Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Night of the Living Dead’ (1990)

Written by John Edward Betancourt

​When it comes to remakes and reboots, there really are two key opinions out there when it comes to them and what they contribute to the motion picture industry. There is of course the camp that believes they’re no big deal and they enrich the business by allowing for people to discover a fresh new re-telling of age old ideas and on the opposite side of that coin, are the people who firmly believe they are the scourge of creativity and should be stopped before the industry makes them a staple over anything original.
 
Granted, both sides have valid points when it comes to their respective arguments because remakes are not without their flaws, the biggest one in my mind being their inability to capture the power and the wonder of the original motion picture. But regardless of where you stand, there are in a fact a few remakes out there that truly hold a flame to the movie that they are based upon and those should be celebrated as often as possible to serve as a reminder that with the proper care, great remakes can exist and one such film that just so happens to meet those qualifications is the 1990 remake of George A. Romero’s zombie masterpiece, Night of the Living Dead.

Now, the storyline to this remake is close to the original. The dead have returned to life and are attacking the living and seven strangers are surrounded in a farmhouse, desperate for survival. And as an added bonus, the usual names associated with Romero's vision of the zombiepocalpyse can be found here as well, but without their usual titles. George Romero only wrote the screenplay this time around, making the wise decision to hand the title of director to horror effects legend Tom Savini, and what an incredible job Mister Savini did with this film, bringing forth a fast-paced remake, that manages to bring new scares to life on screen all while staying true to the core components of the original.   

Horror veteran Tony Todd does an outstanding job taking over the iconic role of Ben, but the show is stolen by Patricia Tallman as Barbara with her unique portrayal of the character. In fact, that is what makes this remake so fascinating. There was the easy way out in making this motion picture by simply retelling the tale shot for shot in beautiful technicolor. But Romero's script updates Night to reflect the times. Gone is catatonic Barbara, waiting for a man in shining armor to save her and make all the decisions, she is now an independent woman who is suffering from the loss of her brother but willing to do what is necessary to survive. Also removed are the explosive overtones of the 1960's that we found in the first one, which changes the film drastically, bringing about a raw element of fear and confusion that gives the picture its own unique feel.

Does this film surpass the original? Absolutely not. It works as a companion piece to the 1968 version but adds its own credence to the series with its slick special effects, beautiful visuals and oddly enough, bleaker feel. It is almost as if Romero and Savini understood where horror films were headed. There would no longer be a sense of hope at the end of these types of movies, that optimistic notion would be replaced by the sense of terror that the worst-case scenario had come at last, and it was here to stay, and really, this one is worth a view if by chance you haven’t seen it simply because it not only grabs your attention like the original, but it pulls you along for a powerful and terrifying ride, one that stays with you long after it’s come to an end.

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