NOTLD Revisited

[Gemini]

Just watched this again for the first time in a few years. Some notes: Johnny appeared the victim of a broken neck or spinal injury the way he fell on the tombstone (not head trauma) so I don't think there's break of continuity there. This goes to the other thread, but my favorite quote of all Dead movies, also used so perfectly in a certain White Zombie track: "It has been established that persons who have recently died have been returning to life and committing acts of murder. Widespread investigation of reports from funeral homes, hospitals and morgues has concluded that the unburied dead are returning to life and are seeking human victims....it's hard for us here to believe what we're reporting to you but it does seem to be a fact." It's clearly established that the unburied dead rise within minutes (established by radio/tv news and scenes in the movie). This should settle some uncertainty I've read in other threads. Another great quote, once people are deceased they should be drenched in gasoline and burned immediately because "they're just dead flesh, and dangerous" The Venus probe and subsequent radiation fallout is definitively shown as the reason for the plague. It is only the omission of this theory in subsequent Dead films that make the cause cloudy. I realized again what I love about these films - the deadly seriousness and apocalyptic fashion Romero treats the genre he created. People think Land with the butcher zombie using a hatchet is a joke, but Night had more instances of zombies using tools than any of the other films. The rock to take out the car window, rocks to take out the truck's headlights, and most dramatically, the garden spade used to kill, etc. I've said it before and I'll say it again - Land is worthy. The only weakness, perhaps only seen after several decades of hindsight, is how easily the ghouls are destroyed. The end shows a crack team of sherifs combing through rural areas rather effortlessly. Maybe the manic sprinting zombies of Dawn 04 was a necessary progression to preserve the menace? In the end this is the best Dead movie, for its simplicity, continuity, and the basic fact that it invented the genre. This is the canon. This is the Dead holy grail. If for no other reason than it's the first. Thoughts?

[SRP76]

Yay for Night of the Living Dead! I will always like it because it doesn't try to be slick. Here's zombies, here's people who are screwed, and this is what happens. That's all you need. Prime rib and a baked potato is always more satisfying than some platter of 50-colored "gourmet" bullshit that tastes like ass. Simple is better. Just give us what we want, not what you think we'll accept. All the modern movies try to force-feed us a bunch of unnecessary crap, so they fail.

[Publius]

People think Land with the butcher zombie using a hatchet is a joke, but Night had more instances of zombies using tools than any of the other films. The rock to take out the car window, rocks to take out the truck's headlights, and most dramatically, the garden spade used to kill, etc. I've said it before and I'll say it again - Land is worthy. Just saw Land for the first time. True, Night does have more tool use than we normally like to think zombies are capable of. But IMHO Land goes far beyond that. If it was just the butcher zombie that'd be one thing. But Big Daddy using a gun, and teaching other zombies how to use guns? That goes way beyond anything in Night, I think.

[Yojimbo]

Just saw Land for the first time. True, Night does have more tool use than we normally like to think zombies are capable of. But IMHO Land goes far beyond that. If it was just the butcher zombie that'd be one thing. But Big Daddy using a gun, and teaching other zombies how to use guns? That goes way beyond anything in Night, I think. Agreed. None of the ghouls in Night displayed the range of bad acting on screen display of emotions of Big Daddy either, use of tools notwithstanding.

[Precinct13]

The Venus probe and subsequent radiation fallout is definitively shown as the reason for the plague. It is only the omission of this theory in subsequent Dead films that make the cause cloudy. Always thought it to be speculation. Sure, it could have been the venus probe that caused the dead walking all over the country in Night, but another thing: It's the only possible cause that is even hinted at in the movie. The dead start rising, munching their way to bliss on human flesh, panic abounds, and naturally people are pretty eager to know what the hell could have possibly caused this. The venus probe seems more like the most likely cause people (media, politicians, etc.) could or wanted to communicate at the time of Night rather than the definite cause. Night is one of my favourite movies ever, had it on tape from a telly showing, and I only recently bought it on DVD. Wish the money went to the right people, copyright issues and all. First time I caught it was somewhere around the mid-90s, and unlike many more effects-laden movies, Night has aged remarkably well. Technically it was rather outdated at the time of its release, I reckon, but the stock music, the black and white images and the perfect pacing make this seem like the movie Hitchcock would have shot had he opted to make "The Ghoulies" instead of "The Birds". It's a pretty timeless movie, as it was never really that much a product of its time, technically at the very least. I'll go as far as to admit that I wasn't that impressed with Dawn at first. Watched this after Night, and whilst Dawn was the younger of the two, it was Dawn that started to show its age. The make-up effects that were sufficient in an era in which space monsters looked like men in rubber suits rather than Giger's Alien were never that convincing to me. And let's not forget that Dawn is a totally different movie than Night. Romero himself admits that Night is probably the only "scary movie" he has ever made, and none of the dead movies are as straight-forward, terrifying and ruthless as "Night Of The Living Dead" - despite the lack of gore effects that have long become a stapledom of zombie movies and their fan hordes alike. It's not that Night doesn't have any gore, but when it's there, it's a punch in your face rather than yet another gore fest to tease the crowd with. I'd put it in a line with the very best of American B-movie thrillers, movies like "Assault On Precinct 13" and "The Terminator", movies that thrived within their budget constraints, movies that once they start never let go as they were never allowed to waste a single shot in the first place.

[Gemini]

Just saw Land for the first time. True, Night does have more tool use than we normally like to think zombies are capable of. But IMHO Land goes far beyond that. If it was just the butcher zombie that'd be one thing. But Big Daddy using a gun, and teaching other zombies how to use guns? That goes way beyond anything in Night, I think. Bub tracked down and executed Rhodes with a pistol in Day. I think people are averse to the intelligent zombies in Land because of Big Daddy's acting/scripting.

[bassman]

The Venus Probe was just a theory. Not a distinctive cause.

[Mr.G]

I think people are averse to the intelligent zombies in Land because of Big Daddy's acting/scripting. 100% agree. It was the actor/script and not what the zombie did.

[Gemini]

Re: The Venus Probe, I think it was more than just speculation. There was actual recorded proof, as reported in one of the newscasts NASA scientists detected the alien radiation and noted "even as the radiation levels continue to rise.." Totally agree regarding Night's timelessness and its low budget contributing to it being such a tight, concise film. And although they used tools, there was not a trace of humanity in the walking dead.

[krakenslayer]

Johnny appeared the victim of a broken neck or spinal injury the way he fell on the tombstone (not head trauma) so I don't think there's break of continuity there. There's still a slight issue with that: the spinal cord carries all commands from the brain to the body, break that and you cut off all communications from the brain to all body parts below the break. Essentially, this would have the same effect as decapitating the zombie - the head might continue to function, but the body is on its own.

[Publius]

Bub tracked down and executed Rhodes with a pistol in Day. True, I was just comparing Land to Night, since the standard set in Night was the topic of this thread. Like you say, in Night there was no trace of humanity. There's still a slight issue with that: the spinal cord carries all commands from the brain to the body, break that and you cut off all communications from the brain to all body parts below the break. Essentially, this would have the same effect as decapitating the zombie - the head might continue to function, but the body is on its own. From watching Land, I learned that the spinal cord is actually really tough, such that you could sever the neck except for your spinal cord and swing your head around by the spinal cord.

[sandrock74]

The Venus Probe was just a theory. Not a distinctive cause. Right. I think the space probe returning from Venus was merely a coincidence. There was too much panic and confusion going around, so people just latched onto the first unusual event they could find.

[Precinct13]

Re: The Venus Probe, I think it was more than just speculation. There was actual recorded proof, as reported in one of the newscasts NASA scientists detected the alien radiation and noted "even as the radiation levels continue to rise.." Taken from wiki, for what it's worth. Radio reports explain that an epidemic of mass murder is sweeping across the eastern seaboard. Later, Ben discovers a television upstairs and the emergency broadcaster reveals that the creatures are consuming the flesh of their victims. A subsequent broadcast reports that the murders are being perpetrated by the recently deceased who have returned to life, dubbed 'ghouls'. Experts, scientists and military are not sure of the cause of the reanimation, but one scientist is certain that it is the result of radioactive contamination from a space probe that exploded in the Earth's atmosphere. A final report instructs that a gunshot or heavy blow to the head will stop the ghouls and that posses of armed men are patrolling the countryside to restore order. I don't know the newscasts inside-out, but I'll pay attention to this on a subsequent viewing. Never got it that the film explained a "definite cause" myself, though. As for a perceived lack of continuity in the portrayal of the zombies throughout the series - that didn't just start with Land. All of the dead movies, it's like Romero uses his ghouls as a blank canvas for whatever he is trying to portray, and get across to the viewer. One thing that separates him from the rest of the splatter pack, for sure, and another that gets him into trouble with all the zombie movie fans occasionally. Sure, there are his rules - shoot em in the head and they're dead, etc. But that's about the only thing that stays the same in each film. Night is the only film that's playing the entire flesh-eater thing in this deadly-serious way while keeping a straight face from start to finish. Obviously the pack in Land was going to cross the lines for some people, as they're Romero zombies at their most extreme (yet), no matter how they're being portrayed by whatever actor. People are already shaking from reported sights of zombies on horsebacks in Survival. History repeats itself. I enjoy Land, actually. My biggest gripe with it is that there isn't much of a big pay-off, there are like three sup-plots trying to start rolling, and you are expecting Romero to make his "heroes" wreak complete havok once they reach Fiddler's Green - but there ain't that much, and the movie sort of just fizzles out. It's a bit the same with Diary that asks you the kind of question only a Romero zombie flick can ask you in the end: "Are we worth saving, actually?" Only that what is on screen has little to do with the message the movie sledge hammers into your brain via countless voice overs over its entire course - and instead it's time for Romero's gun-swinging Rednecks to do their thing again, just like in Night and Dawn before: being a symbol for all the d*ckheads on this planet. Such a hippie, the man.

[Gemini]

The Wiki excerpts are taken from earlier in the movie….later on (I think right before the power goes out) they describe actual recorded levels of the alien radiation and note that it is “continuing to rise” ….I really think Romero gave an explanation in this movie then deliberately back tracked in the sequels to make the cause more mysterious. …and on another note…umm… zombies on horseback??

[Gemini]

Here's a link to some great trivia about the film: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063350/trivia Regarding the Venus probe: One of the working titles for this film was "Night of the Flesh Eaters". Originally, the beings attacking the characters were extraterrestrial in origin, either aliens or humans possessed by an alien pathogen, presumably covering a NASA satellite returning from Venus. Eventually, it was decided that the dead would rise and devour the living, presumably due to radiation that was carried by a NASA satellite returning from Venus. Though the radiation of a detonated satellite returning from Venus is theorized to be the cause of the dead rising and attacking the living, according to the filmmakers, the actual cause is never determined. And the GAR timeframes: Assuming the movie takes place on the spring time change (according to the dialog at the beginning) after the date (December 1966) on the calendar in the house (a reasonable assumption from the condition of the body in the house), the movie begins on the night of 30 April 1967 and ends the next morning, which is May Day. However, for the sequels, Romero has treated the timeline of the Dead saga with a bit of malleability; in the movie novelization of Dawn of the Dead he notes "The stock market had plummeted way below the lowest point of the Carter administration" and refers to an upcoming election. Day of the Dead features a copy of the novel Salem's Lot, published in 1975, after Night of the Living Dead came out; it seems peculiar that this publish still saw publication in a world where "ghouls" actually exist. Diary of the Dead takes place isochronally with Night of the Living Dead yet features modern computers. Of course, even Night of the Living Dead references technology far advanced than that available at the time of the film's release (i.e. the Venus probe).