Quick Rating:  *****

 
I love this movie. It's an absolute classic that has been imitated countless times.  I love the black and white.  I love the weird angles, and quick closeups and the sometimes erratic focus.  I love the gore.  I love the helplessness that the people feel.  And I love the ending!
 
We start out with a brother and sister (Johnny and Barbara) driving a looong ways to visit their father's grave.  Barbara is intent on leaving a wreath for their deceased pappy, but Johnny just doesn't see the point, and he is constantly bitching about it.  But, fortunately, he won't be bitching for long.  A strange man is stumbling through the cemetery and grabs Barbara.  Johnny comes to her rescue, but this pale man fights back and ends up killing Johnny.  Barbara is in a panic, and frantically tries to escape.  She comes across a big house and finds a way in.  This whole scene of her trying to escape is fantasticly shot.  There's no dialogue, and not a ton of action, but you feel her terror.  It's great.
 
So, she's holed up in this house, and luckily, another poor soul joins her.  Ben is his name, and I wonder if this black man/blonde white female co-stars caused a ruckus in 1968.  I can't imagine it was the only thing about this movie that caused a ruckus back then.  Anyway, Barbara is in a catatonic state, and level-headed Ben is just trying to come up with a plan.  He boards up all the windows and doors, and hopes they can remain safe inside.  There are many more of these "zombies" outside the house now.

Radio reports tell us that this is not an isolated epidemic - these slowmoving killers are everywhere on the east coast.  Well, outside the house their numbers increase.  More humans are added to the mix, and this group of survivors must settle their own differences while trying to remain alive.

There are a lot of tense scenes, and while the acting is not great, it does the job.  You get the feeling that they are really scared.  And the fights for control of the group are great - you'd imagine people reacting like that in such a pressure cooker situation.  This movie has truly stood up against the years.  Yeah, some of the zombies are goofy looking and some of the images are dark and shadowy.  But it still is scary.  It still is gory.  And it's still disturbing.  On top of that, it's a damn good horror movie!
 


 

 
 

Quality: 8.5  Visuals: 9.5  Intensity: 8.5 
OVERALL RATING: 8.8