Product: Night of the Living Dead (1990)
Rating: 5.0
What a remake!
As anyone would knows anything about horror movies Night of The Living Dead is the defining zombie movie from the 1960's. Who would want to remake such a remarkable and defining movie? Well, like any movie studios who want to make money they think that something that was a success in the past will be a success now. Oh, how untrue that statement usually is. However, this remake is the acception to the rule of remakes.We begin our journey through the landscape of a magestic countryside were two people are driving to an unknown destination to meet their mother. Continueing in we find out that their mother has died and they are going to a cemetary to pay respect to her, only to find two men, unbeknown to them, are the walking dead. These walking dead end up killing the brother while the sister, Barbara, escapes only to find herself alone at a seemingly abandoned farm house. Moments later a truck dashes up the driveway and a man (tony todd) gets out hoping to find gas to fill his nearly empty gas tank, only there is no key to locked gas pump. They both take refuge inside the house for the time being while the choas outside continues to mount.Hours later 5 people come up from the basement to investigate what is happening only to find the 2 who already are there. All must take refuge in the house to keep alive. Choas and fear arise outside. As time goes by, one by one, characters die, other characters grow as human beings, and few survive.This remake was very close to the original story done by George A Romero's '68 original. However, there were some minor and one major difference in this version which I think added to the overall horror of the entire movie. Here we don't find an explaination why the dead are rising and killing, whereas, in the original we find out what exactly caused the dead to rise. The major change to the movie was the actual survival and personal growth of one of the main characters, Barbara. In likeness of such characters as Ellen Ripley and Sarah Conner we find Barbara in the beginning of the story as a sweet innocent character who seemingly couldn't hurt a fly. But by mid movie we find a character who obviously has completely lost it and is having to rebuild her own pysche from the ground up. Finally, growing into a different person completely; who is resourceful, strong, and able bodied. A far cry from the original Barbra who in the end dies.Both Tony Todd and Patricia Tallman push the movie foward with their acting and ability to make the characters they play their own. Although, the acting from the other main characters are at times shaky they do a solid job with their characters and doesn't detrack from the movie at all. The make-up and stunts of the movie are top notch. The overall atmosphere of the movie portrays a very real sense of dread and fear. A great remake!