BFI Film Classics: Night of the Living Dead by Ben Hervey
I’ve been enjoying the BFI Film Classics series, and this
entry on Night of the Living Dead by Ben Hervey presents a critical perspective
on the film’s production, which films and media influenced Romero and co-writer
John Russo, and the film’s legacy and impact on later horror films. Night of
the Living Dead was always the scariest movie I saw when I was younger.
Strangely enough, I saw it on TV, and the film captivated me. It was like
nothing I had seen before, and I think that was what made it so scary for me
when I was younger. This is something that Hervey discusses in the book. It’s
not only the barebones production values, but also the film stock and black and
white footage that lends an air of newsreel reality to the film. As Hervey
notes in his analysis, Night of the Living Dead was filmed around the
time of the Tet Offensive in Vietnam, and was released in 1968, the year that
Nixon was re-elected, but also when MLK and RFK were assassinated. The times
were ripe with revolution and violence, and in particular, the news was
beginning to air more and more graphic footage from the war, letting Americans
know about the brutality and violence, the death and destruction that was being
wrought in Vietnam. Much of the news and social violence that was all around
the late 60s factored into the film’s production. I still remember how realistic
the news reports on the television seemed, and without a kind of soundtrack or
anything else that tends to create a kind of pretense of film, Night of the
Living Dead always seemed so realistic, even if the premise about the dead
returning to life to feast on the living is absurd.
However, in addition to the production of the film, I think
it was the claustrophobia and the tension between the survivors holed up in the
farmhouse that always frightened me the most. I also think that this is
something about the kind of dystopian and survival films that always were scary
to me—how horrible people could be when there resources or options are limited.
Rather than seeing people come together and find ways to solve their problems,
they often become selfish and self-interested, frightened more by the zero-sum
possibilities than the external threats. This definitely the case in the arguments
between Harry and Ben, the two males leads who disagree about whether to stay
upstairs or in the basement. Although Romero usually disregards the question of
race, Hervey’s analysis leans into the fact that Ben, as a Black male lead in
the film, takes charge and beats down Harry, relegating him to the basement
where he eventually meets his end. Furthermore, Hervey also focuses on the end
of the film and how it speaks to the racial tension in America in the late 60s,
even as Romero repeatedly denied that the film had a racial message. This was
also one of the more upsetting and frightening elements of the film for me…. That
the hero survives the ghouls, but is eventually done in by what seems like a
posse of klansmen, or at least a group of extrajudicial lawmen, who seem to be
indifferent to their targets. It was upsetting to me to see Ben die, and I
always felt like this was one of the main takeaways from the film, that its not
always the supernatural evil that wins out, but maybe it’s the banality of evil
that still exists in society.
I really enjoyed learning more about the influences of film
and comic books on Romero and Russo’s story and treatment for the film. Hervey
identifies some interesting cinematic precursors, including non-science fiction
films that may have influenced Romero. It was interesting to read about The
Tales of Hoffman and the story of Olympia, a mechanical doll who eventually
is torn apart by two men. Hervey describes the scene as waving body parts
similar to what the ghouls do in the field. Hervey also mentions the influence
of EC Comics and stories from Tales from the Crypt that feature a kind
of dark, poetic justice that often results from these stories where the end is
often violent and bloody.
However, some of the other influences and themes from the
film were also interesting to read an analysis of and helped me better
understand what was so terrifying about the film. In particular, Hervey analyzes
the introductory scene of Johnny and Barbara, brother and sister visiting their
father’s grave. While Barabara is the vigilant child seeking to honor her
father, Johnny seems to be dismissive of tradition, mocking the idea of the visit
and playing in the cemetery. Eventually Johnny is attacked by a ghoul and
becomes one, but Barbara, shocked at the loss of her brother, escapes to the farmhouse,
where she encounters the other survivors. Hervey suggests that part of the film
was about the death of traditions and generational differences. It definitely
seems like Night of the Living Dead could herald these generational
shifts since it was such a transgressive film for the time, implying that the
ghouls were eating human flesh and that really the dead were meaningless and
harmful, pursuing us until we violently seek their destruction. This idea also
seems apparent in one of the most shocking scenes when Karen, Harry and Helen’s
daughter who was bitten by a ghoul, eventually kills and eats them. I remember
being shocked at watching a child violently stab and eat her parents. Although
Karen is a ghoul, her actions towards her parents suggest the kind of violence
needed to destroy the previous generations and traditions. While Johnny seems
to mock the idea of honoring the past, he eventually succumbs to the ghouls, encountering
his sister and seeking to make her one of them. With all of the issues in
society at the time, with all of the violence and turbulence, it seems like an
idea that each generation tries to consume its own. Hervey mentioned that idea from
mythology and artwork like Goya’s famous painting of Saturn devouring his
children. It’s driven by fear and a lack of understanding, but also a kind of
wish to maintain things as they are—to seek out a placid state where nothing
really happens and the status quo is maintained. This lack of development, a
kind of stasis, will eventually lead to another kind of death as well through a
lack of progress and growth. Hervey’s book definitely had me consider other subtexts
of the film that I hadn’t thought of previously, while also helping me to
identify some of the moments that terrified me as a child when I first encountered
this film. Furthermore, I’ve read a few other books about some of Romero’s
other films, especially Dawn of the Dead, his masterpiece. I’ve also
recently revisited some of these films, along with The Crazies, which
was another film I watched when I was younger and found it to be completely terrifying.
Throughout these films, Romero also emphasizes the idea of control and the
media, and how we seek out the news and media to inform us, but maybe they don’t
always give us the true story or maybe they end up inducing more hysteria and
fear. This happens throughout Night, Dawn, and The Crazies, where
the government seems to be hiding or not revealing all of the details about
these events that are turning people abnormal. This notion of distrust and a
lack of transparency in information is relevant today, and maybe that is another
reason why Romero’s films remain so powerful and shocking even after nearly 60
years. I really enjoyed Hervey’s detailed research and analysis of Night of
the Living Dead, reminding me of how important and terrifying this film is.
No comments:
Post a Comment