Is The Night of the Living Dead the BEST horror film ever made or what?

[AmyStrange]

Last edited Mon Dec 21, 2020, 04:20 PM - Edit history (1)

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A character in my book thinks so, but I'm sure many people think otherwise, myself included.

In my opinion, there are two kinds of horror films, REAL and NOT REAL.

Of course, some horror movies are called thrillers or a science fiction fantasy or a lot of other things, but I think anything disturbingly sick is a horror movie.

Anyway, I also think Slasher movies are of the REAL variety.

I mean, sure they don't happen every day, but remember that both Psycho and the Chainsaw Massacre were partly based on a real-life serial killer, Edward Gein.

If you stick with science, aliens, Godzilla, giant ants, ghosts, and zombies are NOT REAL, but who knows, maybe someday they might become REAL.

And this brings us back to the movie that was the father of all zombie movies, Night of the Living Dead.

It might not be the scariest horror movie ever made, but there's something fundamentally scary about dead people eating you.

I don't know how true that is really, but here's what happened to me the first time I saw it.

In 1974, I was stationed at Kessler AFB in Biloxi, Mississippi, and after I attended a midnight showing of same, I decided to walk home from downtown Biloxi. It really wasn't that far and not really that scary until I took a shortcut through a cemetary, that even though I looked for it a few months later (in bright sunshine), I was never able to find it again.

That shortcut was so scary that I'll never forgot it and even included it in my third book as happening to my main character:

“I could’ve called a taxi, but I didn’t feel like waiting, and besides, it was only a ten-minute walk.

“That’s what I thought, but it felt like hours, and not only was it two in the morning, but that movie was still playing in my head too. I jumped at every single little freakin’ sound and all the shadows looked like zombies. Halfway through it, a small fog started rolling in, and that’s when I saw this guy running towards me. I don’t know what would’ve happened next, because all I remember was running too, except away from him."

In conclusion, there's a reason why zombie movies, TV series, and books are popular. It's because they're scary as hell, especially the ones where they can move fast, even if you won't admit it, but what do you think?

Are zombie movies scary or what?

Do you also have a Night of the Living Dead story?
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[sandensea]

1. Return of the Living Dead was better

Or at least, more entertaining.

But when it comes to zombie-themed films, I prefer the late, great Lucio Fulci's.

Yes, they're dated and preposterous (like all zombie flicks, really) - but they have that je ne sais qoui.

Lucio Fulci favorite Katherine "Catriona" MacColl in The Beyond: So bad it's good?

[AmyStrange]

3. Is that the color remake?

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I can't remember the name, but the woman kicked some real ass in that one.

ALL zombie movies are preposterous, until you meet a real one.
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[exboyfil]

7. Not nearly as horrifying

I did enjoy the retelling, but it is nowhere near as good as the original Night.

[AmyStrange]

16. You're right, but that woman kicking some serious ass was worth the watch.

[sandensea]

22. That's right. It's Dan O'Bannon's 1985 remake.

Very gory - like Romero's 1978 Dawn of the Dead - but more action-packed. Very '80s.

Incidentally, it's the source for the meme about zombies eating (say it in zombie voice) ...brains!

They later made a II, III, and IV - each gorier than the last (II was the lousiest). But the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead was excellent.

[AmyStrange]

25. braaaaaaains...

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Remember the truck blowing up scene in the original B&W version?

They were eating a lot more than brains in that one.

ETA: And they were also eating dead people. Nobody could've survived that explosion... or maybe they did... never mind. I'll pretend they were already dead, thank you very much.
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[exboyfil]

27. The sludge zombie is epic

Also got to love ordering more cops.

[AmyStrange]

28. Sludge zombie?!

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never mind, I don't want to know.
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[exboyfil]

29. You started it - you can't get away that easily

He is the zombie that comes out of the barrel. Fondly referred to as the sludge zombie in genre commentary (or Tarman).

[AmyStrange]

30. Bastard...

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I asked you not to tell me, but yeah, now I remember them.

I was gonna have me some chocolate cake too, but now, forget it.

Thanks a lot.
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[sandensea]

32. Makes you want to go vegetarian, doesn't it?

They're hard to watch sometimes - although fans often find them hilarious (I suppose some are).

And don't forget the Italians!

Dario Argento (Inferno); Marino Girolami (Zombie Holocaust); Umberto Lenzi (Nightmare City); and of course Lucio Fulci (the 'Gates of Hell' trilogy) - among others.

Honorable mention should be made to some of the cannibal-genre directors as well: Antonio Margheriti (Apocalypse Domani); Ruggero Deodato (Cannibal Holocaust), etc.

Oldies but goodies. Very disgustosi.

The living dead invade Manhattan in Lucio Fulci's Zombi - the first of a brief but memorable boom in zombie/cannibal movies from Italy in the 1979-81 period.

[AmyStrange]

34. Actually, it makes me want to eat vegetarians...

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My Mom always told me to eat healthy.

Ok, now I'm gonna have to find some Fulci, but first I'm gonna have to watch Shaun of the Dead, just to remind myself that this not real.
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[sandensea]

36. You'd almost think it was Halloween, the way we're carrying on.

Then again, it is Winter Solstice tonight - said by some to be the scariest night of the year.

The late, great Peter Cushing tries to stop his old nemesis Dracula from carrying out a human sacrifice (and the release of a plague) in 1973's The Satanic Rites of Dracula - the last in which Cushing and Lee reprised their van Helsing/Dracula roles.

The purported date? Winter Solstice.

[AmyStrange]

37. It's always Halloween at my house...

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especially when the Crypt Kickers stop by for a jam session.

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[sandensea]

38. Well, Happy Hallo-solstice Amy!

And a Merry Cryptmas.

[AmyStrange]

39. and a ghoul Holiday Season to you too

[apcalc]

2. You picked a good choice.

Night of the Living Dead is a good choice and one of my top horror movies. Yup, those zombies scared me.
The other movie I remember as scary was “The Mummy” with Boris Karloff. Those eyes of his!

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRF_MmmvNCEQJQHK7ooenzSOb71_AYGLqlmmGrB_3WCZA&s

Slasher movies , for me are not scary, but sick and disgusting.

[AmyStrange]

6. Definitely sick and disgusting...

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Yes, Boris Karloff could get scary as hell, but in real life people said he was like an old uncle who stopped by for some tea.

When I was a kid, the original The Fly scared the crap of me for months. I couldn't get into a phone booth for years because of it.

the phone thing was a lie, but it sounds good, right?
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[exboyfil]

10. The actor with the webbing on his head

sure looked a lot like Mike Pence. It was a funny meme around the debate.

Yes that was one of the more horrifying 1950s movies. The remake knocked it out of the park as well.

The Mummy may have been the scariest of the original Universal monsters. There is a later version, it might be Hammer, in which the mummy is carrying the princess off into the swamp as she is shown aging. I remember it as a kid, but I haven't be able to find it anymore. You combine that ending with the with original Mummy, then you would have something.

[AmyStrange]

17. Mike Pence ha ha ha...

Last edited Mon Dec 21, 2020, 01:07 AM - Edit history (1)

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I remember watching that Mummy movie with the aging princess too.

It was the sixties, and I watched it at an uncle's house. He had it set it up on a projector.

I never thought to ask him where he got it (you know, children should be seen but not heard), but he followed that up with Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.

Let me tell you, that movie's suppose to be a comedy, but some of it scared me anyway.
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[exboyfil]

19. Should have checked the internet

The Mummy's Ghost - truly a horrifying ending. The rest of the movie doesn't have the gravitas of the original 1932 movie. There is only one Boris Karloff.

59:18 for the best image.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mummy%27s_Ghost

I came across the princess resurrection scene in the sequel. It is quite good as the film commenter notes.

[AmyStrange]

24. Yup

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Boris Karloff didn't just act out his parts. He embodied them.
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[doc03]

4. I would vote for the 1950s Invasion of the Body Snatchers and the 1950s War of the

Worlds I was just a kid then they scared me the most.

[AmyStrange]

9. I know what you mean...

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The Fly did it for me.

I didn't see the Body Snatchers until I was older, and by then, I'd seen a million (exaggerating) horror movies and didn't get as scared, but it did make me think a little.

War of the Worlds didn't scare me, because at that age, I believed the government when they said UFOs and aliens were fake.

What can I say, I was a stupid shit.
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[doc03]

11. Sometimes I think the Trumpsters could be pod

people. I liked the later version with Donald Sutherland too. Didn't care much for the last War of the Worlds I am no fan of Tom Cruise.

[AmyStrange]

18. Umm... didn't you get the memo?

Last edited Mon Dec 21, 2020, 01:04 AM - Edit history (1)

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they are!

Just look at their eyes. It's a dead give away... literally.
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[exboyfil]

12. The 1970s Invasion is also a great horror movie

Goes in a bit of a different direction. Was smart enough to bring the star back from the first movie (Kevin McCarthy) to cameo at the beginning and set the tone. Don't try to get story continuity though - it really doesn't work. It is still freaking awesome.

Donald Sutherland pretty much cooks every role is in, and he does a great job. The rest of the cast is great - Nimoy, Barbara Cartwright, and a young Jeff Goldblum.

I consider War of the Worlds to be more of a science fiction story. Certainly does a great job with the horror element, and it was one of my favorites as a kid.

[exboyfil]

5. It is definitely a candidate

I also saw it for the first time on the Mississippi Gulf coast on television around 1979 when I was 15-16. I was by myself when I watched, and I honestly thought I saw something in the corner of my eye after seeing it - it freaked me out.

It wasn't like I hadn't been exposed to horror films in the past. I had seen Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Carrie in the theater among many others. There is something about the grittiness and documentary nature of Night that gets to you (the start of Texas Chainsaw Massacre is also like that).

The ending is horrible and brutal - so unjust which adds to its impact.

Think about the budget and what they accomplished with little money. George Romero is a freaking genius - maybe the best ever (even though Carpenter and Craven have to be mentioned in that conversation). He and his creative team established one of the bedrock horror subgenres - really the most recent to be established along with vampires, werewolves, Frankenstein creations, ghost stories, and horrifying aliens. Carpenter's Halloween and the modern slasher is another contender for modern genre creation. I guess Blatty/Friedkin's Exorcist, a modern possession story, is another contender (and one of the few horror movies my parents did not let me see as a child). Rosemary's Baby is also one of the finest horror movies ever made as well with evil reigning triumphant.

[AmyStrange]

13. Everything you say is spot on...

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I never watched Rosemary's Baby, because it always put me to sleep.

Some people have told me that you never really see anything, but you know something bad is gonna happen. Is that true?

I could write a whole lot more, but I will end with the same sentiment (as you) that George Romero definitely was a freakin' Genius.
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[exboyfil]

14. It is my daughter's favorite horror movie

Every person is different in what they like, but the horror of the patriarchy is definitely in evidence. You have to ask yourself - was the 1960s like that (where a husband had extraordinary rights when it came to the healthcare of his wife)? I have no reference, but it is horrifying to me. My daughter is a nurse so I wonder if that colors her opinion except she did see it while she was still in high school.

I may have given away a bit too much in my original write up. If you do have a couple of hours to spare and like horror movies, I suggest you give it a try. It is on Showtime and Crackle right now. I don't know if Crackle has commercials. I sure wouldn't watch it with commercials breaking into the story.

[AmyStrange]

23. I might, but don't hold your breath.

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[left-of-center2012]

8. I don't like zombie movies

The horror movies I like are more real life type.
Something that could possibly really happen and goes terribly wrong.

[AmyStrange]

15. Are you talking about real-life horror movies?

Last edited Mon Dec 21, 2020, 12:29 AM - Edit history (3)

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Like Wolf Creek?

That's supposed to be based on Ivan Milat, and I never knew that until after I saw it. and because of that, I'll NEVER be able to watch it again.

I will never forget that part where he sticks the knife in this girl's back and twist it so it cuts her spine and she can never walk again.

(heads on a stick)

I can research those sick mother-fuckers, and even put them in my books, but I can't watch them in a movie like it's real life.
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[left-of-center2012]

41. Wolf Creek

Never heard of it.

[AmyStrange]

43. Good...

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It's probably for the best, trust me.
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[happybird]

20. I saw it as a teenager in the 90's and thought it was funny

The chewing noises freaked me out, though. Maybe by that point I had been desensitized by the constant onslaught of Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, and dozens of other scary movies in the 80’s and 90’s? We watched a lot of horror flicks on VHS back then, and I was an avid horror reader.

Regular zombies don’t scare me much, but I‘d hate to come across a fast one.

My story is actually my mother’s, which she has told me many times over the years.
She and my dad grew up in small towns in western PA. Mom and my aunt (Dad’s younger sister) went to see NotLD at the drive in. They borrowed Dad’s car, a convertible, for their big night out. Many of the town names shown on the screen in the “news bulletins” were local to them and that totally freaked them out. Since it was rural western PA, the ride home was long and through heavily wooded areas. They didn’t know how to get the roof put back up on the car, so they drove home with the top down, terrified and shrieking the whole way.

[AmyStrange]

21. Oh my God!

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That one almost makes my story sound like a walk in the park.
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[happybird]

31. The drive in was in or near the "metropolis" of Johnstown, so

they had about a 40 minute ride back home. Mom was 18 at the time and Aunt Jeanette was 16, maybe even 15. Jeanette hates scary movies, won’t watch them. Mom refused to watch The Walking Dead, even though she’s a big horror fan (which is where I got the love from). I think those zombies were more than enough for them, for life.

[exboyfil]

26. Kind of got the Orson Welles

War of the Worlds vibe.

A cool story. Thanks.

[Bayard]

33. I love zombies!

The old ones, the new ones. Big fan of The Walking Dead series. The two Zombieland movies are a hoot, and Shaun of the Dead. One of the scariest I've seen is the movie, "I Am Legend", with Will Smith. The zombies are crazy fast, and they're smart. And they have zombie dogs.

Don't care for hack and slash movies. But the only thing I love more than zombies, is ALIENS. I'll even watch very bad alien movies!

[AmyStrange]

35. Name one bad alien movie...

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and Planet Nine from Outer Space don't count.

Actually, I like that one, just because IT IS so bad.

I am Legend is an awesome movie. The like the good/bad ending.
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[Bayard]

40. The worst ever

Killer Klowns from Outer Space. It really needs an MST3000 treatment.

[AmyStrange]

42. Touche, but...

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I do LOVE the title.

Personally, I didn't think it was the "WORST EVER" ("Killer Tomatoes" comes to mind), but I do agree that an MST3000 treatment would be awesome.
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