"It is estazlished that persons who have recently died have been
coming back to life and seeking human victims."
The film begins at a cemetery where a coffin containing an executed felon has been transported by two locals. Apparently this guy strangled and killed the Krantz's daughter, and the father is there to curse the man who took away his daughter. He opens the lid of the coffin to spit on the body, but within a matter of minutes the corpse shows signs of life and begins wandering around the grave yard. Meanwhile a brother and sister (Barbara) are visiting their fathers grave at the same yard, and when her brother is knocked unconscious by this walking corpse Barbara is pursued by it to a desolate, seemingly empty house where is terrorizes her. She is then joined by a lone male, Ben, who boards up the house as more and more zombies gather outside.
The only link for them to the outside world is the radio, which informs them that they are in the midst of an epidemic, whereby the dead are coming back to life and attacking the living, who then become like them. whilst keeping these zombies at bay with fire two more men and women come up from the cellar of the house, Tom and Judy (a young couple) and Mr and Mrs Cooper, who also have an ill daughter who has been bitten by one of these things. Cooper is adamant that the cellar is the best place, and is clearly an impulsive, unhinged individual who is desperate to control the household, yet Ben has other ideas.
There plans to escape the house by a truck result only in death, and with Barbara's brother returning as a zombie, and the Cooper's daughter looking increasingly like a zombie things are not looking promising for the residents of the house. There is help at hand in the form of the National Guard, who are clearing the area of these creatures by shooting and burning them...but can they make it to the house in time given the weakening of the defences of the house. The ending of this film is somewhat surprising and sad...yet it is certainly a film that changed the direction and content of horror.
Copyright(C) 2007
- 2020. All rights reserved.
| Directed by | George A. Romero |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Karl Hardman Russell Streiner |
| Written by | George A.
Romero John A. Russo |
| Starring | Duane Jones Judith O'Dea Karl Hardman Marilyn Eastman Keith Wayne Judith Ridley |
| Music by | Stock music |
| Cinematography | George A. Romero |
| Editing by | George A.
Romero John A. Russo |
| Distributed by | The Walter Reade Organization |
| Release date(s) | October 1, 1968 |
| Running time | 96 min. |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $114,000 (estimated |