This documentary, "Night of the Living Dead: 25th Anniversary Edition (1993)", finds a fondness in the hearts of movie lovers who are grownup with George A. Romero's zombie film NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968). There are great interviews with the producers couple Marilyn Eastman en Karl Hardman, who played a couple in that classic horror movie together with their daughter, Kyra Schon (the first zombie child). Marilyn and Karl show what 1930s records they used to gather the soundtrack for the film for, including the sound effects. There was no money to contract a composer and an orchestra to write and play new music. Also there's a round-table conversation between Romero, co-writer John Russo, Karl Hardman again and Russell Streiner (Johnny, the first victim in the movie). Next to this there are small interviews with Sam Raini (EVIL DEAD, SPIDER-MAN), Wes Craven (NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET) and Tobe Hooper (TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, POLTERGEIST). A treasure for any classic horror movies lover!
3 Reviews
A great set of interviews
BandSAboutMovies9 December 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Directed and written by Thomas Brown, this film has a roundtable between George A. Romero, John Russo, Russell Streiner and Karl Hardman as they discuss exactly how Night of the Living Dead was made. You also get to see Karl with Marilyn Eastman as they discuss how they went through library music to get the sound effects and soundtrack for the film under budget, which is worth the price of admission - it's streaming for free on Tubi but you get the idea - of this documentary.
As a bonus, everyone from Tobe Hooper, Sam Raimi, Wes Craven, John Landis, Fred Olen Ray, David DeCoteau, Chris Gore, David E. Williams and Scott Spiegel speak about what the first modern horror movie means to them.
The best part of this is, as you can imagine, getting the original crew together and hearing how they thought they could make this for $600 each, how that number rapidly increased, the frustration of working for ad agencies, living at the farmhouse, painting a car that was loaned to the production and nearly ruining it, going to Washington D. C. for a quick scene away from Evans City and so much more. It's a leisurely discussion and everyone seems happy to be there and excited to share their stories.
As a bonus, everyone from Tobe Hooper, Sam Raimi, Wes Craven, John Landis, Fred Olen Ray, David DeCoteau, Chris Gore, David E. Williams and Scott Spiegel speak about what the first modern horror movie means to them.
The best part of this is, as you can imagine, getting the original crew together and hearing how they thought they could make this for $600 each, how that number rapidly increased, the frustration of working for ad agencies, living at the farmhouse, painting a car that was loaned to the production and nearly ruining it, going to Washington D. C. for a quick scene away from Evans City and so much more. It's a leisurely discussion and everyone seems happy to be there and excited to share their stories.
Fun Documentary
Michael_Elliott23 May 2018
Night of the Living Dead: 25th Anniversary Documentary (1993)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
This documentary was produced for very little money and it does have a somewhat cheap feel to it but at the same time it's a great look at the making of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. We start off with a roundtable discussion between George A. Romero, Russell Streiner, John A. Russo and Karl Hardman as they talk about how the movie got made as well as other production stories. Other cast members including Marilyn Eastman and Judith O'Dea.
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD has been discussed in so many different documentaries that it's easy to overlook this one and especially since it happened rather early in the film's life or at least it was released before DVD and Blu-ray where the film got even more attention. Fans of the film will certainly want to check this out since the roundtable with the four main people was quite fun to watch.
Not only do you get to hear from the filmmakers but we also get to hear from fans of the film. These fans include John Landis, Fred Olen Ray, Tobe Hooper, David DeCoteau, Sam Raimi and Wes Craven. Obviously these are some of the biggest hitters in horror history so getting to hear them talk about the first time they watched the film and what impact it had on them was great to hear.
Again, the documentary has a very low-budget feel to it but the number of interviews make it a must-see for fans.
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
This documentary was produced for very little money and it does have a somewhat cheap feel to it but at the same time it's a great look at the making of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. We start off with a roundtable discussion between George A. Romero, Russell Streiner, John A. Russo and Karl Hardman as they talk about how the movie got made as well as other production stories. Other cast members including Marilyn Eastman and Judith O'Dea.
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD has been discussed in so many different documentaries that it's easy to overlook this one and especially since it happened rather early in the film's life or at least it was released before DVD and Blu-ray where the film got even more attention. Fans of the film will certainly want to check this out since the roundtable with the four main people was quite fun to watch.
Not only do you get to hear from the filmmakers but we also get to hear from fans of the film. These fans include John Landis, Fred Olen Ray, Tobe Hooper, David DeCoteau, Sam Raimi and Wes Craven. Obviously these are some of the biggest hitters in horror history so getting to hear them talk about the first time they watched the film and what impact it had on them was great to hear.
Again, the documentary has a very low-budget feel to it but the number of interviews make it a must-see for fans.
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