America in the mid 20th century was at boiling point in terms social and political change. The threat of communism, all out atomic war, the assassination of John F Kennedy, the Bay of Pigs, the escalating crisis of Vietnam, the peace movement, civil rights, student riots etc were all being played out on the world stage and Hollywood reflected the mood quite adequately with successions of movies with spies, espionage and war. Horror movies also tapped into the anxieties of a nation. Before the release of Psycho in 1960 the American Horror Genre was implicitly driven by the threat of the outside. Most movies made in the horror realm focused on the evils that was communism that terrorized the American way of life with such Sci-fi horror crossovers such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) and Invaders from Mars (1953) . Hitchcock's Psycho marks a change in attitude to the genre as a whole and the way horror movies are made. Whereas before in the horror movie the protagonist overcomes the invader whose motive is to interfere with American way of life it is the infamous shower scene that highlights the shocking quality of Marion Cranes's "meaningless[2]" death. Wood proclaims that her stabbing by Bates is "probably the most horrible incident in any fiction film[3]." Psycho's horror therefore lies in the fact that it has come from within and not from the outside thus shaking the system of how horror movies effect their audiences.
Woods claim that "Hollywood cinema has implicitly recognised the horror genre as both American and familial" resounds throughout most American films within the genre. Night of the Living Dead is no exception. By breaking the film down scene by scene we can see this claim as a template on how films of the horror genre attack and break down these two elements at the core of American life, patriotism and the nuclear family model to frighten and disturb to full effect. "One might say that the true subject of the horror genre is the struggle for recognition of all that our civilisation represses and oppresses.[4]"
[pic] Night of the Living Dead was created by George A Romero in 1968 with help from a group of financiers. The plot was loosely based on the novel "I am Legend" by Richard Matheson that centred on the story of the last man on earth. The plot centres on a group of people who are caught in a race for survival when hoards of the un dead unexplainably attack and eat the flesh of living. These zombies however do not seem to be of the traditional docile, controlled workforce for evil type but are more self controlled beings that have no other motive but to eat other people. It is here that the film has its most shocking quality, the fact that these creatures have no motive other than consume for themselves. Romero exposes gore that although seems tame by today's standards shocked and appalled audiences of the time. Disembodied corpses and half eaten heads provided shock value like no other; where as traditional film making would pan away from someone's death we see the full result of the zombie's meal. This was on one level a mere shock tactic which many contemporaries regarded as low brow and tasteless, Reader's Digest at the time dedicated an entire article on the film and tried to promote it being banned from theatres across the country. However it is not only the gruesome elements of the film that linger in the audience's subconscious. The film peels away the facets of the American way of life slowly throughout the film and it is here where Night of the Living Dead deals its psychological blow.
First we look at the films settings. The camera in the opening shot of the film pans down from the stars and stripes (Romero's metaphor of "America-as- graveyard[5]" i.e. the zombies live under this banner as well) to an American country side cemetery. It is here where we first encounter our enemy right in the heart of the grounds of a societal institution (in this case the church.) Our female protagonist (whom we assume is the heroine) finds shelter in a deserted farm house which represents with no surprise the home in which the zombies surround. This besieging is a classic "recurrent, claustrophobic image (within) the horror film...the home is one's final sanctuary, the last place to take a stand[6]." As the night of the living dead envelops the house our heroes find themselves quickly running out of options as slowly and surly the un-dead close in little by little. American Film Genre's by Kaminsky points out this motif in such films as Straw Dogs (1971) , The Omega Man (1971), The Birds(1963) , The Thing(1980) , The Amityville Horror (1979) and Romero's follow up Dawn of the Dead (1976). It is not just the violence that drives home the horrific predicament of our protagonists but the elements of realism portrayed in the film. Romero employs the use of the media within the film to show how the Government was dealing and comprehending (somewhat futilely) with the situation by use of the television and radio. Producer Karl Hardman who not only created the make up and sound but also played Harry Cooper in the film remarks in the 1990 documentary on the film that the response by the audience to these media clips were "phenomenal[7]" as they referenced real towns in the Pennsylvania region. "We attracted...attention by movie goers because of this.[8]" This is some what reminiscent of the famous Orson Wells radio adaptation of War of the Worlds.
The characters in Night of the Living Dead are forever memorable for their demise rather than their heroic efforts to stop the zombies. One by one each character embodies something that is relevant to the American way of life and as the film develops we build up an emotional catharsis towards them accordingly to their actions. Wood "draws on Marcusean Freud....the notion of ideology as a form of social conditioning with the view of the unconscious as the receptacle of the energies repressed by the patriarchal family[9]." There are three notions of the family in this film alone the first being the brother and sister at the beginning, Johnny and Barbra. The second are Judy and Tom who are a young couple and lastly the Coopers, Harry, Helen and their Daughter. Firstly the composition of the couples; Judy and Tom clearly represent the beginnings of a family, the young couple survival is paramount for the future therefore they are the most likely to gain audience sympathy to survive the horror. This illusion that "their survival is guaranteed...generically[10]" is shattered when they are burned and eaten alive half way through the movie.
The existing nuclear family is also present however they are far from the stereotypical 'perfect white toothed all American family unit.' The father is irrationally angry and takes out his fury and irritation out on the rest of the group. Wood points out not only the representation on the "disintegration of the patriarchal family[11]" but also on the wife's insular role within the story "trapped in the dominant societal patterns[12]." "Their demise at the hands of their zombie daughter is the films judgement on them[13]." This notion is one not unfamiliar with Hollywood as we have seen in such films like Rebel without a Cause although Jim (James Deans character doesn't eat his parents) it is interesting to see the extremities the movie industry will go to show these societal insecurities.
Wood also remarks on the relationship of brother and sister Johnny and Barbra. In the first scene Johnny's sinister play acting with his sister shows the break down of this idea of the perfect family by enlightening their inherent "familial resentments on each other[14]." In a cruel twist of irony we see in the final attack by the zombies on the house being led by none other than the 'zombified' Johnny ;"some obscure family feeling driving him to devour her.[15]"
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As with all horror movies we must have our strong hero who in this case is a black man (many writers citing this as a social commentary which Romero denies... " Duane Jones (the actor who played Ben) was just a friend of a friend[16]." ) If anything this is a liberal reassurance that this man from a minority shall save the W.A.S.P protagonists in the house. His presence defines if anything his role as protector of these families and their way of life. In the end his efforts are in vain as he is killed by the posse of sheriffs and local mobs armed with guns. The stark ending of this film leaves a void in the audiences' belief in all that is good and righteous. The sting in the ending is that there although we assume in the end of the day that the zombie attacks will be repressed our heroes might as well been devoured from the beginning. Why this film scars the American psyche is because there was no happy ending. Americans up until the 1970's were used to overcoming adversities such as war and depression however this notion of a happy ending seems to parody the loss of the Vietnam War. Romero is often mentioned in terms of political film making however he states than when making Night of the Living Dead he was not trying to be overtly political more so wanting to give the audience "a roller coaster ride.[17]"
Night of the Living Dead was a catalyst for many films that broke down barriers by showing the unpleasant side of the American way of life not solely through the genre of horror but in other areas too in films such as Easy Rider (1969) and The Parallax View(1972) . Night of the Living Dead changed modern horror in terms of the meaningless way violence is portrayed on screen. Directors of films such as The Hills Have Eyes (1977; Wes Craven) The Evil Dead (1982; San Rami) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974; Tobe Hopper) Halloween (1978; John Carpenter) American Werewolf in London (1981 John Landis) have all tipped their hat to Romero for not only inspiring their methods and their ability to make films on a shoestring budget but also how to rip into American society's subconscious by raping the idea of the family and the homeland. Romero would go on do direct three more "living dead" sequels each dealing with the zeitgeist of its times. Dawn of the Dead (1976) Day of the Dead (1985) and Land of the Dead (2006) has their own spin on the powers that be and the ideologies behind them. Night of the Living Dead however will remain not just as a cult movie but as a benchmark that every horror movie maker would have to reach from then on in.
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