RIFFTRAX: NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD

The Rifftrax folks are wonderful at taking apart terrible movies -- but what happens when they Riff on one of the most iconic and beloved horror movies ever?  The results are pretty good, as Halloween comes early to movie theaters with Rifftrax: Night of the Living Dead.

Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy warm up with another installment of the Norman films (about the world's most pathetic sad sack), then they leap into their zombie classic.  While Night of the Living Dead deserves its reputation, they find plenty to make fun of: the slow start, Barbara's near-catatonia, Harry's dickishness, and the movie's relentless carpentry.  There are also pop culture references a-plenty, from Weekend at Bernie's to How I Met Your Mother to "Tori Amos has gone feral!"

If there's one complaint, it's that the source material is too good, giving the Rifftrax trio less terrible acting, effects, and story holes to play with.  Still, they found plenty of comedy here, and they manage to have fun with it (wisely skipping the enormously depressing ending) without reducing the quality of the original.

Overall grade: B+
Reviewed by James Lynch

THE LIVING DEAD

Zombies are among us! They're out to eat our brains... or follow guilty people around... or to be filmed... or influencing elections... or they're just mentioned in passing. There's quite a diversity of the undead in The Living Dead, an anthology of tales about and takes on the walking dead.



There are plenty of stories here about the dead trying to eat the living, be it a survivor wondering if he's the last living person on the planet ("Almost the Last Story by Almost the Last Man") or a porn magazine producer on an island with his undead models ("In Beauty, Like the Night.") These stories are usually good, with each author's personal take on the attacks (such as Stephen King's tale as much about Maine as about the undead), but it's the unexpected versions of zombies that are the most memorable here.

Some of the zombies are part of everyday life, from those used as cheap labor ("Meathouse Man") to ones that walk around people as a sign of guilt ("Followed"). In "Calcutta, Lord of Nerves" Poppy Z. Brite has the zombies as just another part of the Indian cities. "Dead Like Me" is a creepy look at how a human survivor can pretend to be a zombie, while the only zombies in "Bobby Conroy Comes Back from the Dead" are those acting in Night of the Living Dead. There are homages-parodies to-of Our Town ("How the Day Runs Down") and Less Than Zero ("Less Than Zombie"). And I'm still trying to figure out what to make of Neil Gaiman's "Bitter Herbs."

This variety makes The Living Dead a cut above the standard zombie fare. There are plenty of chases and killings here, but the original takes on these creatures elevate the stories from variations on a theme to unique creations. The Living Dead is a fascinating look at what authors can do from the seemingly simple starting point that is the zombie.

Overall grade: B+

Reviewed by James Lynch

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD

As I thought of a classic horror movie to review for Halloween, one came to mind as a great movie, as a breaker of rules, and as something airing quite frequently today: Night of the Living Dead. This is hardly the first zombie movie, but it set the stage for all following zombie flicks.

The setup of Night of the Living Dead is effectively simple: Barbara (Judith O'Dea) is traveling with her brother Johnny (Russell Streiner) to put flowers on their father's grave. Johnny scares his sister by telling her, "They're coming to get you Barbara!" That tease proves prophetic: A man in a suit staggers to them, kills Johnny, and pursues Barbara to a house.

The house is a refuge that's under siege, as humans hole up there while more of the undead stagger to it. Ben (Duane Jones) is an action-oriented man focused on escaping to meet up with other survivors, while Harry Cooper (Karl Hardman) wants them to stay in the cellar with his wife Helen (Marilyn Eastman) and sick little daughter Karen (Kyra Schon) until the zombies leave. They're later joined by young couple Tom (Keith Wayne) and Judy (Judith Ridley).

Night of the Living Dead both broke many rules about horror while creating so many of its own. It's hard to think of another movie in the 1960s where a black man was the strong, resourceful hero and a white man was cowardly and selfish. Barbara, far from being a plucky heroine, spends most of the movie almost catatonic and helpless. Some of the protagonists' plans work, while others fail horribly. And the ending remains as chilling after numerous viewings as after the first one. Director George A. Romero creates true terror both as the humans try and survive and the zombies shuffle forth with mindless malevolence. A low budget doesn't keep the creatures from being terrifying, and there's social commentary that doesn't detract from the horrors.

If you're just looking for a scary movie or searching for one of the best horror movies ever, the destination is the same: Night of the Living Dead.

Overall grade: A+
Reviewed by James Lynch