One of the most ground-breaking and influential horror movies of all time is George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead. The 1968 classic was far more gruesome a movie than audiences had been used to and it invented the zombie genre as it is known today.
Though the movie might be quite tame by today's standards, it is still a fascinating piece of cinema history that is worth looking back on to see how it was achieved. There are a lot of interesting aspects to the movie that viewers might not pick up on but that add to the whole viewing experience.
Opening Sequence
The first scene in the movie has become a famous horror movie opening as it follows the characters of Barbara and Johnny through a cemetery as they are visiting their father's grave. It is then that they are attacked by the living dead and the movie really kicks off.
Though it is the first scene in the movie, Romero stated in the movie's commentary track that this sequence was actually filmed last. Since the movie was meant to be set in the warmer months and filming for his scene took place in November, the actors had to hold their breath to avoid it being visible in the scene.
Real Gravestones
The opening scene was filmed at a real cemetery in Butler County, Pennsylvania at a place called Evans City Cemetery. During the scene, Barabara can be seen hiding beside one grave in particular that prominently reads Nicholas Kramer (1842-1917).
Many fans have speculated throughout the years about whether this name bears any real significance. However, it was later confirmed by the filmmakers that this is a real grave in the actual cemetery as the production could not afford to make their own gravestones.
Car Crash
Despite the immense success of the movie and its lasting impact, it was made on a tiny budget which afforded very few mistakes for the complicated shoot. In fact, the car Barbara was seen driving in the movie was actually owned by the mother of actor Russell Streiner (Johnny).
During filming or when the car was in use by its owner, it was involved in a minor accident that left a dent in its side. The movie had to film around it and added the moment where the car hits a tree to explain the dent.
Newscaster
One of the most famous parts of the movie was near the end when a posse of locals are interviewed about their cleaning up of the area. The sequence features a newscaster interviewing the men and the law enforcement officers overseeing the eradication of the zombies in the area.
The newscaster in the sequence was in fact a real news reporter named Bill Cardille. He worked for a local news program and was a well-known television personality in the area.
Screenwriter Cameo
Though George A. Romero is usually given all the credit for the movie, he actually co-wrote it with a writer named John A. Russo. In fact, Russo was not only a big help behind the camera in getting the movie made but he also notably appeared on camera as well.
Russo confirmed on the commentary track that he appears as a zombie that gets killed by Ben with a tire iron. While that was meant to be his only cameo, he also volunteered to get set on fire for the fire stunt when no one else wanted to do it.
Barbara's Personality
The beginning of the movie makes it seem as though Barbara was meant to be the main character. However, after her fateful encounter with the zombies in the cemetery and after making her way to the farmhouse, she is in shock for the rest of the movie and is mostly silent.
Romero states in the commentary that original version of the character was written to be a strong character, but the filmmakers liked the terrified performance from Judith O'Dea so much that they decided to change it. However, the 1990 remake went back to the original vision for the character.
Boarding Up The Door
Much of the first half of the movie revolves around the main characters gathering in the farmhouse and coming up with ways to keep it secure and keep the zombies out. This includes them boarding up the windows and doors.
When watching these sequences, viewers might notice that some of the boards have numbers written on them. According to the commentary, this was done by the filmmakers to keep track of where each of the boards is meant to go.
Improvised Gore
Though modern audiences might be pretty unimpressed by the level of gore in this movie, it was a shocking thing to see in 1968. But with the low budget of the movie, the filmmakers had to come up with some creative ways of depicting the gruesome moments.
Luckily, one of the investors of the movie was a butcher and provided some real blood and guts for the production. Given that the movie was black-and-white, chocolate sauce was used as blood on some occasions. When the zombies were seen eating the bodies from the burnt truck, a roast ham covered in chocolate sauce was used which was reportedly quite disgusting.
The Basement
The movie effectively uses its small and claustrophobic location to increase the feeling of dread in the movie. the farmhouse is the main location, with the main action occurring on the main floor or in the basement.
However, the basement did not actually exist in the farmhouse that was used for filming. According to the commentary, the filmmakers built a door frame that supposedly leads to the basement but is actually just a wall. The basement scenes were filmed separately in the production offices.
The Z Word
When watching the movie now, it might seem like a typical zombie movie, but it's easy to forget that the movie was inventing many of the aspects that would become ingrained in the zombie movie genre. This includes the flesh eating, the infectious nature of the zombies, and the fact they can only be killed by destroying their brain.
However, one thing that the movie doesn't establish is the word "zombie" which is never used throughout the course of the movie. They are mostly just referred to as "those things."