Night of the Living Dead Movie Review
Back in 1968, George A. Romero directed one of the all-time great horror films, Night of the Living Dead. The film was ground-breaking, putting zombie movies at the forefront and creating the blueprint for the genre that has been followed since. In 1989, a group of movie people decided to remake this classic, and brought in special effects wizard Tom Savini to direct, making this his feature film directorial debut. They also brought in relative unknown, but soon to be horror icon, Tony Todd (Final Destination, Candyman) to play Ben, the lead character...and it worked. Released in 1990, this film was one that was seemingly on cable channels all the time by the mid 1990s--during the decade of the nineties, I must have watched this movie about a hundred times. This version was much more accessible at the time than the original, making many think of THIS movie, not the original, when they heard Night of the Living Dead--and that is not as tragic as it initially sounds.
"Wait...what did you just say?"
Seeing Todd as a sympathetic hero is kind of weird, but he pulls it off well. Patricia Tallman is memorable as Barbara--the performance isn't great, but something about it will leave an impression. Tom Towles (House of 1000 Corpses) really steals the show as Cooper, the villain you will want to reach through the television and choke. Towles truly makes you hate this character. The rest of the cast is hit or miss, with some of the acting bordering on unbearable, though Heather Mazur is creepy in her brief appearance as Zombie Sarah, pictured above. Savini and company pretty much stick to what we know from the original film, with more gore, and with the moral of the story intact, albeit more in your face. Imagine a world where rednecks are running things...I shudder to think. Is this movie as good as the original? Of course not. Is it a really, really good remake? Yes...yes it is.
On A Scale Of One To Ten: 7
Night of the Living Dead Movie Trailer
