Thursday, October 24, 2013

The Horror Of...Night of the Living Dead (1990), In Short

It's Thursday, and it seems like a great time to consider the Living Dead movies. Some of us are heading out tonight to the Rifftrax Live show, where they will be doing the original George Romero, Night of the Living Dead. And it should prove to be hilarious to watch and listen to the commentary on the movie.

This movie has led to many sequels. It also has inspired and been mimicked over the years. Among these have been some very good movies, and some not so grand. Among those worth your time, I think, the 1990 remake should make it into your Halloween plans.


This remakes was the idea of Tom Savini. He's been an active part of the horror genre for decades. He's been working in effects and makeup in numerous movies going back to Dawn of the Dead and earlier (and has won awards). He's also acted in many of them, going back to Dawn of the Dead.

An old friend of George Romero, he wanted to attempt to play with that early movie that inspired him.

While Savini made use of many of the key elements of the original,

















he also decided to subvert many. It results in characters taking different paths, and making different choices. The result is a new experience.

Among these changes is in the character of Barbara. Originally, she ends up being a very passive character throughout the movie. But in this, early on she's forced to face the living dead, one on one. And she finds that she does have a stomach for protecting herself, and, maybe, surviving.


The cast is also good. It's leads are Tony Todd, as Ben, and Patricia Tallman, as Barbara. They help make you are for the survival of their characters.


The story still follows the same path. The dead rise. They are killing and eating the living. So Barbara arrives at what seems to be an abandoned farm house. Then Ben arrives.

And soon the two find themselves part of a group fighting the living dead and each other, desperate to live.





The group...














Who lives? Who dies? Who rises again?

You'll have to watch and find out.


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