Night Of The Living Dead (1968)
Director: George A. Romero
Starring: Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea, Karl Hardman, Marilyn Eastman, Keith Wayne, Judith Ridley
Certificate: 15
Genre: Horror
Awards: None
Night Of The Living Dead is the film that created what Zombies mean in society today. This is the first time that a Zombie (although they are not called that) was a dead person who has been brought back to life.
The film starts with Barbara (O'Dea) and Johnny, siblings who have come to put a reef on their father's grave. Afterwards, they are attacked by a strange man and Barbara flees after Johnny is killed. She hides in a house where she meets Ben (Jones). They then have to keep the creatures out of the house and try to survive.
Although the actual horror is not that scary by today's standards, it shocked people back in 1968. Gore had never been seen like this in cinema before. The film also tackled American politics at the time by casting a black actor as the hero.
NOFTD is a must see for horror fans and it is still entertaining today. The shock and horror may no longer work, but the characters' struggles and relationships are still relevant. This is the original Zombie survival film and has a killer ending that will leave you feeling different.
****Good
Dawn Of The Dead (1978)
Director: George A. Romero
Starring: David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott H. Reiniger, Gaylen Ross
Certificate: 18
Genre: Horror
Awards: None
Dawn Of The Dead follows Peter (Emge), a traffic reporter; Francine (Ross), his television executive girlfriend and two swat team members named Peter (Foree) and Roger (Reiniger). Together they escape a zombie outbreak to a shopping mall. There they have a safe place to stay and the Zombies do not seem to pose much of a problem when they have weapons.To be honest, if there was a zombie outbreak, a shopping mall would be the best place to be (even better in America as then you have a gun store). Also, with the Zombies not posing much of a problem, the film is free to delve deeper into the characters. It's nice to see a zombie film where everybody seems to get along. There is nobody who wants to be in charge and tries to kill the others.
Dawn Of the Dead looks at gore with an almost gleeful manor that reminds me a lot of Starship Troopers. The special effects are what makes the film as good as it is. If it was a CGI film, it would not be as believable and watchable as it is.
****Good
Day Of The Dead (1985)
Director: George A. Romero
Starring: Lori Cardille, Terry Alexander, Jarlath Conroy, Anthony Dileo JR, Richard Liberty, Joseph Pilato, Sherman Howard
Certificate: 18
Genre: Horror
Awards: None
Like Dawn Of The Dead the Zombies have already arrived in this film. And in Day Of The Dead, the characters are already in a secure place. The underground base is host to a group of scientists and a military unit who's relationship is becoming more tense by the day. Their job is to try and find out what is going on and how to stop it.
The Douche character returns here as the almost psychotic military leader Rhodes (Pilato). This character makes problems a lot worse. He openly hates the scientists and would not think twice about having them all shot.
The zombies also have a bigger part in the third film. A Zombie who has been put under experiments by the Doctor Frankenstein (Liberty) has a big part with showing how humans can control the creatures. He is given a personality and becomes quite a likeable character.
Day Of The Dead is the first of the three to still feel scary. The atmosphere is tense and the zombies are not played as comically as Dawn. The characters are not on top of the situation and panic spread into the film.
The effects are better than ever with stomachs being ripped open and an eyeball showing after the skin of a man's face is torn off. It's fun to watch just to see what Romero can think of next.
****Good
Overall I like all three very much. Each has their own feeling and atmosphere. Night shows claustrophobia and almost resignation to the inevitable. Dawn feels a lot safer and more comical as the characters have a better hold of the situation. Day has the feel of panic as the character seem to be ahead but start to slip up after they start fighting.
If you like zombie films, this trilogy is a must see as they are the originals. They created the sub-genre and still stand up as good films today.
The Douche character returns here as the almost psychotic military leader Rhodes (Pilato). This character makes problems a lot worse. He openly hates the scientists and would not think twice about having them all shot.The zombies also have a bigger part in the third film. A Zombie who has been put under experiments by the Doctor Frankenstein (Liberty) has a big part with showing how humans can control the creatures. He is given a personality and becomes quite a likeable character.
Day Of The Dead is the first of the three to still feel scary. The atmosphere is tense and the zombies are not played as comically as Dawn. The characters are not on top of the situation and panic spread into the film.
The effects are better than ever with stomachs being ripped open and an eyeball showing after the skin of a man's face is torn off. It's fun to watch just to see what Romero can think of next.
****Good
Overall I like all three very much. Each has their own feeling and atmosphere. Night shows claustrophobia and almost resignation to the inevitable. Dawn feels a lot safer and more comical as the characters have a better hold of the situation. Day has the feel of panic as the character seem to be ahead but start to slip up after they start fighting.
If you like zombie films, this trilogy is a must see as they are the originals. They created the sub-genre and still stand up as good films today.
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