A George A. Romero Retrospective: ‘Night of the Living Dead’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

‘They’re coming to get you, Barbara.’
- Johnny

If there is one particular goal that all filmmakers are hoping to accomplish when they step behind the camera, it would have to be that they would like to change someone’s life in some way with their work. Something that said filmmaker could accomplish by offering up a story that moves someone emotionally in a manner they’ve never experienced before. Or it could be by offering up a revolutionary story, the kind that outright changes the landscape of film and the genre the movie is working within. Or it could just be to make an incredible film, one that people love and fawn over for decades on end, one that might motivate someone to create their own motion picture down the line, all because one particular story unlocked a part of their creativity they never knew existed.
 
If anything, this overall goal is something that a great many filmmakers have achieved throughout the years. But often times it only occurs after the auteur in question has been working within the industry for decades on end, signifying the amount of learning and practice it takes to become a master storyteller. Yet while we celebrate those films often and wait for the next great classic from a current generation of writers and directors, at times there are prodigies that pop up out of nowhere and accomplish a great deal of those goals early on in their career. Which can be a good and bad thing, since some of them create a masterpiece and disappear, or see their work slip into decline after reaching their peak. But here and there, the industry will produce a true filmmaking genius, one that creates incredible stories at every turn, the kind that achieve every goal we’ve outlined and back in 1968, a young director/writer named George Andrew Romero fit this particular bill.
 
For the debut of his first major motion picture, turned out to be the stuff of legend. Because Night of the Living Dead forever changed how we look at horror and how horror stories are told, to the point where this simple, low-budget feature, found its way into the Library of Congress’ archives because of its importance and what it offers to an audience and one element that allows for this film to stand out, is the sheer fact that it reinvented the zombie. For prior to this story, they were often regular people that were under the influence of voodoo, and these poor souls did the bidding of their horrific masters. Which is scary in its own right. But changing these beings to be reanimated human corpses that feed on the flesh of the living is an outright game changer, in part because it was something that was unheard of before in cinema, but also because… these awful creatures injected a new level of terror into the genre. 
 
Because living death is in many ways, a horrific insult to everything that mankind stands for. After all, our biological purpose in life is to die, and that in turn motivates us to live life to the fullest and accomplish incredible goals in order to be remembered fondly by those we leave behind. So, to see, mothers and daughters and sons and fathers returning to life with their jaws slack and their eyes hungering for the poor soul in front of them, is genuinely terrifying and it creates an ominous air over this film that few horror stories have ever replicated or rivaled and what’s truly horrifying about this movie, is that the terror that is present in this particular tale, is further enhanced by way of some brilliant storytelling. 

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Because this motion picture is a masterclass in building tension and revealing true terror. For despite seeing a title that is ominous in the opening moments of this film, we quickly forget that reanimated corpses are in this feature. Since we quickly become lost within the framework of a compelling story, one where the people roaming about and attacking others, match the descriptions of the news reports we hear as the film goes along. They’re just people, in a trance like state, and there is some other force committing them to bloodlust and mayhem, and that makes the grand reveal that they are in fact the dead returned to life, supremely chilling and horrifying in every sense of those words and once the flesh eating begins, well… that’s when the story truly becomes akin to a waking nightmare, one that the audience seemingly cannot wake up from.
 
But while the horror elements alone are quite important to this story’s success, it is what it has to say about modern society that adds depth to a simple and effective tale. Because this movie digs deep into notions of how poorly people react to a genuine crisis. Since different agendas are at play throughout the entire film, to the point where it is frustrating to watch Cooper consistently fight with Ben over simple decisions that will save lives. Which are elements that quite frankly still apply in modern America, since so many believe their opinion or belief should take precedence over anything else, and by putting up a fight over their ‘virtues’ they delay a logical solution and allow for things to get worse and it turns out that social commentary would be something that would continue to pop up in Romero’s work for decades to come.
 
However, what truly allows for this story to shine, is what it has to say about the civil rights movement and the treatment of African Americans in our country. Something that is encapsulated by Romero’s decisions to choose African American actor Duane Jones to play Ben, and put the character in charge of the group's response. Which spoke volumes to the fact that it wouldn’t be long before African Americans were finally in positions of power in the United States, and watching a white man consistently question Ben's obviously sound logic makes one uncomfortable, since it feels a little too real at times since we see that in everyday life. And it is quite brilliant and powerful to see a film from this era, put America's difficulties of accepting African Americans as equals on full display. Plus, we would be remiss to not mention the closing moments of this tale, wherein Ben’s powerful and shocking fate is akin to what we see on the nightly news in 2020, something that definitely gives one pause since not much has changed in that arena. 
 
When all is said and done however, it's only right to call this film an outright instant classic. Because this film was genuinely transformative, since horror was fluffier and far more fantastical before this terrifying treat came along, and what’s truly impressive is that this movie continues to engender fear in our hearts after all these years. But in regard to Romero, and his career, this is a movie that truly put him on the map, and his desire to make a simple scary movie, one that offered up the philosophical notion of an old guard being replaced by the new guard, and the fear that creates for the old guard; would lead to a storied career. One that would continue to push the envelope in regard to filmmaking and storytelling, by way of stories that would use incredible concepts to challenge the audience and allow for us ponder upon our world and our lives.

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