George A. Romero is considered by many to be the Godfather of the horror movie monster, zombies. Though the term was used before, it was not untilNight of the Living Deadin 1968 that it began to take shape in the way many know it today. It marked a shift in the cultural landscape of horror movies, where most of the contributions were B movies designed to make audiences laugh at ridiculous monsters and over-the-top performances.
Most of therules surrounding zombieswere established in this first outing, with many filmmakers maintaining these self-evident laws of the walking dead. However, not every horror film is a zombie film, and there were still many different aspects inNight of the Living Deadthat paved the way for future horror classics. From introducing social commentary to a genre that hadn’t used it before, to a drastic increase in the level of graphic violence seen on screen.George A. Romero’s zombies inNight of the Living Deadlives on in many movies and filmmakers he inspired with his own, unique, contribution to the horror genre.
The Evil Dead
Cast
The Evil Deadis a horror movie from 1981 starring Bruce Campbell and directed by Sam Raimi. The film follows Ash Williams, who after visiting a cabin in the woods, is tormented by deadites and must fight for his life after his friends are possessed.The Evil Deadnot only started a long-running horror franchise, but it is also the film responsible for putting both Raimi and Campbell on the map as a director and actor, respectively.
Sam Raimi’sThe Evil Deadis a pillar of the horror genre, with its cultural impact that extends a step further than its predecessors. Yet, if not for the influence ofNight of the Living Dead,there might never have been Bruce Campbell’s “Groovy"andall theEvil Deadmovies that followed. While not a traditional zombie movie, its inspiration from Romero’s classic is evident in its isolated setting and living corpses terrorizing its protagonists.
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Mirroring the visceral impact of each other, the use of terrifying body horror techniques shocked audiences and moviegoers alike, as Raimi sought to replicate this unflinching portrayal of bodily mutilation and the almost depressing fate of his central characters. However, it should be noted that Raimi perhaps took it a step further by introducing elements of humor in his approach to the genre. Like all great filmmakers, Raimi was able to build on the success of Romero’s work and, as a result, progress the evolution of the beloved horror genre.
9Burial Ground (1981)
A More Risqué Italian Homage
In the case of Andrea Bianchi’sBurial Ground,it is as if thisItalian horror moviewearsNight of the Living Deadas a choice medallion around its neck. Is this a great movie? No. Is it a fun movie that is inspired by George A. Romero’s classic? Yes, it is. The slow-moving, shambling undead that continuously chases and preys on the living is a clear homage toNight of the Living Dead’sghouls.
WhereBurial Grounddiffers is in its plot. In Romero’s indie-horror classic, there is a substantial story with real characters and a groundbreaking casting decision in Duane Jones as Ben. Whereas, Bianchi’s offering is far more like a bad fever dream with each moment of graphic violence followed by another, and the use of overtly-sexualized characters, in a world where the line between sexuality and graphic violence is blurred.
Return of the Living Dead
Return of the Living Dead is a 1985 horror comedy directed by Dan O’Bannon and starring Clu Gulager, Thom Mathews, James Karen, and Don Calfa. The plot revolves around medical supply store clerk Frank and his apprentice Freddy, who accidentally release a deadly gas that revives the dead in a nearby cemetery. Soon the city is invaded by a horde of hungry zombies, which Frank and Freddy have to fight for their own survival.
Return of the Living Deadis cut from the same cloth as its predecessor with its vague zombie origins, much like in the originalLiving Deadtitle, and its banding together of a rag-tag team of characters. Though the grim apocalyptic tone remains, Dan O’Brannon injected dark comedy into this cult classic, a feature absent in Romero’s original work.
“I don’t want to walk on [Romero’s] toes… I’m going to do mine as a comedy.”
- Dan O’Bannon
For O’Brannon,Return of the Living Deadalso served as a directorial debut and the director set out to do it in his way, “I don’t want to walk on [Romero’s] toes… I’m going to do mine as a comedy.“Return of the Living Deadis a film that can be seen as a loving tribute to Romero’s work but subverts and expands on the, tropes established inNight of the LivingDead. Where the ghouls of Romero’s film wanted human flesh, O’Brannon’s somewhat lucid zombies want only the brains.
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Night Of The Creeps
Night of the Creeps is a 1986 science fiction horror film directed by Fred Dekker. The story follows a group of college students who must fend off a horde of alien-infected zombies. Tom Atkins stars as a hard-boiled detective drawn into the chaos when experiments from decades past resurface, unleashing terror on a small town. The film blends elements of horror and comedy, creating a cult classic within the genre.
Alien slugs set loose on a college campus cause havoc as all the students are turned into zombies inNight of the Creeps,a1980s horror comedythat pays homage to all the beloved B movies of the past. Fred Dekker’s take on the undead was a new and unique one, yet it captured the same tension asNight of the Living Deadas the characters fight for survival in an ever more claustrophobic environment.
As in Romero’s classic, the zombies are slow-moving and on the hunt for flesh. However, as this film pays homage to B movies, there is far more of a comedic tone that suggests the film is designed more as a fun experience than a scary one. The portrayal of aliens at the start of the film may strengthen this argument more than anything.
Riding on the coattails of the successful video game franchise, Paul W. S Anderson’sResident Evilbrought the zombie movie to a fresh new audience, and it did so, taking on the best elements ofNight of the Living Dead. There are characters trapped underground in a space they’re struggling to get out of, all while a hoard of infected tries to eat them. However, there is also a Romero-esque protagonist inMilla Jovovich’s fan favorite Alice.
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Much like the heroine Barbara inNight of the Living Dead, Alice is a progressive character who grows throughout the film into her own action heroine. Fans of theResident Evilfranchise have come back again and again to see its powerful female lead dispatch zombies in new and exciting ways. With action at the core of this film, and the others that followed, Anderson helped to evolve the horror-zombie genre into something that was both scary and awesome.
28 Days Later
28 Days Later depicts a post-apocalyptic Britain devastated by a virulent outbreak. Directed by Danny Boyle, it follows a group of London survivors as they navigate the chaos caused by a rapidly spreading virus, transmitted by humans and animals, that transforms the infected into dangerous beings. Released in 2002.
Danny Boyle’s iconic28 Days Laterre-imagined Romero’s zombie apocalypse for the 21st century, introducing a fast-moving,rage-fueled infected. Itsbleak, post-apocalyptic vision and its exploration of human nature under extreme duress are clearly inspired byNight of the Living Dead,with Romero and Boyle delving deep into the dark side of human nature.
Evident in both films is the idea that in a world without rules or consequences, the foundation of civilization can quickly crumble, revealing the ugly and primal impulses that lie beneath many people, and the way that each film is shot also plays into this similarity.Night of the Living Dead and 28 Days Laterplay out in a raw, almost documentary style, that allows the level of tension to never drop. This level of realism added to the horror of28 Days Later,leaving many cinemagoers too scared to leave the theater after the film was finished.
Dawn of the Dead
A remake of George A. Romero’s classic of the same name, the movie follows a nurse, a policeman, a young married couple, a salesman and other survivors of a worldwide plague that is producing aggressive, flesh-eating zombies, who take refuge in a mega Midwestern shopping mall.
Not all remakes are bad, and Zack Snyder proved that when he successfully pulled off a directremake of George A. Romero’sDawn of the Dead.Like its predecessors, Snyder’s film traps a diverse group of survivors in a shopping mall, using the commercial setting as a microcosm for examining larger social issues and critiquing consumerism and materialism. Nonetheless, by the end and much likeNight of the Living Dead,Snyder’s take suggests that even if the survivors can outlast the un-dead, the world they once inhabited is gone forever.
In terms of its gore and violence, there is an argument to suggest that in the case of Dawn of the Dead, there are a few moments where Snyder takes it too far in his graphic spin on zombie lore.
This remake levels up the intensity of its action with the use of the28 Days Later-inspired fast-moving zombies. However, despite its focus more on this side of the narrative, it does not completely abandon that grim feeling of desperation from its characters that permeates throughout the whole film. In terms of its gore and violence, there is an argument to suggest that in the case ofDawn of the Dead,there are a few moments where Snyder takes it too far in his graphic spin on zombie lore.
Shaun of the Dead
From director Edgar Wright, Shaun of the Dead stars Simon Pegg as Shaun, an ambitionless slacker who one day finds his world overrun by zombies. From a script by Wright and Pegg, Shaun of the Dead injects comedy into a typically horror-focused subgenre as Shaun and his lazy friend Ed (Nick Frost) attempt to rescue Shaun’s estranged girlfriend and make it through the apocalypse unscathed.
“Want anything from the shop?“Shaun asks Ed before he takes a walk to his local corner shop, totally unaware of the apocalypse that happened overnight.Shaun of the Deadis not just a classic British horror film, it is a classic horror film in its own right. It is a loving homage to all of George A. Romero’s zombie films that use the un-dead uprising as a metaphor for its protagonist’s stagnant and unfulfilling life.20 years later,it still holds up.
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Much likeNight of the Living Dead,Edgar Wright’s breakthrough film focuses on ordinary people who face extraordinary apocalyptic circumstances. Shaun, much like Ben from the 1968 film, is forced to become a hero in a London that stands on the brink of total collapse. Furthermore,Shaun of the Deadalso uses the horror genre for social commentary, suggesting that the routines of modern life are much like a state of ‘living dead’ and the zombies come along as more of a wake-up call to help characters grow out of their inertia and take action in their lives.
[REC]
[REC] is a found-footage-style horror movie released in 2007. The film centers on a TV reporter and cameraman who become trapped inside an apartment building after they follow firefighters investigating an infection within the complex. The film spawned three sequels as well as a remake in 2008 titled Quarantine.
RECis aSpanish-language found footage horror filmthat is genuinely frightening, and its style mirrors that of the documentary-like realism and mounting dread ofNight of the Living Dead.Its characters are cut off from the outside world by a growing threat they struggle to comprehend, and the rapid societal breakdown means that they are truly on their own to face this crisis, no matter their plea for help from relevant authorities.
Much likeNight of the Living Dead, REConly suggests some of the reasons for the outbreak and leaves the audience wondering about the cause of the horror. It’s a reflection of how quickly society can be thrown into hysteria when up against something they do not understand. The human impulse to contain, no matter the consequences, lies at the heart of this film. The film was so successful that it received an American remake titleQuarantine.However, most agree, that there is something special about the original, as its Spanish setting and unknown actors add to the horrific realism.
Breck Eisner’sremake of George A. Romero’s own 1973 horror movie,The Crazies,draws heavily from the template established byNight of the Living Dead. Like Romero’s debut,The Craziesis set in a small, rural town that becomes the epicenter of a terrifying outbreak. As in the 1968 film, the plague transforms normal people into zombie-like killers.
The Craziesis a remake of an original George A. Romero film from 1973.
The exploration of how fear and paranoia erode trust and turn neighbor against neighbor is a constant theme in Romero’s work, not just inNight of the Living Dead,but is so clearly evident in the original and the remake ofThe Crazies.Eisner’s updated version offers greater production value and more action set pieces, but it still captures the same sense of creeping dread and social commentary that definedNight of the Living Dead.Its ending also mirrors that ofNight of the Living Dead,where the authorities would rather contain than help those afflicted.
Night of the Living Dead
George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead did more than just invent the modern zombie, it revolutionized the horror genre. Following a small group of humans who hide in a secluded farmhouse when the dead begin to rise and crave human flesh, Night of the Living Dead examines the relationship between humanity and paranoia in times of crisis.
