Night of the Living Dead (Exclusive Series) (STARZ; HBO Max; The Roku Channel; Peacock; Tubi)

Initial release date: October 1, 1968

Studio: Continental Distributing

Tagline: If it doesn't scare you, you're already dead!

They won't stay dead!

Plot: A disparate group of individuals take refuge in an abandoned house when corpses begin to leave the graveyard in search of fresh human bodies to devour. The pragmatic Ben does his best to control the situation, but when the reanimated bodies surround the house, the other survivors begin to panic. As any semblance of order within the group begins to dissipate, the zombies start to find ways inside - and one by one, the living humans become the prey of the deceased ones.

Cast

Duane Jones - Ben

Judith O'Dea - Barbra

Karl Hardman - Harry Cooper

Marilyn Eastman - Helen Cooper

Keith Wayne - Tom

Judith Ridley - Judy

Kyra Sahon - Karen Cooper

George Kosana - Sheriff McClelland

Writer(s): John A. Russo (Return of the Living Dead)

George A. Romero

Director: George A. Romero

Not Rated (96 minutes)

Over the decades, there have been numerous entries of the 'Dead' series, counting sequels, reboots and remakes. And, it all started with the black and white Romero classic 'Night of the Living Dead.'

The 1968 film 'Night of the Living Dead' is the ultimate zombie flick and can be quite suspenseful. A lot of scenes are incredibly tense, especially the actor's performances. There aren't many dialogue-filled moments in the film and the characters use intensely dramatic body language and eyes filled with emotion.

Shooting this in black and white gave the film a real nice touch and all of the zombie sequences and effects are awesome. This film is also a great example of what you can do with a limited budget and a simple idea.

So, for you not to miss this amazing Romero classic, 'Night of the Living Dead' is available on HBO Max, Tubi, The Roku Channel, Redbox, Vudu, Peacock, Amazon Prime and STARZ.

Here are some interesting tidbits about the original 'Night of the Living Dead':

• This is one of the most profitable independent movies ever made. Made for $114,000 (equivalent to $941,800 in 2022), it grossed approximately $30 million (equivalent to $247.8 million in 2022) - over 263 times its budget.

• When the zombies were eating the bodies in the burnt-out truck, they were actually eating roast ham covered in chocolate sauce. The filmmakers joked that it was so nausea-inducing that it was almost a waste of time putting the makeup on the zombies as they ended up pale and sick anyway.

• When discussing the film for Bravo's The 100 Scariest Movie Moments, Romero said that the moment they finished editing in Pittsburgh, they put the reels into the cans, threw it into the car, and drove straight to NYC that night in hopes of having it screened at any willing theater.

• Romero saw very little profit from the film. Due to his lack of knowledge regarding distribution deals, the distributors walked away with practically all of the profits.

• Now regarded as a classic, the film attracted considerable criticism at the time of its release for its graphic use of gore.

• One of the last big hits of the drive-in era.

• Romero had readily admitted that Herk Harvey's 'Carnival of Souls' (1962) was a big influence in his making of this film.

• 'Night of the Living Dead' premiered on October 1, 1968, at the Fulton Theater in Pittsburgh. Nationally, it was shown as a Saturday matinees - as was typical for horror films at the time - and attracted an audience consisting of pre-teens and adolescents. The MPAA film rating system wasn't in place until the following month, so even young children were able to purchase tickets.

• Fifty years after its release, the film enjoys a reputation as a classic and still receives positive reviews, being regarded by many as one of the best films of 1968.

• The Library of Congress added the film to the National Film Registry in 1999.

• It entered the public domain in the US because the original theatrical distributor, the Walter Reade Organization, failed to place a copyright indication on the prints, and at the time, US copyright law held that public dissemination required copyright notice to maintain a copyright.

• The 1968 film is the first of six in the series. Following the film, Romero released 'Dawn of the Dead,' 'Day of the Dead,' 'Land of the Dead,' 'Diary of the Dead' and 'Survival of the Dead.'

https://youtu.be/pd5a0gs-UCQ