Pwaters' Month of Terror Day 1: Night of the Living Dead

Hello ladies, gentlemen, and creatures lurking in the shadows!  This month, October, is a favorite among horror fans, such as myself.  My goal for the next 31 days is to share with you the scariest and best of the genre.  The films will range from old school classics to modern day gorefests (they won't be in any particular order).  So scout these movies out, grab a bag of popcorn (or a blood bag) and enjoy!

Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Dir. George A. Romero

Night of the Living Dead is one of those horror movies that pops up over and over on late-night TV and cheap DVD packs; this is mostly due to the fact that it's currently in the public domain, meaning there is no copyright on the movie and the people involved in the making of it haven't made a cent. It's a shame considering that it's now regarded as a 'classic.'  The film, despite its cheap budget, created what we would today call the "standard" zombie.  It's hard to believe that the flesh-eating, must-destroy-the-brain walking dead never appeared before the late sixties, but before then zombies were really just "mindless" humans.  The film also broke ground in that the lead character was black - a decision that in the sixties must have been pretty rebellious.  Shot in black and white and starring no-name actors, the film found its audience much later after its initial run; at first it bombed on the drive-in circuit yet slowly but surely found a cult audience over a decade.  By now its influence is everywhere, from movies to video games to novels to comic books: it all started with Night of the Living Dead.

The movie begins with siblings Barbara and Johnny on a trip to the cemetery to put flowers on their father's grave.  Barbara, afraid of cemeteries, is mocked by Johnny with his infamous line: "They're coming to get you Barbara!"  A second after that ironically, a pale crazy old man comes out, wrestling Johnny until he's knocked out and chases Barbara to her car, where she speeds off frantically.  This opening today may seem a little dated (yes, she "trips" on her way to the car - but I believe it may be the first ever used in a horror movie, I'll have to look into that...), but the actors are committed to their roles and the black and white photography makes everything slightly more nightmarish.

While driving, she crashes her car and must seek refuge in a seemingly abandoned farmhouse.  There she runs into other "survivors" like a mother and father looking over their sick daughter, a young couple, and the baddest mutha in the movie, Ben, played by Duane Jones.  Sure, some of the acting is a little iffy, that's to be expected out of a low budget flick like this, but when it's time to bring out the scares, it still delivers.  If you're in the right mindset (lights off, alone, late at night), the atmosphere and the music will scare you as stiff as Judith O'Dea's acting.