Film #9 — 1/5 Zombie Films
Also filed under: Video Nasties Project #1
By C. Ramsay
It’s easy to see why Night of the Living Dead has been so influential since its release, with its inventive storytelling, low-budget creativity, and drastic subversion of expectations. Within the first few minutes, one of the protagonists is subjected to an extended sequence of pure exhibition of her terror, culminating in her arrival at the farmhouse that remains the only setting over the course of a single night.
The undead are given frequent screen time, their clothing or lack of revealing how quickly the epidemic has spread. The scenes we get with them are jarring enough as they are: we see them eating flesh with a revolting texture, they have surprisingly quick reflexes that allow them to jump out of the way of fire, and they have enough cognitive capability to occasionally use tools. However, what’s most unsettling about the zombies, or ghouls as they’re repeatedly referred to, are the descriptions people give of them and what goes unseen. We don’t need to see them actually running, we just need glances of their quick reflexes to know they’re capable of faster movement. When we’re shown a human running a great distance to escape a ghoul only to suddenly see it show up in the same spot shortly after, the implication that they could be moving faster at any moment is terrifying.
The farmhouse and the seven people eventually taking shelter in it act as a microcosm of American society and a reflection of how people react when facing crisis in communal situations. There are people who need to lecture everyone else but never help, people who completely shut down, people who are cool under pressure, people who want to help but don’t always know how, and people who act out of pure selfishness. Ben being the only Black character—noticeably absent from the undead represented in rural Pennsylvania as well—and true protagonist of the film adds another layer of subversion considering he’s the only one thinking clearly, productively, and selflessly, and isn’t afraid to demand he be considered in charge because of it.
It’s notable that a broadcast heard at one point mentions reports of the spread following a trajectory that has originated from the southeast of the United States, and that there is nothing yet west of the Mississippi River. However, the broadcaster then immediately relays contradictory information by stating that there are confirmed cases around the Houston area, some 400km west of the Mississippi River, and the viewer knows that the north of the country is crumbling as well. The described path of the spread happens to align almost perfectly with the densest areas of Black population in the country. The framing the broadcast provides of that area being a definitive point of origin rather than perhaps the region that has been most vocal about the danger facing the country, and the rise of all-white paramilitary groups established to protect their communities, insinuates that Black people are being scapegoated as a blight on the country. The imagery during the end credits remains some of the most gruesome imagery ever captured for film.
Star rating (/5): ★★★★
Recommend?: Yes