Director: George A. Romero
Cast: David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott Reiniger, Gaylen Ross
Have I Seen it Before: Somewhere in the deeper corners of my mind is a half-remembered lazy weekend afternoon in college where I watched it. I thought it was sort of fine, back then. This, of course was before The Walking Dead managed to beat out of me any possible enjoyment I could have for the zombie genre.
Did I Like It: But, against all odds, I liked it even better this time. Maybe I’m mellowing as Walking Dead no longer has its cultural ubiquity that it once did, and I can just sit back and enjoy such a story without having to roll my eyes at the army of people out there who fancy themselves Daryl Dixon.
First of all, the film is legitimately funny, while still maintaining the tension of the threat that surrounds them. The echo of the emptiness of contemporary American life in the 1970s—spoiler: it’s only gotten worse in the 2020s—permeates every moment of the film, even the ones you wouldn’t necessarily think about. This leaves one—and it might be cliché to even mention this—with a zombie story that is not only immensely entertaining, but with something to say.
Even if the message somehow got lost over time or by the medium, one still can’t help but marvel at the singular focus of Romero. Some filmmakers got stuck in a particular genre due to commercial constraints. Maybe this happened to Romero a little bit, but I also tend to think he kept making zombie films—and didn’t terribly stray terribly far from the zombie path when he did branch out—because he truly loved them and wanted to try and do new things with the form. This is the masterpiece of a true artist at work.
Just please don’t make me watch the Zack Snyder version. There’s only so much I can take.