Zombie=Romero
Ah the good old zombie flick, America's greatest treasure. Most of you by now have some sort of familiarity with George Romero's tale of the revolting undead called NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. You may have also seen such recent zombie fests like Resident Evil or 28 Days Later. But, as I've experienced many times before, none of you quite understand the real impact of NOTLD and how it affects the anti-deceased creature features of today.
Once, after a long bong water bubbling buddha bonanza, a friend and I hit the local Walmart before retreating home. The purpose of our pit stop was to aquire the newly released Resident Evil on this new CDesque technology known as DVD. We were more than prepared to enjoy this revamped movie version of our favorite video game, fully equipped with popcorn, orange soda, our movie watching trucker's caps, 6 blue gel tabs, a 5th of spiced rum, and of course one last bowl of Canadian hydro. But, we were missing just one thing, and to be frank it took us a long time to figure out we were missing it. So after 49 minutes of trying to get this DVD to play in the VCR, we headed back to Walmart to purchase a modern marvel of scientific ingenuity known as a DVD PLAYER. And so we began the movie.
After we were finished the flick, not to mention totally smashed, I turned to my friend and said "Next week should go get NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD". His reply was not only shocking, but surprising as well..."That movie sucks! Its in black and white. Zombie movies have come such a long way since then." By the way, my friend has never seen the movie and based his negative opinion entirely on the fact the movie's lack of color.
By now, not only had the acid turned most of the walls into an ocean of eggshell white ooze, but my friends face had completely melted off as well. And let me tell you, as much of an acid cliche as that is, I still love it everytime. Though my eyes were playing tricks on me (now that I think of it, if I took the acid, arent I in essence playing a trick on my eyes? we'll discuss that later) I still managed to look him in all 3 of his eyes and explain, in detail (which I will spare you most of), the importance of said film.
NOTLD has not only been copied and snaked by nearly every other zombie and "so-called" zombie movie out there, but Romero's formulas is rarely, at most, deviated from. NOTLD is not only the standard to which zombie movies are held, but it stands up as a well put together film in general. Though the budget was tight, and there is no major film star to be found...there is solid plot, good acting, and a great theme. It holds up even today. But dont you dare even think that the remake can stand up to the original! On the other hand, if you enjoy stale, predictable, bait and hook, cookie cutter, special FX reliant, slapped together "date" movies...dont even bother reading the rest of this story, much less attempt to watch the original.
The classic zombie movie, contrary to popular opinion, isn't really about zombies at all. It follows more of the traditional sci-fi pattern of putting ordinary people in extarordinary situations. That's right folks, zombie flicks aren't about zombies at all...they are about people. They are about the madness that ensues when people, with sometimes radically different motives, are placed together in a comprimising situation. In NOTLD, for example, the cast of characters vary widely in age, race, and intention who are trapped in one house completely isolated from civilization. We have 2 middle-aged parents and their daughter, who was attacked by a zombie (and we all know what happens when you get attacked by a zombie), a nearly catatonic women who watched her brother slain by the first awakened zombie, 2 naive teenagers, a stranger, and a few more wild cards to round out the cast. They are all totally different with the exception of one thing: they all want to get out alive. But survival isn't always a team sport.
The real tension in the movie doesnt build around the zombies, but our cast. Can they band together, despite their differences, to make it to daylight safely. The audience, at first, thinks that the impending zombie attack is the great antogonist of the film. The exact opposite is true. The real enemy here is human nature. Would the cast turn on eachother to ensure their individual survival? As the tesnion builds we begin to notice that what was once safety in numbers, has now mutated into a barage of selfishness, arguing, and lack of trust. The audience is forced to re-evaluate the situation. It is no longer whether or not our cast can survive the zombie revolt, but could they survive eachother.
In conclusion, if you watch any decent zombie movie since Romeros's original, you can see how much NOTLD's influence has rippled through horror and sci-fi flicks alike. The lesson to be learned here: Killing a zombie is easy, defying human nature is not.
Once, after a long bong water bubbling buddha bonanza, a friend and I hit the local Walmart before retreating home. The purpose of our pit stop was to aquire the newly released Resident Evil on this new CDesque technology known as DVD. We were more than prepared to enjoy this revamped movie version of our favorite video game, fully equipped with popcorn, orange soda, our movie watching trucker's caps, 6 blue gel tabs, a 5th of spiced rum, and of course one last bowl of Canadian hydro. But, we were missing just one thing, and to be frank it took us a long time to figure out we were missing it. So after 49 minutes of trying to get this DVD to play in the VCR, we headed back to Walmart to purchase a modern marvel of scientific ingenuity known as a DVD PLAYER. And so we began the movie.
After we were finished the flick, not to mention totally smashed, I turned to my friend and said "Next week should go get NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD". His reply was not only shocking, but surprising as well..."That movie sucks! Its in black and white. Zombie movies have come such a long way since then." By the way, my friend has never seen the movie and based his negative opinion entirely on the fact the movie's lack of color.
By now, not only had the acid turned most of the walls into an ocean of eggshell white ooze, but my friends face had completely melted off as well. And let me tell you, as much of an acid cliche as that is, I still love it everytime. Though my eyes were playing tricks on me (now that I think of it, if I took the acid, arent I in essence playing a trick on my eyes? we'll discuss that later) I still managed to look him in all 3 of his eyes and explain, in detail (which I will spare you most of), the importance of said film.
NOTLD has not only been copied and snaked by nearly every other zombie and "so-called" zombie movie out there, but Romero's formulas is rarely, at most, deviated from. NOTLD is not only the standard to which zombie movies are held, but it stands up as a well put together film in general. Though the budget was tight, and there is no major film star to be found...there is solid plot, good acting, and a great theme. It holds up even today. But dont you dare even think that the remake can stand up to the original! On the other hand, if you enjoy stale, predictable, bait and hook, cookie cutter, special FX reliant, slapped together "date" movies...dont even bother reading the rest of this story, much less attempt to watch the original.
The classic zombie movie, contrary to popular opinion, isn't really about zombies at all. It follows more of the traditional sci-fi pattern of putting ordinary people in extarordinary situations. That's right folks, zombie flicks aren't about zombies at all...they are about people. They are about the madness that ensues when people, with sometimes radically different motives, are placed together in a comprimising situation. In NOTLD, for example, the cast of characters vary widely in age, race, and intention who are trapped in one house completely isolated from civilization. We have 2 middle-aged parents and their daughter, who was attacked by a zombie (and we all know what happens when you get attacked by a zombie), a nearly catatonic women who watched her brother slain by the first awakened zombie, 2 naive teenagers, a stranger, and a few more wild cards to round out the cast. They are all totally different with the exception of one thing: they all want to get out alive. But survival isn't always a team sport.
The real tension in the movie doesnt build around the zombies, but our cast. Can they band together, despite their differences, to make it to daylight safely. The audience, at first, thinks that the impending zombie attack is the great antogonist of the film. The exact opposite is true. The real enemy here is human nature. Would the cast turn on eachother to ensure their individual survival? As the tesnion builds we begin to notice that what was once safety in numbers, has now mutated into a barage of selfishness, arguing, and lack of trust. The audience is forced to re-evaluate the situation. It is no longer whether or not our cast can survive the zombie revolt, but could they survive eachother.
In conclusion, if you watch any decent zombie movie since Romeros's original, you can see how much NOTLD's influence has rippled through horror and sci-fi flicks alike. The lesson to be learned here: Killing a zombie is easy, defying human nature is not.