Product: Night of the Living Dead (1990)
Rating: 5.0
One Of The Best Horror Movies Of The '90s!
On August 16 and 17, I went to my first horror convention, which was HorrorFind 2003 in Maryland. I came along for one reason: to meet Tom Savini, the greatest gore wizard in horror movie history. This guy is so cool; his effects look so real, even when watched behind the scenes. I brought along my DVDs of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD 90 (which he directed) and THE PROWLER (which he did a commentary for with Joseph Zito and features some of his greatest gore effects) for him to autograph. (My NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD 90 DVD was also signed by John A. Russo, Russ Streiner, Tony Todd and Bill Moseley.) It was so cool meeting Savini and telling him how awesome his effects are; I e-mailed Savini a few days ago to tell him about his effects on DAY OF THE DEAD.Before the convention, I saw NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD 90 twice; I watched it the second time listening to Savini's commentary. I must say, this remake is light years better than most remakes that are trotted out lately because it stays true to the original yet has its own unique twists. I totally loved what they did with Barbara (brilliantly played by Patricia Tallman); she went from a catatonic victim to a kick-ass, yet sympathetic, heroine. Tony Todd was excellent as Ben; it's easy to see why Savini went with Todd for this role, since Todd really put his heart into his performance. I also loved how they increased the dramatic tension in the story, especially the conflicts between Harry Cooper (Tom Towles), who now resembles Captain Rhodes from DAY OF THE DEAD, and everyone else. The zombies are also the highlight of the film, as they truly looked dead, which was the goal of the effects crew. In fact, Savini's direction is reminiscent of Dario Argento (whom he worked with on TWO EVIL EYES and TRAUMA), especially in the way the film manipulates the viewer with his/her knowledge of the original before hitting him/her with a new twist (e.g., the opening graveyard scene). And besides, George A. Romero and a few others involved with the original were involved with this remake, which is always a good sign.This DVD has great extras along with the aforementioned commentary, which is informative in detailing the production and various studio problems and scenes which Savini was never able to film. There's also a terrific documentary, "The Dead Walk," which has interviews with Savini, Russo, Streiner, Tallman, and special effects man John Vulich; this also includes deleted gore scenes among other details of the production, including how it came to be. It was really interesting to hear that Savini thinks that it's what you don't see that's scarier, like traditional horror fans, and I agree with that, and that he's proud of this movie despite the problems that were encountered. Me, I think that this remake has become a classic in its own right, especially when you consider AIDS was still on the rise then. Highly recommended!