OMG Horror.com

While there had been movies with zombies in them years before 1968's Night of the Living Dead such as Revolt of the Zombies (1936) and White Zombie (1932), George A. Romero's original black-and-white independent horror film, Night of the Living Dead, is to a great degree responsible for the modern zombie subgenre as we know it today. 40 years after the film's release, a remastered special edition has just been released on DVD, with superb picture and sound quality and several special features that make it a must-own for horror fanatics.

If You're Only Going to Buy One Horror DVD this Year, Get This!
In case you're unfamiliar with the story in Night of the Living Dead, the film opens up with two siblings, Barbara and Johnny, visiting their father's grave in a Pennsylvanian cemetery. After a zombie attacks Johnny cracking his skull against a tombstone, Barbara flees to a nearby farmhouse where several other survivors are hiding and the rest of the story unfolds. Bottom line: if you've never seen the NOTLD, there's no better time to pick up a copy of the movie. It's dirt cheap, running you only about $15 at Best Buy or Frys.

Moving on to the picture quality of Night of the Living Dead, even though the staff of OMGHorror.com wasn't around when the film was originally shown in theaters, we imagine that no one has ever seen a more crisp print of the movie. The sound and picture is virtually flawless. Just take a look at these stills taken from an older version of Night of the Living Dead on DVD and the 40th Anniversary Edition and you'll immediately see what we're talking about:

Special Features that'll Raise the Dead
The sound quality of most of the cheap DVD versions of Night of the Living Dead you'll find in stores is so awful and crusty that you'll have a hard time understanding what people are saying without the subtitles on. And, like the revitalized video quality of this special edition, the sound has also been restored to its original form. In addition to a better looking and sounding version of NOTLD, the special features are well worth watching and actually quite entertaining.

An immensely interesting brand-new hour and a half long documentary titled One for the Fire is featured on the DVD, shedding light on what went on behind the scenes when the film was made back in 1968. The documentary, which features interviews with the director and several of the original actors is something that anyone with an appreciation for Romero's work should check out. Other bonus content on the disc include the actual original movie script, an audio interview with Night of the Living Dead's male lead Duane Jones before the actor's death, the theatrical trailer, 2 commentaries, and a Q&A session with Romero. All in all, none of the special features included on this DVD are just some junk that they threw in there to jack up the price of the DVD.

There are certain classic horror films that any fan of the genre needs to have in their home collection (Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, etc.) and Night of the Living Dead is one of 'em. Get this version though.

Terror Rating: 3 out of 5
Originality: 5 out of 5
Level of Gore: 2.5 out of 5
Overall Rating: 5 out of 5

Other Classic Zombie Film Recommendations: White Zombie (1932), I Bury the Living (1958)

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