Last week, the BMS changed things up and didn't watch bad movies. Instead, we (meaning, me and Andrew) watched 1968's Night of the Living Dead. The lighting was surprisingly creepy considering the budget, and the acting was above-average considering the budget. Considering the budget, I'd say Night of the Living Dead was pretty good!
Let's get specific about what makes this movie fun/creepy. When Barbara's (Judith O'Dea) brother is killed by cemetery-zombies, she flees to a farmhouse. There, she runs into Ben (Duane Jones), a black guy who pretty much takes over as leader and only common sense-haver. Barbara gets all catatonic for the rest of the film. She wasn't attacked or infected, but she gets zombie-fied nonetheless. The horror lies not in the zombies outside, but in Barbara's zombie-like disposition. What's her problem, and what is she gonna do?
This is a problem a lot of modern horror movies have: no power of suggestion. George Romero, the director, lets us know that there's a zombie-child in the basement, but he never gives us a candid look; she's just a threat. Hell, we don't even get to see the zombies outside too much. The real terror lies in the boarding up of windows, the conversations people have about the child they know must be killed, and the bizarro-world in which a black guy can order around white people with success. Just kidding about the last one, but imagine what some moviegoers must have thought!
PS. An amazing sweatshirt.
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