Night of the Living Dead review

 Number 327 on the top 1000 films of all time is George Romero's 1968 zombie-horror film 'Night of the Living Dead.'

Barbra (Judith O'Dea) and her brother are laying flowers on her father's grave when her brother is attacked by a zombie. Barbra runs in terror to a nearby house where she meets Ben (Duane Jones) and a group of other survivors. Together, they need to figure out how to survive the coming zombie hordes.

I am conflicted about this film. I am well-aware of its reputation. In many ways, it pioneered the zombie-horror genre popularising many of the tropes we now see in the likes of the Walking Dead Franchise or Z Nation. However, at its heart, 'Night of the Living Dead' is a siege film.

A group of characters are boarded up in a location and are besieged by an enemy force. Romero's unrelated sequel Dawn of the Dead follows a similar plot line. But I often find siege films lacking in tension and forward momentum. The characters are stuck in one place not going anywhere neither physically or emotionally. In many ways, Night of the Living Dead also fell into this trap until the characters decide to escape for a safer location.

That is until they start making stupid decisions which screws everything up. Stupid characters making stupid decisions for no other reason than to forward the plot is an annoying and tiresome cliche. Unfortunately it has become a mainstay of horror films. Is Night of the Living Dead to blame for this? I'm not sure.

What I am sure about is how I did not like how they reduced Barbra to little more than a damsel-in-distress. After she is rescued by Ben, she very much becomes an empty shell lacking in agency. While this would be a realistic reaction, it is difficult to believe that a character like that could survive in a world like this. Originally, Barbra was written with more grit, but upon casting Judith O'Dea, Romero rewrote her character.

But one thing Romero did right was the casting of Duane Jones as Ben. He very much carried the film on his back, as Ben was the leader of the survivors. Plus, it was a rare occurrence to have a black man star in a 1960's film. Originally, Ben was supposed to be a crude, un-educated truck  driver, but at the intellectual Jones' insistence, he was changed into a more well-rounded leader.

One cliche I was glad not to see was the one black character dying first in the horror film.

*spoilers*

In fact, Ben was the last one to die. And I did not like how he died. It wasn't in a glorious last stand with the zombies, but by a posse of white men who mistake him for one of the undead and promptly shoot him. But was it a mistake? There are some who have read into the racial undertones of a white man shooting a black man in the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement.

Either way, I found it to be an anti-climatic death unworthy of a good character. Reportedly, Jones wanted it this way saying it would be too Hollywood for him to be the last-man standing. That, notwithstanding, I would have preferred if he had been killed by a paranoid or scared man panicking over whether Ben was a zombie or not. Then his death might have had more meaning.

Nonetheless, I did enjoy Night of the Living Dead. It wasn't without its flaws, but it was still entertaining.

The Night of the Hunter review

 Number 211 on the top 1000 films of all time is Charles Laughton's film-noir thriller 'the Night of the Hunter.'

Ben Harper (Robert Graves) is a bank-robber who killed two people before escaping with $10,000. He hides the money and makes his two small children John (Billy Chapin) and Pearl (Sally Jane Bruce) promise to never reveal the location. However, he is then caught and sent to death-row. Before his execution, he tells the preacher-disguised serial killer Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum) about the money, although he doesn't reveal the exact location. Powell then visits Harper's family in his hometown in the hopes of finding the money. Although he quickly wins over the town and Harper's wife, his children remain distrustful of him.

Upon its initial release, the Night of the Hunter was so negatively reviewed that Charles Laughton never directed another film again. Although its critical evaluation has immensely improved in modern times, I do think this is great shame. The Night of the Hunter reminded me of the best of the old German expressionist films of old particularly Fritz Lang's M. This wasn't an accident either as Laughton gave the film a deliberate expressionist style.

 He deliberately employed the harsh lighting and strong shadows you would often see in expressionism. Much of the set design was also incredibly simplistic and minimalist. One of my favourite shots was when you see Powell's silhouette on the Harper children's bedroom wall. You only see the shape of his hat, but it was still incredibly sinister.

Robert Mitchum was also well-known for starring in film noir roles before he achieved mainstream success. From Undercurrent to the Locket to Pursued and Where Danger Rules, he has played a variety of roles. And he was the perfect fit for the duplicitous Harry Powell. He was charismatic enough to win over not only Harper's entire home-town, but also Harper's widow. And not only does he win her over, but he manipulates her into becoming his greatest acolyte. When Powell refuses to consumate their marriage, she starts believing that her soul needs to be redeemed and starts joining him in his preaching missions. Yet all of Powell's charisma was not enough to win over Harper's children.

However, I do think that the film's ending severely let it down. Everything changed from a tense, scary horror noir to a borderline Christmas film. All the suspense dissolved into unnecessary sentimentality and sweetness. Spoilers to follow.

After exposing Powell, John and Pearl run away from their home town where they take refuge with a woman called Rachel Cooper (Lillian Gish) a tough-as-nails badass who looks after troubled children. When Powell follows them there, Cooper fires a shotgun full of birdshot into his face. She holds him off long enough for the police to arrive and arrest Powell. Afterwards, Christmas comes and John and Pearl join Cooper's brood of lost children. They all live happily ever after. Although Cooper was only a supporting role, I thought she was a great character. It was brilliant seeing a female character having that much agency especially in a 1950's film.

But at the end of the day, 'The Night of the Hunter' is a thriller. It should be suspenseful from start-to-finish and this ending killed the suspense. Okay, it's nice to know that the Harper children finally get to have a normal life after their traumatic ordeals, but this could have just been implied. We didn't need to get a whole Christmas special.

Nonetheless, I did enjoy this film. I do think it's such a shame that Laughton didn't make anymore films. Such a waste of potential.