George A. Romero & John A. Russo

Scene from Night of the Living Dead

The 1968 horror film Night of the Living Dead was directed by George A. Romero and co-written by Romero and John A. Russo. The two had recently founded (and funded with some friends) a small independent film production company called Image Ten. Their first full-length release, shot on a micro-budget ($114,000) and gruesome to the extreme for its time, Night of the Living Dead became a cult classic and predecessor to Dawn of the Dead (1978), and the less-than-successful Day of the Dead (1985). In Night, a group of citizens in rural Pennsylvania take refuge in a farmhouse and fight for their lives against a mob of flesh-hungry “undead.” Amid the gore and chaos, the original zombie apocalypse film is born. At first, Night was dismissed or railed against by critics—Variety magazine deemed it “an unrelieved orgy of sadism” and Roger Ebert was outraged that children were allowed to see it—but is now considered one of the best horror films and B movies of all time. Dave Kerr of Chicago Reader wrote in 2007: “Over its short, furious course, the picture violates so many strong taboos—cannibalism, incest, necrophilia—that it leaves audiences giddy and hysterical.” Others say that, whether Romero or Russo intended it or not, many viewers read the film as social commentary on life in America. For example, given the racial climate in 1968, the casting of a black actor as the lead (Duane Jones as Ben) was a notable choice. (See Matt Thompson’s editorial for NPR, “Why Black Heroes Make Zombie Stories More Interesting.”)

In the following section we look at one scene from Night of the Living Dead called “Safe House.” But you may want to look at other clips or view the entire film online at the Internet Archive.

For more context, see reviews at MoMA and the Internet Movie database.

GUIDED READING Annotations

What is the director, George A. Romero, doing?

How do I know this is a dramatic film?

From the Shooting Script of Night of the Living Dead

“Safe House” Scene