Night of the Living Dead

Night of the Living Dead (1968) created the modern zombie film, and its copyright was lost through an error. A woman goes to a cemetery with her brother and is attacked there. She takes shelter in a nearby farmhouse. Others arrive and the crowd outside grows through the night. Those inside cannot agree what to do: go down to the cellar or stay upstairs. The real subject is not what is outside but what is inside. People die not because of the threat but because they cannot tolerate each other. The lead is a Black actor, which was unusual in 1968. Romero said the part was not written for race and that Duane Jones simply gave the best audition. Even so, the ending cannot be read any other way given what was happening in the country that year. The copyright story decided the film's fate. It was first called Night of the Flesh Eaters and those prints carried a copyright notice. The distributor changed the title to Night of the Living Dead so it would not be confused with another film from 1964, and when the titles were reprinted the copyright notice was not carried over. Under the law of the time, a work published without that notice had no protection. The moment it went into cinemas in October 1968 it became public domain. The consequence: it was screened everywhere for nothing, television filled empty hours with it, and its recognition exploded. Romero said repeatedly that the mistake cost him a great deal of money. The budget was very low and shooting in black and white was a matter of money too. It runs 96 minutes. Good for: horror classics, independent cinema, and genre history. Less good for: the effects are primitive, the acting is uneven, and the ending is merciless.