Night of the Living Dead

Night of the Living Dead (1968) is a seminal horror film directed by George A. Romero which was to transfigure the horror-movie genre. more...

The plot is simple and familiar to viewers even casually acquainted with the genre: the dead come to life, spreading their condition through the United States and attacking the living in order to feed upon their flesh. It was filmed in Evans City, Pennsylvania.

Although a low budget film (it cost around $114,000 to produce) and helmed by a first-time director, the film is considered a horror classic by many film critics, and placed #93 on the American Film Institute's 100 Years, 100 Thrills list.

Plot Overview

Night of the Living Dead opens with bickering siblings Johnny and Barbara, who have driven out to a cemetery to put a wreath on their father's grave. A pale-faced man lumbers toward the two, attacking Johnny. Barbara runs away in fear, arriving at an abandoned home with a corpse at the top of the stairs.

Soon, Ben (played by Duane Jones) shows up, and helps drive away several pale-faced men that have shown up. Through radio and television reports we learn that, for some reason, the dead have began to return to life and seek human victims, and they can only be killed by a shot to the head, or a heavy blow to the skull.

In the basement of the house, a small family (Harry and Helen Cooper, and their daughter, who has been bitten by one of the flesh eaters), and lovers Tom and Judy have been hiding out from the invasion of the living dead.

Later, Ben creates a plan to get everyone out through his truck. Tom and himself go outside to the truck, Judy following suit. They head to the pump, but the gas touches the torch of Ben. Ben escapes while Tom and Judy stay in the car, ending up with their death. Ben heads back to the house.

At first, the group seems to be able to work together, but various disagreements lead to the group's downfall. The daughter turns into one of the living dead. Ben winds up shooting Harry Cooper when he tries to replace Ben as leader.

Harry falls down the stairs of the basement and is partially eaten by his now "zombified" daughter. Helen walks down and finds the two. The daughter stabs her mother to death with a garden spade.

Barbara is dragged away by her own brother, now a zombie, into the blood thirsty crowd of the living dead, and the zombies descend into the house, taking over the upstairs portion of the house. Ben runs to the bottom of the cellar to hide out from the zombies. When the Coopers return to life as zombies, Ben kills them to prevent them from eating him.

After a night of fighting off various zombies, Ben, having gone without sleep, and having drank nothing walks up the stairs with strained vocal chords. A group of zombie hunters see him through a window, aiming a gun at them, and shoot him in the head, believing him to be a zombie.

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