Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

jamesgandrew After a zombie outbreak, a group of people arrive at an old farmhouse where they must spend the night to survive. This is a personal favourite of mine and has to be one of the most influential movies, not just to the zombie film but the horror genre itself. Even though it wasn't the first zombie movie it did introduce some of the most iconic tropes of the genre like using the resources you have to survive, zombies being flesh eaters and zombies needing to be shot or severely injured in the head to die.Duane Jones delivers an excellent performance as Ben who's a strong black protagonist who stands out amongst the highly irrational fellow survivors. George A Romero excellently conveys that sense of claustrophobia with the house setting and his direction unflinchingly creates tension and suspense. It managed to be the most successful independent movie of the time, garnering 263 times its budget. The movie features a ballsy ending and I won't give it away unless you haven't seen it but let's just say it's a profound social statement that you won't forget after watching the movie.

dougdoepke No need to echo consensus points. What a tribute to a bunch of non-Hollywood folks getting together to make a movie, (Romero's first). Seems like everyone in the cast already knew someone else there. The production was certainly a long way from the usual Hollywood spore, and one of the first really successful indies. Things just seem to come magically together, from casting, to great camera work, to spooky effects. My knuckles are still white from the latest viewing. I keep thinking there is some provocative subtext to the story, especially with Afro-American Jones in the lead role and playing a real hero. But I still can't find one. Instead, I think it's exactly what it appears to be: one heckuva fright film. The first and last parts are the best, concentrating on shudders the way they do. The middle part is more like human interest, random characters thrown together having to sort things out. Anyway, Romero did for Zombie films what Lugosi did for vampires. No, it's not as gory as most fright films of today. But the technique is perfect for the material, so catch how a bunch of near-amateurs manage to trump the professional Hollywood crowd.

Stevieboy666 Any self-respecting horror fan should be familiar with the plot for this one - when Barbra and Johnny visit their father's grave he is attacked and killed by a ghoul, while she manages to escape and find refuge in a farmhouse. Inside she finds other survivors but before long they are surrounded by flesh eating reanimated corpses... Zombie films were nothing new in 1968, they could be traced back at least until the 1930's (White Zombie), and a few had been shot in colour by this time (The Dead One - 1961; Hammer's Plague of the Zombies). But what sets Romero's film apart is that here the dead aren't brought back to life by voodoo but by radiation, therefore giving a modern, scientific explanation to it. And unlike previous zombies these ones devour human flesh. Both these factors were to prove pivotal in the sub-genre and 50 years on countless zombie films have been made (not always a good thing!). Horror critic/historian Kim Newman credits NOTLD as being the first modern horror film and indeed he has a good point, though in my opinion I would give that honour to Hitchcock's masterpiece Psycho. And gore by 1968 was nothing new (the films of HG Lewis, eg Blood Feast). This was filmed on a low budget and at times it shows. Some of the acting is a little wooden, including a few of the ghouls. But Romero manages to deliver a powerful film in which the tension steadily builds (it is quite heavy on dialogue at times) to it's shocking finale. I'm not including a spoiler but one death in particular is very brutal, especially for it's time. There are obviously political references here too, just as there are in say Dawn of the Dead. It's a movie that deserves to be viewed several times but be warned - there are many releases out there and they can vary greatly in quality. These include colourised versions, one of which I have just watched. OK, it shows up the gore but otherwise it's pretty pointless. This was filmed in black and white and that's how it's meant to be seen. If you consider yourself a horror/zombie fan but have not yet seen this then you really need to!

aaronlbacks Compared to most horror films these days, Night of the Living Dead is quite primeval. But that's not to say that it is bad - Primitive Technology on YouTube has shown me time and time again that early man was brilliant. And in a way it was refreshing to take a break from overdone gore and overacting. Well, overacting is still here. The plot is pretty simple by today's standards too. A couple of people, led by a Mr. Ben (Duane Jones) attempt to survive against a wave of zombies while trying hard not to attack each other first. And more than 90% of the movie takes place inside the same house which they barricade and raid for supplies. As far as the simple plot goes, I feel they do it justice, and it is supplemented by the interesting to watch power struggle between Ben and Mr. Cooper (Karl Hardman) and the racial undertones that the movie infers. But aside from the inherent fun this movie offers, about halfway through, the movie becomes a little repetitive. Even though new characters are introduced, the tone feels quite samey for the entire middle leg. It's not until the run where Tom (Keith Wayne), Judy (Judith Ridley), and Ben run out where things get moving again. Perhaps I am just accustomed to today's thrillers which keep up at a breakneck pace for the entire runtime, but it felt not too much was happening during that period. Overall, I think it a successful and worthy grandfather of modern horror.