The Viewer's Commentary

It’s October! And that, of course, means it’s time for scary movies! So why not start the month off right by watching the low-budget zombie movie that set the standard, Night of the Living Dead?

Though the female characters are mostly quite useless — with one hysterical character causing catastrophe and the catatonic Barbra in particular being nothing more than a ragdoll at times, the film was particularly progressive for casting Duane Jones, a black man, as the lead character and hero, an uncommon and potentially controversial decision in 1968. Though Romero claims that Jones simply gave the best audition, the film gains a subtle racial subtext, starting a trend for later entries in the series to tackle other social matters.

The film also predates the MPAA rating system we’re all familiar with today, so the amount of gore at the time was a cause for concern, with nobody, including children, being excluded from buying tickets. It’s rather tame by today’s standards for a horror film, and perhaps a bit cheesy, too, but the film stands out as a moody, B-movie classic.

Thanks to the distributor failing to abide by the copyright laws of 1968, this cult classic is in the public domain and is free to watch and edit as you see fit! Below is the video embed of the original version in HD. Turn down the lights, turn up the volume, and enjoy.