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John and Barbara are out to say some prayers for their father when out of nowhere comes “the living dead.” John is disposed of and Barb ends up at an
abandoned house. Soon enough she is joined by Ben and a few stragglers in the
basement. 7 people against the world. The “Living Dead” surround the house
and eventually make their move. The 7 must work together to defeat these beasts, but that will be just as hard as killing their attackers.
Overall: Amazingly enough, you run a horror reviews website and watch lots of zombie films, and yet I caught all the sequels and the spoofs before I watched this movie. I was pleasantly surprised by the action in the film and the story itself. I definitely think it is supreme to the sequels and mainly for the reason that here we have a concise story with good action and still the wondering of who these “murderers” are. The film tries to make you think they could be anything and for much of the movie you may actually forget these are zombies. Ever see “Night of the Comet”? After watching this movie and remembering, I think that film has a lot in common with it and both for the good. In addition, unlike the sequels this film really focuses on humans interacting with each other and responding to their survival instincts – not just people running away from zombies and shacking up in some mall for 9 months! The film is world’s apart from their sequels and definitely a reason I hated the sequels. Zombies are the worst type of movie monster there is for the basic reason that they have no motives, no brain functions, nothing for the viewer to latch on to root for them or condemn their existence. I prefer a bad guy/antagonist who is thinking…just as the good guy tries to envision a way to win I also want the evil person to be doing the same. Even the “Friday the 13th” sequels still had some character to Jason – he has a goal, a reason to do stuff. Zombies don’t. This film holds out hope that the creatures have goals... the sequels don’t. Although do check out "Last Man on Earth" -- that film was released a few years earlier but with a lot of similarities. |
Links to other sites at The Sinning Room
Night of the Living Dead Review Page
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Horror Films L-Z Review Page
Horror Films Review Page
