Night of the Living Dead is a 1968 American independent horror film written, directed, photographed and edited by George A. Romero, co-written by John Russo, and starring Duane Jones and Judith O’Dea. The story follows seven people who are trapped in a rural farmhouse in western Pennsylvania, which is under assault by an enlarging group of cannibalistic, undead ghouls.
Having gained experience through directing television commercials and industrial films for their Pittsburgh-based production company The Latent Image, Romero and his friends Russo and Russell Streiner decided to fulfill their ambitions to make a feature film. Electing to make a horror film that would capitalize on contemporary commercial interest in the genre, they formed a partnership with Karl Hardman and Marilyn Eastman of Hardman Associates called Image Ten. After evolving through multiple drafts, Russo and Romero’s final script primarily drew influence from Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel I Am Legend. Principal photography took place between June and December 1967, primarily on location in Evans City; aside from the Image Ten team themselves, the cast and crew consisted of their friends and relatives, local stage and amateur actors, and residents from the area. Although the film was his directorial debut, Romero utilized many of the guerrilla filmmaking techniques he had honed in his commercial and industrial work to complete the film on a budget of US$114,000.
Siblings Barbra and Johnny drive to a cemetery in rural Pennsylvania to visit their father’s grave. Their car radio goes off the air due to technical difficulties. As they are leaving, a strange, ashen-faced man wearing a tattered suit kills Johnny and attacks Barbra. She flees and takes shelter in a farmhouse, but finds the woman who lived there dead and half-eaten. She sees a multiplying number of strange ghouls, led by the man from the cemetery, approaching the house. A man named Ben arrives, secures the farmhouse by boarding the windows and doors, and drives away the ghouls with a lever-action rifle he finds in the closet and with fire, which he previously discovered the ghouls fear.
Runtime: 96 min
Release Date: 4th October 1968
Genres: Horror
Director: George A. Romero
Actors: Duane Jones – Judith O’Dea – Karl Hardman
Watch this movie now at Classic Films a streaming service devoted exclusively to essential classics. Stream hours and hours of content, with new classic films added weekly. Our team handpick every title, including uncut classics. You can stream Classic Films through our website via computer or laptop, Tablets, and Android mobile devices. To get access to all of Classic Films offerings, Sign Up Now. Monthly Subscription Plans starts at €2.99