat-of-the-pants regional production chewed up and spit out taboos like raw meat in a feral feeding frenzy.

Full Review Source: Seanax.com | comment Comment
07/20/08
Sean Axmaker
Sean Axmaker
Seanax.com

Gets under your skin and burrows into your blood and psyche.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

George Romero set a new standard for horror with this low-budget opus.

Full Review Source: Cinefantastique | comment Comment
07/23/08
Steve Biodrowski
Steve Biodrowski
Cinefantastique

This is horror at its most probing, subversive and socially aware, with a truly harrowing ending that reveals the dangers of misdirected fear and prejudice.

Full Review Source: Eye for Film | comment Comment
08/02/07
Anton Bitel
Anton Bitel
Eye for Film

Subtext and allegory not your thing? Fine, watch the movie as an intense, nightmarish, claustrophobic exercise in apocalyptic horror. The film works either way.

Full Review Source: Mike Bracken's Horror Films | comment Comment
02/13/01
Mike Bracken
Mike Bracken
Mike Bracken's Horror Films

Shocks come from the way in which Romero repeatedly presents a clichéd situations in which we think we know what's going on, only for Romero to pull out the rug from underneath, thereby producing a greater shock.

Full Review Source: Edinburgh U Film Society | comment Comment
01/01/00
Keith H. Brown
Keith H. Brown
Edinburgh U Film Society

The dialogue and background music sound hollow, as if they had been recorded in an empty swimming pool, and the wobbly camera seems to have a fetishist's interest in hands.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment 8 Comments
05/20/03
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A tightly-edited, claustrophobically-framed horror film that retains, along with its relevance, its ability to startle and appall.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
10/05/04
Walter Chaw
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

Maybe the best movie ever made in Pittsburgh.

Full Review Source: Boulder Weekly | comment Comment
09/24/04
Thomas Delapa
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

I felt real terror in that neighborhood theater last Saturday afternoon. I saw kids who had no resources they could draw upon to protect themselves from the dread and fear they felt.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
09/19/07
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Arguably the greatest horror film ever made - and one of the greatest in any genre - 'Night' is also the ultimate B-movie.

Full Review Source: ESplatter | comment Comment
06/19/08
Lucius Gore
Lucius Gore
ESplatter

There is a resounding lack of sentimentality that cuts through the death and chaos, as a desperate bunch of people fight to stay alive.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
06/13/01
Almar Haflidason
Almar Haflidason
BBC

I can't underrate its intangible ability to bypass my rationale and lunge straight at my subconscious. When it's really cooking, it's the scariest film I’ve ever seen.

Full Review Source: MovieMartyr.com | comment Comment
08/07/02
Jeremy Heilman
Jeremy Heilman
MovieMartyr.com

Over its short, furious course, the picture violates so many strong taboos -- cannibalism, incest, necrophilia -- that it leaves audiences giddy and hysterical.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment 1 Comment
09/19/07
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

reinvented the American horror film

Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
02/27/01
James Kendrick
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk

There's a brute force in Night of the Living Dead that catches one in the throat.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
05/27/08
Jeremiah Kipp
Jeremiah Kipp
Slant Magazine

Seldom have so many pundit parses and public praises owed so much to so little as in the case of the career-launching 'Night of the Living Dead.'

Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment 5 Comments
11/06/07
Donald J. Levit
Donald J. Levit
ReelTalk Movie Reviews

This film managed to successfully mesh the concepts of flesh-eating zombies, isolation, and global panic realized on a claustrophobic and intimate scale.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
03/19/03
Brian Mckay
Brian Mckay
eFilmCritic.com

It’s the anticipation of horrible scenarios that makes the film work so well.

Full Review Source: Old School Reviews | comment Comment
10/21/02
John A. Nesbit
John A. Nesbit
Old School Reviews
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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Latest News for Night of the Living Dead

September 18, 2009: Weekly Ketchup: Matt Damon to Team with Clint (Again)
This week's Ketchup features the usual required sequels (Silent Hill 2) and remakes (which is such a Rotten Idea, I won't give it top promotion) as well a nice smattering of... More...

September 16, 2009: Night of the Living Dead Getting 3-D CGI Remake Opens in new window
George Romero's "Night of the Living Dead" is getting a 3-D CGI remake that its director describes as "an American-style anime." More...

June 12, 2009: Five Favourite Films with Wes Craven
No director in recent history has made their particular genre as much their own as Wes Craven. The legendary helmer virtually redefined the horror movies with the likes of The... More...

November 03, 2008: Romero Promises "A Lot of Action" in Next Dead Opens in new window
It doesn't have a title yet, but production is underway on George A. Romero's next zombie movie, and USA Today has the inside scoop -- along with your first look. More...

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