Night of the Living Dead holds the unique distinction of being arguably the most remade movie of all time, but how did a small budget horror film earn this crown? It's all thanks to a timeless story and one crucial mistake.

George A. Romero's film also holds the distinction of popularizing the zombie movie. Night of the Living Dead tells the story of one night when the dead begin to come back to life and start feasting on the living. Several strangers end up barricading themselves in a rural farmhouse together. After finding shelter, they have to work together in order to survive the night and each other.

Related: Night of the Living Dead: Why Cooper Was Right (And Ben Was Wrong)

Romero's tale is a simple story that has resonated with audiences for decades. A careless mistake with the public domain is why this iconic movie was able to be remade so many times, but the powerful themes within the story is why people chose to take advantage of that. Let's take a look at why Night of the Living Dead has been remade so many times.

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Night of the Living Dead's distributor forgot to copyright the film upon its release, meaning that it entered the public domain. Since Romero and his team technically didn't have explicit ownership over the movie, this meant it became a free-for-all when it came to remakes. The mistake cost Romero greatly, as he saw little money from the $30 million his movie made at the box office. However, this came with an unexpected upside. Since there was no need to acquire the rights to Night of the Living Dead, the horror movie saw dozens of home video releases by different companies and multiple re-releases in theaters. The film became ingrained in the minds of horror fans, but it was more than just popularizing zombie films commercially — Night of the Living Dead spoke to fans on a thematic level.

Horror movies are often used as a stand-in for whatever the current dominant cultural fear is. Zombies are one of the most prominent examples of this, as they are dangerous creatures who take over communities and threaten everyday life. The frightening characteristics of these creatures are altered from story to story in order to best serve whatever message is being conveyed. That means that the zombies can be changed to fit whatever vein the movie needs to tap into. When the original film was released in the 1960s, it was racial tensions. Since then, society has collectively feared things such as terrorism and nuclear war, both of which can be integrated into a simple, zombie-based storyline.

Night of the Living Dead is a relatively contained story about a small group of people facing mounting dread. Since the story is pretty bare-bones, it's easy to adapt it to whatever will best resonate with its audience, making it a timeless horror movie. In fact, fans are due for yet another remake of the classic film, with Vivica A. Fox stepping into a gender-swapped version Duane Jones' role as Ben. Even so, fans can rest assured that this will be nowhere near the last remake of Night of the Living Dead.

More: Night Of The Living Dead’s Controversial Ending Explained