Crowds of zombies approaching the farmhouse slowly, arms outstretched for their next meal
Harry and Helen Cooper's daughter, Karen, died and reanimated as a zombie and approaches her mother with murderous intent after consuming her father's corpse
Ben and Tom leave to attempt to refuel the truck outside the farmhouse while defending from groups of zombies with fire
Upon first entering the farmhouse, Barbara discovers the fleshless corpse of the previous owner at the top of the stairs to the upper level
The zombies shield themselves from the fires created by the farmhouse cast as defense against the undead ghouls
The title screen as Barbara and Johnny drive towards the graveyard in which the film starts
Karen Cooper reanimated as a zombie in the basement and consumes her father's fresh corpse as her mother watches in horror
The group of hunters arrive at the farmhouse in the morning and dispose of all the surrounding zombies, including Ben who was mistaken as a zombie and is within sight
Ben and Tom refuel the truck at the gas pump seen earlier in the film as zombies approach
More groups of zombies approach the farmhouse as night falls upon the land
The Night of the Living Dead, directed by George A. Romero and released in 1968, is a renowned film in the horror genre and is regarded as the godfather of the modern-day perception of zombies and established many tropes associated with the ghoul flicks.
The story begins with establishing shots of a car approaching a graveyard with mellow, uneasy music playing over the black-and-white footage. We are introduced to brother and sister, Johnny and Barbara, as they approach their late father's grave to pay their respects when they encounter a disheveled man. Johnny teases his sister, saying the man will get her; the encounter goes south as the pale man attacks Barbara and kills Johnny, who defended his sister until his head cracked against a grave in the scuffle. Barbara flees to a farmhouse in the distance and finds the mangled corpse of the previous owner inside. Our main hero, Ben, approaches from another room and helps defend the home from zombies as Barbara falls into a shock. After hearing several news reports from the radio alongside them on the escalating situation across the US, the creatures being mistaken for mindless assassins at first till later being discovered to be the deceased returning to life, another group of survivors leave the basement to join the struggle for survival. Of the new group, Mr. Cooper creates tension among the group against the leadership of Ben and butting heads with everyone else. The group argue for what to do in the face of the rising nightfall and the slow, but dreadful approach of the horde of undead ghouls, coming to wreak havoc and rend their flesh from bone.
As mentioned before, the film is a 60s indie project shot in black-and-white, a small budget, smaller cast, and big ideas lend to the film's aesthetic of dark, foreboding shadows and brief flashes of light. The black-and-white footage creates great contrast with the lighting projected on the cast to create stark shadows, heighten details within the viscera, and create the dark, hopeless atmosphere of the film. The stock music and various Dutch angle shots create a feeling of unease and instability to parallel the tension between the characters as they argue and fight and between the cast and the danger of the undead only barely kept at bay by thin walls and glass.
The film also, though unintentionally so as stated by the director in later interviews, offers thematic symbolism and parallels to the atmosphere of the late 60s following the Civil Rights Movement as Ben, played by black actor Duane Jones, butts heads with Mr. Cooper, played by white actor Karl Hardman. The image of a black man leading the group as the white Mr. Cooper fights against him is very strong imagery against conventions established in the greater landscape of the 60s. The ending scene also leaves the audience with a sense of nihilism as the end leaves no happy end for our main ensemble.
A rag-tag group of survivors take refuge within an abandoned farmhouse as they are surrounded and attacked by the reanimated, flesh-eating dead reanimated terrorizing the country.
Grim, hopeless, tense, decay, infection
Face decay? Similar Halloween intro with time lapse of rotting pumpkin?
Animated fire? Transition the image to red?
Eerie wind blowing the trees?
Dolly in to title with hands splatting blood as it zooms in?
Animated fire?
Burning film across till all black maybe?
Sun moving across sky to move shadows till darkness?
