Night of the Living Dead

Released Oct 1, 1968

1h 36m

Horror

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95%

Tomatometer

84 Reviews

87%

Audience Score

100,000+ Ratings

A disparate group of individuals takes refuge in an abandoned house when corpses begin to leave the graveyard in search of fresh human bodies to devour. The pragmatic Ben (Duane Jones) 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.

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Critics Consensus

George A. Romero's debut set the template for the zombie film, and features tight editing, realistic gore, and a sly political undercurrent.

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Wendy Ide

Times (UK)

... A must-see for film fans.

Sep 16, 2022

Full Review

Kevin Thomas

Los Angeles Times

Night of the Living Dead is taut and uncompromising, ending on a note of bitter irony. Performances are adequate and often better, especially in the case of Jones, who clearly has what it takes to go on to bigger things.

Sep 8, 2021

Full Review

Elliott Stein

Sight & Sound

Romero was offered a budget for colour; he preferred shooting in black and white; the result is a flat murky ambience which is perfect for the ramshackle American Gothic landscape where the events occur.

Sep 8, 2021

Full Review

Serge Daney

Cahiers du Cinéma

Clumsily shot, awkwardly acted and as for being scary, completely ineffective.

Oct 4, 2023

Full Review

Sarah Vincent

Cambridge Day

Romero’s distrust of authority is reflected in the ending, with cops brandishing guns and German shepherds on taut leashes carrying out extrajudicial executions conjuring the imagery of then contemporaneous civil rights marches under siege by the police.

Aug 16, 2023

Full Review

Brian Susbielles

InSession Film

Made for almost nothing, the timing of the release certainly helped its release as it seemed to be an allegory for what was happening in America at the time...

Feb 14, 2023

Full Review

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Matt R

The living dead are haunting and the realism and conflict ring true. Not only is it a great independent film and low budget horror movie, it is also a reflection of human nature in ways that keep you thinking about it. NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD has become more than anyone ever thought it would including those who made it.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/19/24

Full Review

danwhiffinmusic

Classic horror movie, great fun!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/11/24

Full Review

James B

Never been a fan of zombies but after this I'm serious considering watching more.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/03/24

Full Review

Motley Q

Tho I'm not quite a fan of zombie movies, this film is superb in building tension and probably set the formula for modern zombie movies.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/28/24

Full Review

Blu B

All Time Classic. The only issue is while the acting is really good overall there are some characters awho are better than others. Barbra is very annoying at times and you just wish she'd contribute at certain points despite understanding her trauma. Ben is excellent and the best thing in this. There really isn't any throwaway characters in this also and everyone serves a purpose overall. They also never really divide them up and are always together so it's never jumpy. They always make logical decisions and aren't idiots. I love how the background plot expose is delivered over the radio and TV while we watch the characters go about each scene as it's a clever way to deal out background expose. It also never feels dated or cliche with how they treat the dead rising and never call them zombies which I guess wasn't a term yet despite this basically inventing the genre. Everything else is masterful about it. The cinematography is exceptional with amazing camerawork and it's very moody. It's got a low budget almost found footage look to it as well that really helps also. The gore looks amazing as well. Everyone should give this a shot once.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/03/24

Full Review

David H

One of the scariest movies I ever saw 50 years ago.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/02/24

Full Review

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George A. Romero

Director

Duane Jones

Ben

Judith O'Dea

Barbra

Karl Hardman

Harry

Keith Wayne

Tom

Judith Ridley

Judy

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Night of the Living Dead 50th Anniversary: Fathom Events Trailer

0:29

Night of the Living Dead: Trailer 1

1:07

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Synopsis

A disparate group of individuals takes refuge in an abandoned house when corpses begin to leave the graveyard in search of fresh human bodies to devour. The pragmatic Ben (Duane Jones) 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.

Director: George A. Romero
Screenwriter: George A. Romero, John A. Russo
Distributor: Elite Entertainment Inc., Reel Media International [us], United Video, Vestron Video, BijouFlix Releasing, Republic Pictures, UAV Entertainment, Master Movies, Continental Distributing Inc., Anchor Bay Entertainment, Navarre Entertainment, Something Weird Video, Image Entertainment Inc., Sinister Cinema
Production Co: Off Color Films, Image Ten, Market Square Productions, Laurel
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 1, 1968, Limited
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Oct 13, 2017
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 1, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $68.7K
Runtime: 1h 36m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Academy (1.33:1)

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