Seven people board themselves up in a deserted farmhouse, and struggle as much with each other as they do with the horde of deceased that have risen and begun feeding on the flesh of the living. George A. Romero’s chilling film broke new ground in several ways: violence depicted on screen, an African American hero, and a certain nihilism never before seen, which to this day still retains the power to scare. As a metaphor of the Vietnam War and the growing political and racial unrest in 60s America, Night of the Living Dead steadily builds up an unease about the threat from the outside–and the growing menace within.
—John Drew