Night of the Living Dead (1968)

"We have met the enemy, and he is us." Well, a slightly more sloppy, drooling, cannibalistic version of us, but still us.

Intro.

Part of my new induction to the world of zombie films included watching both the original Night of the Living Dead from 1968 and the remake from 1990.  Even if you haven't seen either film, you probably know the story - a group of strangers in a farmhouse; lots of slow, flesh-eating zombies; some crazy girl named Barbra.  You've probably even heard the line "they're coming to get you, Barbra!"  So my question going into this film was will it live up to its mighty legacy?   

Overview
Night of the Living Dead actually starts in the evening, with Barbra (Judith O'Dea) and her brother Johnny (Russell Streiner) venturing out to a country cemetery to pay respect to their father.  Although Barbra is obviously uncomfortable in the creepy graveyard, Johnny teases her like when she was a kid - "they're coming to get you, Barbra!" he calls out to her.  The only problem is that another "visitor" in the cemetery actually is coming for her and when he attacks her, Johnny steps in only to get gnawed on himself.  Barbra takes off running, but realizes that Johnny had the car keys.  She coasts the car downhill, hits a tree, then runs to the nearest farmhouse.  She isn't alone long, as a pickup truck pulls up and out comes well-dressed Ben (Duane Jones).  He seems to know exactly what to do and sets about barricading the house.  He even covers the homeowner's half-eaten corpse, despite Barbra's obvious state of shock and complete helplessness.  He tells her about how he saw a gas station blow up because of those "things" and he realizes that they are afraid of fire.  A few stray zombies later and they realize that there are people (non-zombie people) hiding in the basement of the house.  There's a young couple, Tom (Keith Wayne) and Judy (Judith Ridley), and a married couple, Harry (Karl Hardman) and Helen (Marilyn Eastman) who have a young daughter who is sick in the basement.  Harry is pretty stubborn about everyone taking refuge in the cellar and waiting until help arrives.  Ben nixes that idea as there is only one way in and out and he doesn't want to get cornered.  Tensions grow, fights break out, but in the end they all have to work together to survive or become lunch meat.  A television broadcast tells them there's an emergency shelter nearby, and they agree to risk taking Ben's truck to the nearby gas pump to fill up the tank and get them all out of there.  But of course, nothing really works out for our survivors and they get picked off one by one until there's just Ben in the house.  And even his life is in jeopardy.

Highlights

Boy, there is so much to discuss!  George Romero redefined the zombie genre with this film.  It's funny, but some dynamics in this film reminded me of some previous films in different genres.  Although that can happen when a genre begins or is redefined - often the shaping influences are from a wide range of sources and media.  What Night of the Living Dead reminded me of were the Westerns of John Ford and the thrillers of Alfred Hitchcock.  I thought a lot about Ford's classic, Stagecoach, which in its own way helped revitalize the Western film genre.  In Stagecoach, the idea is very simple - take a group of strangers with different and sometimes clashing personalities, put them together in a tight situation and then give them some "outsiders" to fight, which ultimately brings them together.  Be it in a way station on the stage route or in the farmhouse, the tensions and arguments for the best course of survival are the same.  I even expected Ben to say "I saw a ranch house burnin' last night" and then he tells Barbra he actually did see a fire!  In Night of the Living Dead, the argument is to either stay in the basement or to make a break for it; in Stagecoach the argument is to push on towards Lordsburg or to return with the cavalry where they may or may not be safe.  In respect to Hitchcock, there is some great camera work and also the feeling of claustrophobia - almost the entire film takes place in one space - the farmhouse.  Hitchcock often tried to contain his more intense thrillers (like Lifeboat or Rear Window) to one space.  It creates more tension between the characters in close quarters and increases that claustrophobia! *   

I also keep mentioning "others".  In Night of the Living Dead the monsters are never called zombies.  In fact, in most zombie films, the word is never said.  They are the others, the outsiders.  Although in White Zombie the zombies are named - recognized for the people they are.  That's why it's so important that Johnny and later the daughter are recognized among the zombies (sorry for the spoilers, but really? what did you expect - it's a zombie film!!).  It makes it much harder to fight people you know - how can you be expected to shoot your brother or daughter in the head? **  Recognizing the "other" is the key here - they are us.

To make a bit of a detour, I wanted to talk about what was going on when Night of the Living Dead was made.  The cause for the zombie outbreak is attributed to some radiation brought in by a satellite returning from Venus.  It seems a bit silly now, but in 1968, we were 1) in the middle of the Cold War and worried about nuclear warfare 2) we were also in the Space Race and 3) had yet to land on the moon.  Makes it more of a concern, I think.  And it makes the Russians are the "others" of 1968.  It makes it that much more tragic when Ben dies - not at the hands of the zombies, but at the hands of the overzealous survivors who mistake him for a zombie.  Our own fear and paranoia will destroy us. 

Speaking of Ben and his horrible end, Night of the Living Dead was meant as a commentary on racism.  Ben's the lone African-American in the film, the one guy with any class and BAM he gets killed by friendly fire (or should that be not-so-friendly fire?).  This is where the film really diverges from its parallels with Ford's Westerns - there is no happy ending.  Ben doesn't get to go off into the sunset with a girl.  He gets killed anyway, like the whole thing was for naught.  Society (the guys coming in as relief) doesn't recognize his efforts or what he's endured.  But we see it.  Romero makes us see it and makes us painfully aware that Ben is treated as just another dead zombie.  What does that say about audiences in 1968?  What does it say about us now? ***

As much as this film is about racism, it fails to also address sexism (a major criticism).  Barbra, although in shock, just shuts down once a man arrives to take care of her.  My friends and I yelled at her the entire film because of her inability to do or say anything.  Although it is a good step above White Zombie, it still makes you very angry at Barbra.  Luckily we have more sensible women like Judy and especially Helen to balance it out some.  My friend Rachel brought up a good point - Barbra seems to be more afraid of Ben because she's alone in a house with him (and he's an African-American) than she is of the zombies.  If nothing else, she definitely takes on the "deer in headlights" attitude.  Which is fitting because in this farmhouse there are several animal heads mounted on the wall and Barbra is often shot being close to or right in front of the deer's head.  In some way, this could explain her docile nature.  She can't run, so she freezes up and won't move.  That explains why she's also taken by the zombies - she's easy prey.

The Remake - The Night of the Living Dead (1990)
Since the remake of Night of the Living Dead isn't a classic time-wise, I won't give it a separate write-up.  The basic plot and story line remain, but there are some major changes.  Thankfully the biggest one is Barbra (played by Patricia Tallman).  She kicks ass in the remake!  The new Barbra is a determined woman, one who won't passively cower on a couch when there are zombies to kill and people to save.  Instead of Romero commenting on racism, this version he focuses on sexism.  The ending is also very different, as Barbra actually makes it out of the house, down the road and stumbles onto the search and rescue crew.  A key scene there is when she sees a fenced in ring and spectators watching a "zombie fight."  It's a way to distance yourself from zombies being real people - in the remake Tom is related to the farmhouse owner and recongizes many of the zombies as friends and neighbors.  It's a chilling thought about how far you would have to go to survive.  To survive as an individual then, must you turn your back on your family?  Does that have anything to do with the re-establishment of Barbra as a woman of her own independence?  Think about the films of the eighties that dealt with the breaking up of families as a result of women going back to work (Die Hard) comes to mind.  I'm not sure if these ideas are related, as it is getting pretty late and I'm feeling a bit sleepy.  So let me end with this - are zombie movies really about monsters after all?  Or about facing what scares us most about our own selves?    

Review and Recommendation

I recommend both versions of the Night of the Living Dead.  Each one has very good merits and serve as great reflections and commentaries on society.  I have a new-found respect for the zombie genre and look forward to watching more films! 

P.S. I know I've probably left a lot out of this post, which is why you should check out Catherine's zombie blog, here.  If you think of any points you want to bring up, feel free to post comments!!

P.P.S. I was just looking for other sites to reference you for further reading and check this out - it's an article about how Romero was influence by Ford and Hitchcock.  I wasn't making it up - who knew?!  I'm still reading through it, but I couldn't resist linking it!

* I should mention that Romero also used the classic vampire film I Am Legend as inspiration, and possibly the film Things to Come.  

** I also watched the modern zombie film Zombieland right after seeing this film and I loved it!  It mixes both the traditional zombie films with a great sense of humor.  It's a very dark, survival type of humor, often like that seen in war films.  The movie also makes the point never to learn anyone's real name, as you never know when you might need to kill them.  Distance from the other is again in play.  Also, check out the opening shot of Zombieland and the opening shot of Night of the Living Dead (1968).  See anything identical?  I'll give you a hint - it's a pretty big hint that this film is about to comment on American culture.

*** Last note, I swear.  I just realized that 1968 brought America into Vietnam as well.  That's a whole other blog post about racism and fighting "the others".  Something to think about!