Product: Night of the Living Dead (1990)
Rating: 4.0
"There IS a fate worse than death!"
The 1990 remake of the mother of all modern zombie movies, George Romero's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, was scripted by Romero himself, but it was directed by Romero's long-time FX man Tom Savini (his directorial debut). Unlike the original, this one's in color and widescreen (aspect ratio of 1.85:1), but other than a few noticeable cosmetic changes that bring the story in line with the sociopolitical climate of the 1990s, the plot remains basically intact.For the un-indoctrinated, the plot follows a group of disparate people who are forced to hole up together in a dilapidated old farmhouse in order to barricade themselves against an onslaught of human corpses that have inexplicably become animate and are hungry for living flesh. On the surface, it is a clever and frightening horror story, but underneath it is also an interesting study of how various personality types cope in the face of a deadly crisis.For the most part, Savini's version is nearly as good as the original. The politically correct alterations have no real effect on the essence of the story, so all of the major elements that made the Romero-directed 1968 version memorable are still there. And since Savini is himself an FX and make-up man, the FX and gore are more graphic and more realistic than before. ( By today's standards, the gore is tame--according to Savini, a lot of the really graphic stuff had to be cut to get an "R" rating from the MPAA--but the FX are still pretty cool.) The acting in the newer flick is also top notch. Actor Tony Todd--genre fans will recognize him from his later film performance as the titular nightmare in 1992's CANDYMAN and its sequels--does an outstanding job filling the shoes of Duane Jones in the role of Ben, and cute redhead Patricia Tallman, who not only acts but is also a professional stuntwoman, delivers a forceful and convincing performance as the new feminist Barbara.In some ways, however, the original still seems scarier. Filmed in black-and-white, Romero's 1968 is visually softer and grainier--even in the re-mastered versions now available on DVD--creating an almost gothic ambiance that just isn't equaled by Savini's crisp and colorful version. Also, the house in which Romero filmed seems older, less lived-in, and more claustrophobic and miasmic. This sort of "haunted-house" environment creates an uneasiness in the viewer that, in turn, makes everything in the film seem more threatening and more dangerous.Still, Savini's version of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD is a great horror film in its own right. It's unlikely that it will achieve the "classic" or "cult" status that the 1968 version claims, but fans of the genre are certain to find something they like here.The DVD from Columbia-Tristar is well worth the cost of admission. It offers a fairly clean, crisp transfer of the film in anamorphic widescreen at its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. (For those who care, there is also a full-screen pan-and-scan version on the other side of the disk.) The disc also includes some cool extras, including a featurette on the history and making of the film, as well as a feature commentary from director Savini. The remake of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD is a must-have for fans of Romero and his zombie legacy, and most horror fans will enjoy having this in their collections.