View source for Night of the Living Dead

{{Short description|1968 American horror film}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use American English|date = April 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Night of the Living Dead
| image          = File:Night of the Living Dead (1968) poster.jpg
| alt            = Promotional poster with large text reading They Won't Stay Dead! Night of the Living Dead above stills of zombies and victims from the film.
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[George A. Romero]]
| producer       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Russell Streiner|Russell W. Streiner]]
* Karl Hardman
}}
| screenplay     = {{Plainlist|
* [[John A. Russo|John Russo]]
* George A. Romero
}}
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Duane Jones]]
* [[Judith O'Dea]]
* [[Marilyn Eastman]]
* Karl Hardman
* Judith Ridley
* Keith Wayne
* Russell W. Streiner
}}
| music          =
| cinematography = George A. Romero
| editing        = George A. Romero
| distributor    = [[Walter Reade|Continental Distributing]]
| released       = {{Film date|1968|10|01|Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|1968|10|04|United States}}
| runtime        = 96 minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 95:57--><ref>{{cite web |url=https://bbfc.co.uk/releases/night-living-dead-film |title=''Night of the Living Dead'' (X) |publisher=[[British Board of Film Classification]] |date=November 18, 1980 |access-date=June 7, 2016 |archive-date=August 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160805083344/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/night-living-dead-film |url-status=dead}}</ref><!--The initial release and classification was released with cuts.-->
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $114,000–$125,000<ref name="Mark Hughes">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/markhughes/2013/10/30/the-top-ten-best-low-budget-horror-movies-of-all-time/ |title=The Top Ten Best Low-Budget Horror Movies of All Time |last=Hughes |first=Mark |magazine=[[Forbes]] |date=October 30, 2013 |access-date=December 27, 2014 |archive-date=December 27, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141227062644/http://www.forbes.com/sites/markhughes/2013/10/30/the-top-ten-best-low-budget-horror-movies-of-all-time/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="AFI">{{cite web |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/19843 |website=AFI Catalog of Feature Films: The First 100 Years 1893–1993 |title=Night of the Living Dead (1968) |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |date=December 21, 2021 |access-date=December 20, 2021 |archive-date=December 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211220161123/https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/19843 |url-status=live}}</ref>
| gross          = {{USD|30,236,452|long=no}} ({{estimation}}){{efn|''Night of the Living Dead''{{'}}s worldwide box office:
* Pre-2013 {{ndash}} {{USD|30&nbsp;million|long=no}}<ref name="Mark Hughes"/>
* 2017 and 2018 {{ndash}} {{USD|236,452|long=no}}<ref name="BOM">{{cite web |title=''Night of the Living Dead'' |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0063350/ |access-date=May 31, 2023 |website=[[Box Office Mojo]] |archive-date=May 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230531203737/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0063350/ |url-status=live}}</ref>}}
| studio         = Image Ten
}}
'''''Night of the Living Dead''''' is a 1968 American [[Independent film|independent]] [[Zombie film|zombie]] [[horror film]] directed, photographed, and edited by [[George A. Romero]], written by Romero and [[John A. Russo|John Russo]], produced by [[Russell Streiner]] and Karl Hardman, and starring [[Duane Jones]] and [[Judith O'Dea]]. The story follows seven people trapped in a farmhouse in rural [[Pennsylvania]], under assault by flesh-eating [[undead|reanimated]] corpses. Although the monsters that appear in the film are referred to as "[[ghoul]]s", they are credited with popularizing the modern portrayal of [[zombie]]s in popular culture.

Having gained experience creating television commercials, [[industrial film]]s, and ''[[Mister Rogers' Neighborhood]]'' segments through their production company The Latent Image, Romero, Russo, and Streiner decided to make a horror film to capitalize on interest in the genre. Their script primarily drew inspiration from [[Richard Matheson]]'s 1954 novel ''[[I Am Legend (novel)|I Am Legend]]''. [[Principal photography]] took place between July 1967 and January 1968, mainly on location in [[Evans City, Pennsylvania]], with Romero using [[guerrilla filmmaking]] techniques he had honed in his commercial and industrial work to complete the film on a [[Film budgeting|budget]] of approximately {{US$|100,000}}. Unable to procure a proper set, the crew rented a condemned farmhouse to destroy during the course of filming.

''Night of the Living Dead'' premiered in Pittsburgh on October 1, 1968. It grossed {{US$|12 million}} [[Cinema of the United States|domestically]] and {{US$|18 million}} internationally, earning more than 250 times its budget and making it one of the most profitable film productions of all time. Released shortly before the adoption of the [[Motion Picture Association film rating system|Motion Picture Association of America rating system]], the film's explicit violence and gore were considered groundbreaking, leading to controversy and negative reviews. It eventually garnered a [[Cult film|cult following]] and critical acclaim, and has appeared on lists of [[List of films considered the best|the greatest and most influential films]] by such outlets as ''[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]'', ''[[The New York Times]]'' and ''[[Total Film]]''. Frequently identified as a touchstone in the development of the horror genre, retrospective scholarly analysis has focused on its reflection of the social and cultural changes in the United States during the 1960s, with particular attention towards the casting of Jones, an African-American, in the leading role.<ref name="Anarchy">{{cite web |url=https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/5390-night-of-the-living-dead-mere-anarchy-is-loosed |title=Night of the Living Dead: Mere Anarchy Is Loosed |website=[[The Criterion Collection]] |date=February 13, 2018 |last=Klawans |first=Stuart |access-date=January 31, 2021 |archive-date=January 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123020548/https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/5390-night-of-the-living-dead-mere-anarchy-is-loosed |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1999, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the [[Library of Congress]] and selected for preservation in the [[National Film Registry]].<ref name="CNN"/><ref name="PM">{{cite web |url=https://popmatters.com/pm/column/159439-legacy-of-the-living-dead/ |title=The Zombification Family Tree: Legacy of the Living Dead |last=Maçek III |first=J.C. |date=June 14, 2012 |work=[[PopMatters]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703220514/https://popmatters.com/column/159439-legacy-of-the-living-dead/ |archive-date=July 3, 2017 |access-date=October 18, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Preserving the Silver Screen (December 1999) – Library of Congress Information Bulletin |url=https://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9912/nfb.html |access-date=2020-07-28 |website=www.loc.gov |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414042353/https://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9912/nfb.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

''Night of the Living Dead'' created a successful [[Night of the Living Dead (film series)|franchise]] that includes five sequels released between 1978 and 2009, all directed by Romero. Due to an error when titling the original film, it entered the [[public domain]] upon release,{{sfn|Boluk|Lenz|2011|p=5}} resulting in numerous adaptations, [[remake]]s, and a lasting legacy in the horror genre. An [[Night of the Living Dead (1990 film)|official remake]], written by Romero and directed by [[Tom Savini]], was released in 1990.

== Plot ==
[[File:Night of the Living Dead (1968).webm|thumb|thumbtime=44|''Night of the Living Dead'' (full film)]]
<!-- Per WP:FILMPLOT, plot summaries for film articles should be 400-700 words. -->
Siblings Barbra and Johnny drive to a cemetery in rural [[Pennsylvania]] one night to visit their father's grave, where a pale man in a tattered suit kills Johnny and attacks Barbra. Fleeing to a nearby farmhouse, she finds the resident's corpse lying half-eaten on the stairs. The man from the cemetery has followed Barbra to the house, and as a growing horde of sinister figures like the man surround the house, a stranger, Ben, arrives and initially mistakes Barbra for the homeowner. After driving back several of the figures, he attempts to gather supplies so they can flee, but instead boards the windows and doors after more of the attackers break in. He and Barbra share stories of how they arrived, which escalates into a fight after she attempts to leave the house to retrieve Johnny, refusing to accept that he is dead. Barbra, traumatized by the events, enters a near-catatonic state whilst Ben discovers a [[Winchester Model 1894|lever-action rifle]] whilst searching upstairs.

Barbra is startled to discover other people already taking shelter in the home's cellar: an angry married couple, Harry and Helen Cooper, and their young daughter Karen, who fled there after ghouls overturned their car and bit Karen on the arm, leaving her seriously ill. A teenage couple, Tom and Judy, had taken shelter in the farmhouse after hearing an emergency broadcast when at the lake. Tom comes upstairs to help Ben secure the farmhouse, while Harry protests that it is unsafe aboveground. Tension rises in the group as more of the monsters arrive to besiege the farmhouse.

Through radio and television reports, the survivors learn that cannibalistic corpses, referred to as "ghouls", are reanimating and committing [[mass murder]] across the [[East Coast of the United States]] and that [[Posse comitatus|posses]] of armed men are patrolling the countryside to exterminate the living dead. Reports confirm that the ghouls can die again from heavy blows to the head, bullets to the brain, or being burned. Various rescue centers offer refuge and safety, and scientists theorize that [[radiation]] from an exploding [[space probe]] returning from [[Venus]] caused the reanimations.

[[File:JudithRidley.jpg|alt=Judy peers from an open truck window.|Judith Ridley as Judy, near the gas pump|thumb|left]]

Ben proposes a plan to obtain medical supplies for Karen and transport the group to a rescue center after refueling his truck at a pump on the farm. Ben, Tom, and Judy drive there together, holding the ghouls off with torches and [[Molotov cocktail]]s. However, spilled gas catches fire and causes the truck to explode, killing Tom and Judy. Ben returns, but when Harry refuses to unlock the door, Ben breaks it down.

The remaining survivors debate possible options, until the 3&nbsp;a.m. news broadcast airs. As they watch the update, the power fails and the ghouls break through the doors and windows of the unlit home. In the chaos, Harry takes Ben's rifle but is disarmed and shot. Wounded, he staggers down into the cellar, discovers Karen has died, and dies beside her. Barbra awakens from her delirious state and fends off a ghoul attacking Helen, who flees to the cellar.

Karen has become a ghoul, feeds on her father's remains, and stabs her mother to death with a masonry [[trowel]]. Barbra tries to help Ben keep the ghouls out, but freezes upon seeing the reanimated Johnny, who drags her into the horde. As the horde pours into the farmhouse, Ben retreats to the cellar, where he shoots the reanimated Harry and Helen.

In the morning, an armed posse arrives to dispatch the remaining ghouls. Awakened by their gunfire, Ben emerges from the cellar, but, mistaking him for a ghoul, the posse shoots him. His body is thrown onto a bonfire and burned with the other corpses.

== Cast ==
[[File:Duane Jones NLD.jpg|thumb|alt=Ben holds a rifle in the farmhouse living room.|Ben, played by [[Duane Jones]]]]

The low-budget film featured no well-known actors,<ref name="Sandell2017">{{cite news |last1=Sandell |first1=Scott |title=Classic Hollywood: George Romero, Mr. Rogers and the Pittsburgh Connection |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-classic-hollywood-20170721-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=October 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231022024324/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-classic-hollywood-20170721-story.html |archive-date=October 22, 2023 |date=July 21, 2017}}</ref> but it propelled several cast members' careers.{{sfn|Kane|2010|loc=ch.&nbsp;4}} Two independent film companies from [[Pittsburgh]]—Hardman Associates and director [[George A. Romero]]'s The Latent Image—combined to form Image Ten, a production company chartered only to create ''Night of the Living Dead''.{{sfn|Kane|2010|pp=20–23}} The cast consisted of members of Image Ten, actors previously cast in their commercials, acquaintances of Romero, and Pittsburgh stage actors.{{sfn|Kane|2010|loc=ch.&nbsp;4, pp.&nbsp;42–48}}
* [[Duane Jones]] as Ben. The casting was potentially controversial in 1968 when it was rare for a black actor to be cast as the hero of an American film with a predominantly white cast, but Romero said Jones gave the best audition.{{sfn|Jones|2005|p=118}} Jones later appeared in other films, including ''[[Ganja & Hess]]'' (1973) and ''[[Beat Street]]'' (1984),<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/28/obituaries/duane-l-jones-51-actor-and-director-of-stage-works-dies.html |first=C. Gerald |last=Fraser |title=Duane L. Jones, 51, Actor and Director of Stage Works, Dies |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=July 28, 1988 |access-date=January 24, 2012 |archive-date=November 4, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111104061744/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/28/obituaries/duane-l-jones-51-actor-and-director-of-stage-works-dies.html |url-status=live}}</ref> but openly worried that people only recognized him as Ben.<ref>{{cite AV media |people=Jones, Duane |title=Bonus Interviews |work=Night of the Living Dead |publisher=Elite Entertainment |year=2002 |type=DVD |series=Millennium Edition}}</ref>
* [[Judith O'Dea]] as Barbra. A 23-year-old commercial and stage actress, O'Dea had previously worked for Hardman and Eastman in Pittsburgh. She was in Hollywood pursuing a film career when contacted about the role.{{sfn|Collum|2004|pages=3–9}} O'Dea expressed surprise at the film's cultural impact and the recognition it brought her.{{sfn|Collum|2004|p=4}}
* [[Russell Streiner]] as Johnny, Barbra's brother. Streiner, Romero's business partner at The Latent Image, was one of the film's producers.<ref name="image-ten-streiner">{{Cite web |title=Night of the Living Dead Cast and Crew: Russ Streiner |work=Image Ten |access-date=2025-03-25 |date=2022 |url=https://www.image-ten.com/cast-crew/russ-streiner}}</ref> In the film's credits, he is listed solely as a producer. Despite having no prior film acting experience,{{sfn|Russo|1985|p=42}} Streiner went on to act in and produce other films, notably the 1990 remake, where he also had a cameo appearance as Sheriff McClelland.<ref name="image-ten-streiner"/>{{sfn|Kane|2010}}
* Karl Hardman as Harry Cooper. Hardman was president of Hardman Associates and one of the film's producers. Cooper's wife was played by Hardman's real-life business and romantic partner, Marilyn Eastman.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.image-ten.com/cast-crew/karl-hardman |title=Night of the Living Dead Cast and Crew – Karl Hardman |website=www.image-ten.com |access-date=August 26, 2023 |archive-date=August 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230826031050/https://www.image-ten.com/cast-crew/karl-hardman |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Barnes2021"/> Hardman also did uncredited [[sound effects]] and [[music editing]] work on the film, adding electronic effects to stock music and creating a novel electronic soundtrack for some of the film's sequences.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}
* [[Marilyn Eastman]] as Helen Cooper.{{sfn|Collum|2004|p=3}} Vice president of Hardman Associates, Marilyn Eastman played Helen Cooper and the unnamed, bug-eating zombie. She later appeared in ''[[Santa Claws (1996 film)|Santa Claws]]'' (1996), directed by [[John A. Russo|John Russo]].<ref name="Barnes2021">{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/marilyn-eastman-dead-night-of-the-living-dead-1235001774/ |title=Marilyn Eastman, Actress and Vital Behind-The-Scenes Player on 'Night of the Living Dead,' Dies at 87 |first=Mike |last=Barnes |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=August 23, 2021 |access-date=August 26, 2023 |archive-date=August 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230826025438/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/marilyn-eastman-dead-night-of-the-living-dead-1235001774/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.newsweek.com/tributes-marilyn-eastman-night-living-dead-star-dead-87-1622403 |title=Tributes for Marilyn Eastman, 'Night of the Living Dead' Star, Dead at 87 |first=Emma |last=Nolan |date=August 24, 2021 |website=Newsweek |access-date=August 26, 2023 |archive-date=August 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230826025440/https://www.newsweek.com/tributes-marilyn-eastman-night-living-dead-star-dead-87-1622403 |url-status=live}}</ref>
* Kyra Schon as Karen Cooper. Hardman's daughter in real life,{{sfn|Kane|2010|p=42}} 9-year-old Schon also portrayed the mangled corpse on the house's upper floor that Ben drags away.{{sfn|Kane|2010|p=43}}
* {{anchor|Keith_Wayne}}Keith Wayne as Tom. "Keith Wayne" was Ronald Keith Hartman's stage name.{{sfn|Kane|2010|p=43}} After this lone acting role, Wayne went on to work as a singer, dancer, musician, and night-club owner,<ref name="news.google.com">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2519&dat=19740314&id=vSpmAAAAIBAJ&sjid=S3cNAAAAIBAJ&pg=2494,2330548 |title=Former Houston Man Heading for Stardom |last=Hazlett |first=Terry |newspaper=Observer-Reporter |date=March 14, 1974 |page=C-6 |via=Google News Archive Search |access-date=December 30, 2022 |archive-date=January 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200118031102/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2519&dat=19740314&id=vSpmAAAAIBAJ&sjid=S3cNAAAAIBAJ&pg=2494,2330548 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Kane|2010|p=43}} before becoming a [[chiropractor]] in North Carolina.<ref name="news.google.com"/> Wayne explained the change in careers during a 1992 interview, "I am not that person anymore. [...] I got to a point in my life where I wanted to have some control. I didn't want to wake up at 40 or 50 and not be in control."<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The News and Observer |date=December 18, 1992 |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com./article/the-news-and-observer-a-zombie-in-his-cl/130949569/ 1D], [https://www.newspapers.com./article/the-news-and-observer-a-zombie-in-his-cl/130949651/ 3D] |title=A Zombie in His Closet |last=Langford |first=Bob |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news-and-observer-a-zombie-in-his-cl/130949569/ |access-date=August 30, 2023 |archive-date=August 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230831002525/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news-and-observer-a-zombie-in-his-cl/130949569/ |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1995, he took his own life at age 50.{{sfn|Kane|2010|p=204}}<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Hartman |first=Keith |title=How to Find Chiropractic Help, Bursitis and Tendinitis, Sternum Noises, Knee and Neck Care; Plus the Notice of the Death of Dr. Hartman |date=1995 |issue=40 |magazine=Hard Gainer |url=https://www.hardgainer.com/product/issue-40/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705060922/https://www.hardgainer.com/product/issue-40/ |archive-date=July 5, 2022 |url-status=deviated}}</ref>
* Judith Ridley as Judy. A 19-year-old receptionist from Hardman Associates, Ridley auditioned for Barbra without any acting experience and was given the less-demanding role of Judy.{{sfn|Kane|2010|pp=42–43}} Ridley starred in Romero's second feature ''[[There's Always Vanilla]]'' (1971).{{sfn|Kane|2010|pp=90–92}}
* [[Bill Hinzman]] as the cemetery ghoul. Hinzman played the first ghoul encountered by Barbra and Johnny in the cemetery and later worked on several horror films including ''[[The Majorettes]]'' (1986) and ''[[Flesheater]]'' (1988).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/30563/rest-in-peace-bill-hinzman/ |title=Rest in Peace: Bill Hinzman |first=Steve |last=Barton |date=February 6, 2012 |website=Dread Central |access-date=August 26, 2023 |archive-date=August 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230826033246/https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/30563/rest-in-peace-bill-hinzman/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-16923467 |title=Night of the Living Dead Actor Bill Hinzman Dies |work=BBC News |date=February 7, 2012 |access-date=August 26, 2023 |archive-date=August 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230826034935/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-16923467 |url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[George Kosana]] as Sheriff McClelland. Kosana also served as the film's [[Unit production manager|production manager]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |url=https://hollywoodreporter.com/news/george-kosana-dead-night-living-dead-actor-was-81-960454 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |title=George Kosana, 'Night of the Living Dead' Actor (And Investor), Dies at 81 |author=Barnes, Mike |date=January 3, 2017 |access-date=October 18, 2017 |archive-date=October 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019124749/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/george-kosana-dead-night-living-dead-actor-was-81-960454 |url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Bill Cardille|Bill "Chilly Billy" Cardille]] as himself.{{sfn|Kane|2010|p=45}} Cardille was well known in Pittsburgh as the [[horror host]] of the anthology series ''[[Chiller Theatre (Pittsburgh)|Chiller Theatre]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://archive.triblive.com/news/bill-cardille-marks-50-years-on-pittsburgh-airwaves/ |title=Bill Cardille Marks 50 Years on Pittsburgh Airwaves |date=September 3, 2007 |last=Hasch |first=Michael |newspaper=Tribune-Review |publisher=Total Media LLC |access-date=September 2, 2023 |archive-date=August 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230826055638/https://archive.triblive.com/news/bill-cardille-marks-50-years-on-pittsburgh-airwaves/ |url-status=live}}</ref> His daughter [[Lori Cardille|Lori]] later starred in Romero's ''[[Day of the Dead (1985 film)|Day of the Dead]]'' (1985).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Squires |first1=John |title=First Image of Original 'Day of the Dead' Cast Reunited in Upcoming 'Night of the Living Dead 2' [Exclusive] |url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3689149/first-image-original-day-dead-cast-reunited-upcoming-night-living-dead-2-exclusive/ |website=Bloody Disgusting! |access-date=March 10, 2024 |date=October 26, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite interview |interviewer=Eric N. |first=Lori |last=Cardille |title=Lori Cardille |url=http://www.bloodygoodhorror.com/bgh/interviews/07/26/2007/lori-cardille |website=Bloody Good Horror |access-date=March 10, 2024}}</ref>

== Production ==
=== Development and pre-production ===
{{external media
| width  = 210px
| video1 = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oMQRrcLIaI The Calgon Story] <br />The creation of a high-budget television commercial for [[Calgon|Calgon brand detergent]] spurred the film's producers to create a horror movie.{{sfn|Kane|2010|p=28}}
}}

George Romero embarked upon his career in the [[film industry]] while attending [[Carnegie Mellon University]] in [[Pittsburgh]].{{sfn|Kane|2010|p=25}} He directed and produced television commercials and [[sponsored film|industrial films]] for The Latent Image, a company he co-founded with his friend [[Russell Streiner]].{{sfn|Kane|2010|pp=26–27}} The Latent Image started small, but after producing a high-budget [[Calgon]] commercial spoofing ''[[Fantastic Voyage]]'' (1966), Romero felt that the company had the experience and equipment to produce a feature film.{{sfn|Kane|2010|p=28}} They wanted to capitalize on the film industry's "thirst for the bizarre", according to Romero.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2017/07/17/george-romero-godfather-zombie-horror-obituary/ |title=George A Romero, Godfather of Zombie Horror – Obituary |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=July 17, 2017 |access-date=August 27, 2023 |archive-date=August 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230827020019/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2017/07/17/george-romero-godfather-zombie-horror-obituary/ |url-status=live}}</ref> He, Streiner, and [[John A. Russo]] contacted Karl Hardman and Marilyn Eastman, president, and vice president respectively, of a Pittsburgh-based industrial film firm called Hardman Associates, Inc. The Latent Image pitched their idea for a then-untitled horror film.<ref name="Hardman/Eastmaninterview">{{cite interview |last1=Hardman |first1=Karl |last2=Eastman |first2=Marilyn |url=https://www.homepageofthedead.com/films/night/interviews_1.html |work=Homepage of the Dead |title=Interview with Karl Hardman and Marilyn Eastman |access-date=October 16, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151107014220/http://www.homepageofthedead.com/films/night/interviews_1.html |archive-date=November 7, 2015}}</ref>

These discussions led to the creation of Image Ten, a production company chartered to produce a single feature film. The initial budget was $6,000;{{sfn|Kane|2010|pp=20–23}} each member of the production company invested $600 for a share of the profits.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://variety.com/2017/film/obituaries-people-news/night-of-the-living-dead-george-kasana-dies-at-81-1201951718/ |title='Night of the Living Dead' Actor George Kosana Dies at 81 |last=Thorne |first=Will |date=January 3, 2017 |work=Variety |access-date=January 4, 2017 |archive-date=January 4, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170104114404/http://variety.com/2017/film/obituaries-people-news/night-of-the-living-dead-george-kasana-dies-at-81-1201951718/ |url-status=live}}</ref>{{efn|The initial ten members for which Image Ten gets its name are:

# George A. Romero
# John Russo
# Russell Streiner
# Marilyn Eastman
# Karl Hardman
# Vince Survinski (production manager)
# Richard Ricci (actor)
# Rudy Ricci (actor)
# Gary Streiner (sound)
# Dave Clipper (attorney) <br />{{harv|Kane|2010|p=22}} }} Ten more investors contributed another $6,000, but this was still insufficient.{{sfn|Russo|1985|pages=6–7}} Production stopped multiple times during filming while Romero used early footage to persuade additional investors.{{sfn|Peary|1981|p=227}} Image Ten eventually raised approximately $114,000 for the budget (${{Inflation|US|114000|1968|r=-3|fmt=c}} today).{{Inflation/fn|US}}{{sfn|Russo|1985|pages=6–7}}

=== Writing ===
[[File:Zombies NightoftheLivingDead.jpg|thumb |alt=A group of actors in zombie makeup shamble across the unlit lawn of the farmhouse. |Ghouls swarm around the house, searching for living [[Human cannibalism|human flesh]].]]
The script was co-written by Russo and Romero. They abandoned an early [[Horror comedy (genre)|horror comedy]] concept about adolescent aliens,{{sfn|Kane|2010|p=23}} after realizing they would not have the budget to create a convincing spaceship.{{sfn|Kane|2010|p=21}} Russo proposed a more constrained narrative where a young man runs away from home and discovers aliens harvesting human corpses for food in a cemetery.{{sfn|Russo|1985|pages=31, 61}}{{sfn|Kane|2010|pp=20–24}} Romero combined this idea with an unpublished short story about flesh-eating ghouls,{{sfn|Bishop|2006|p=199}} and they began filming with an incomplete script.{{sfn|Peary|1981|p=227}}{{sfn|Kane|2010|p=23}} According to Russo, the screenplay written prior to filming only covered events up to the emergence of the Cooper family.{{sfn|Surmacz|1975|p=16}} Russo completed the script while filming and Romero later expanded the final pages of his short story into the sequels ''[[Dawn of the Dead (1978 film)|Dawn of the Dead]]'' (1978) and ''[[Day of the Dead (1985 film)|Day of the Dead]]'' (1985).<ref>{{cite interview |last=Romero |first=George A. |title=George A. Romero Interview |work=Forbidden Weekend |publisher=BBC2 |date=February 2, 1997}}</ref>

Romero drew inspiration from [[Richard Matheson]]'s ''[[I Am Legend (novel)|I Am Legend]]'' (1954),{{sfn|Dinello|2006|p=257}}{{efn|Official film adaptations of Matheson's novel include ''[[The Last Man on Earth (1964 film)|The Last Man on Earth]]'' (1964), ''[[The Omega Man]]'' (1971), and the 2007 release ''[[I Am Legend (film)|I Am Legend]]''.}} a [[horror fiction|horror novel]] about a [[Epidemic|plague]] that ravages a futuristic Los Angeles. The infected in ''I Am Legend'' become [[vampire]]-like creatures and prey on the uninfected.{{sfn|Paffenroth|2006|pp=138–143}}{{sfn|Russo|1985|pages=6–7}}<ref>{{cite book |author=Matheson, Richard |author-link=Richard Matheson |title=I Am Legend |orig-year=1954 |publisher=Orb Books |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-312-86504-7}}</ref> Matheson described Romero's interpretation as "kind of cornball",{{sfn|Weaver|1999|p=307}} and more theft than homage.<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Clark |last=Collis |title=An Author You Can't Refuse |url=https://ew.com/article/2007/11/30/richard-mathesons-latest-sci-fi-project/ |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=December 7, 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180731002331/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20164028,00.html |archive-date=July 31, 2018}}</ref> In an interview, Romero contrasted ''Night of the Living Dead'' with ''I Am Legend''. He explained that Matheson wrote about the aftermath of a complete global upheaval; Romero wanted to explore how people would respond to that kind of disaster as it developed.<ref>{{cite web |first=Marianna |last=McConnell |url=https://cinemablend.com/new/Interview-George-A-Romero-On-Diary-Of-The-Dead-7818.html |title=Interview: George A. Romero On ''Diary of the Dead'' |work=Cinema Blend |date=January 24, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191226094750/https://www.cinemablend.com/new/Interview-George-A-Romero-On-Diary-Of-The-Dead-7818.html |archive-date=December 26, 2019}}</ref>

Much of the dialogue was altered, rewritten, or improvised by the cast.{{sfn|Kane|2010|pp=33–34, 40, 45}} Lead actress Judith O'Dea told an interviewer, "I don't know if there was an actual working script! We would go over what basically had to be done, then just did it the way we each felt it ''should'' be done".{{sfn|Collum|2004|p=4}} One example offered by O'Dea concerns a scene where Barbra tells Ben about Johnny's death. O'Dea said that the script vaguely had Barbra talk about riding in the car with Johnny before they were attacked. She described Barbra's dialogue for the scene as entirely [[improv theater|improv]].{{sfn|Collum|2004|pages=3–4}} Eastman modified the scenes written for Helen and Harry Cooper in the cellar.<ref name="Hardman/Eastmaninterview"/> Karl Hardman attributed Ben's lines to lead actor Duane Jones. Ben was an uneducated truck driver in the script until Jones began to rewrite his character.{{sfn|Kane|2010|pp=32–35}}<ref name="Hardman/Eastmaninterview"/>

The lead role was initially written for a [[white American|white]] actor, but upon casting black actor Duane Jones, Romero intentionally did not alter the script to reflect this.<ref name="Walkdead"/> The film appeared in theaters at a time when very few black actors played leading roles. The rare exceptions, like the consciously black heroes played by [[Sidney Poitier]], were written as subservient to make those characters palatable to white audiences.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=McGreevy |first=Nora |date=January 7, 2022 |title=How Sidney Poitier Rewrote the Script for Black Actors in Hollywood |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-sidney-poitier-rewrote-the-script-for-black-actors-in-hollywood-180979333/ |magazine=[[Smithsonian Magazine]] |access-date=January 8, 2022 |archive-date=January 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220108205154/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-sidney-poitier-rewrote-the-script-for-black-actors-in-hollywood-180979333/ |url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Harper|2005}} Asked in 2013 if he took inspiration from the [[assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.]] in the same year that the movie was made, Romero responded in the negative, noting that he only heard about the shooting when he was on his way to find distribution for the finished film.<ref name="Walkdead"/>

=== Filming ===
==== Principal photography ====
{{multiple image
 | direction = vertical
 | width = 220
 | image1 = EvansCityCemetery PA.jpg
 | caption1 = [[Evans City, Pennsylvania|Evans City]] Cemetery in 2007
 | alt1 = Color photograph of tombstones from the film.
 | image2 = Evans City Cemetery Chapel, Evans City, PA - February 2009.jpg
 | caption2 = Cemetery Chapel in 2009
 | alt2 = Color photograph of the cemetery chapel seen in the film, now with all windows boarded over.
}}
The small budget dictated much of the production process.<ref name="Hardman/Eastmaninterview"/>{{sfn|Newman|2000|p=57}} Scenes were filmed near [[Evans City, Pennsylvania|Evans City]], Pennsylvania, {{convert|30|mi|km}} north of Pittsburgh in rural [[Butler County, Pennsylvania|Butler County]];{{sfn|Kane|2010|p=46}} the opening sequence was shot at the Evans City Cemetery on Franklin Road, south of the borough.{{sfn|Kane|2010|pages=55–6}}{{efn|In 2011, when the cemetery chapel was under warrant for demolition, Gary R. Steiner led a successful effort to raise funding to restore the building.<ref name="fix">{{cite web |url=http://www.fixthechapel.com/ |title=Save the Evans City Cemetery Chapel |access-date=October 4, 2013 |archive-date=October 5, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005173755/http://www.fixthechapel.com/ |publisher=Living Dead Festival, LLC}}</ref><ref name="trib">{{cite news |last=Farkas |first=Rachel |date=August 31, 2013 |url=https://archive.triblive.com/news/zombie-fans-celebrate-iconic-night-of-the-living-dead-in-evans-city/ |title=Zombie Fans Celebrate Iconic 'Night of the Living Dead' |access-date=October 4, 2013 |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116014144/https://triblive.com/mobile/4609845-96/dead-evans-living |url-status=live |newspaper=TribLIVE |publisher=Trib Total Media}}</ref>}} Lacking the money to build or purchase a house for the main set, the filmmakers rented a nearby farmhouse scheduled for demolition. Though it lacked running water, some crew members slept there during the shooting, taking baths in a nearby creek.{{sfn|Hervey|2008|pp=10–11}} The building's neglected cellar was not a viable location for filming, so the few basement scenes were shot beneath The Latent Image offices.{{sfn|Kane|2010|pp=28, 29, 59}} The basement door shown in the film was cut into a wall by the production team and led nowhere.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://screenrant.com/night-of-the-living-dead-1968-hidden-details-trivia/ |title=10 Hidden Details Everyone Missed In Night Of The Living Dead |first=Colin |last=McCormick |date=February 4, 2021 |website=ScreenRant |access-date=September 2, 2023 |archive-date=September 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902053222/https://screenrant.com/night-of-the-living-dead-1968-hidden-details-trivia/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Theatrical property|Props]] and [[special effect]]s were simple and limited by the budget. The blood, for example, was [[Bosco Chocolate Syrup]] drizzled over cast members' bodies.{{sfn|Kane|2010|p=n184}} The human flesh consumed by ghouls consisted of meat and [[offal]] donated by an investor's butcher shop.{{sfn|Hoberman|Rosenbaum|1983|p=121}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://daily.jstor.org/the-d-i-y-origins-of-night-of-the-living-dead/ |title=The D-I-Y Origins of Night of the Living Dead |first=Elizabeth |last=Winterhalter |date=November 5, 2020 |website=JSTOR Daily |access-date=September 2, 2023 |archive-date=September 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902063336/https://daily.jstor.org/the-d-i-y-origins-of-night-of-the-living-dead/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Zombie makeup varied during the film. Initially, makeup was limited to white skin with blackened eyes. As filming progressed, mortician's wax simulated wounds and decaying flesh.{{sfn|Kane|2010|pp=47–49, 58}} Filming took place between July 1967 and January 1968 under various titles. Work began under the generic working title ''Monster Flick'', was changed to ''Night of Anubis'' after Romero's short story that provided the basis for the script, and was completed as ''Night of the Flesh Eaters'', a title not used in the final release due to a potential conflict with a [[The Flesh Eaters (film)|similarly named film]].<ref name="Scrapbook, Special Features 2002">{{cite AV media |people=Romero, George A. |display-authors=etal |title=Scrapbook |work=Night of the Living Dead |publisher=Elite Entertainment |year=2002 |type=DVD |series=Millennium Edition}}</ref>{{sfn|Heffernan|2004|p=219}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://horrorstudies.library.pitt.edu/content/night-flesh-eaters-mini-banners |title=Night of the Flesh Eaters Mini-Banners |website=Horror Studies Collection |publisher=University of Pittsburgh Library Systems |last=Hart |first=Adam Charles |access-date=September 2, 2023 |archive-date=September 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902060824/https://horrorstudies.library.pitt.edu/content/night-flesh-eaters-mini-banners |url-status=live}}</ref> The small budget led Romero to shoot on [[35mm movie film|35 mm]] black-and-white film. The completed film ultimately benefited from the decision, as film historian Joseph Maddrey describes the black-and-white filming as "[[guerrilla filmmaking|guerrilla-style]]", resembling "the unflinching authority of a wartime newsreel". He found the [[exploitation film]] to resemble a documentary on social instability.{{sfn|Maddrey|2004|p=51}}

==== Directing ====
[[File:Girl zombie eating her victim Night of the Living Dead bw.jpg|alt=Karen Cooper leans over her father's bloody corpse holding two handfuls of meat in a still from the film.|thumb|Living dead Karen Cooper, eating her father's corpse]]

''Night of the Living Dead'' was the first feature-length film directed by George A. Romero. His initial work involved filming advertisements, industrial films, and [[Short film|shorts]] for Pittsburgh public broadcaster [[WQED (TV)|WQED]]'s children's series ''[[Mister Rogers' Neighborhood]]''.<ref name="DOD">{{cite AV media |title=Dawn of the Dead |type=DVD |date=2004 |chapter=George A. Romero Bio |publisher=Anchor Bay |edition=Special Divimax}}.</ref><ref>{{multiref2
|{{cite web |url=http://www.diamonddead.com/diary/view.php?s=YTo |author=Romero, George A. |author-link=George A. Romero |title=''Bloody Diary: Part 1'' |website=diamonddead.com |date=January 7, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070214070123/http://www.diamonddead.com/diary/view.php?s=YToyOntzOjM6ImFpZCI7czoxOiIzIjtzOjI6ImlkIjtzOjI6IjE2Ijt9 |archive-date=February 14, 2007 |ref=none}}
|{{cite web |url=http://www.diamonddead.com/diary/view.php?s=YToyOntzOjM6ImFpZCI7czoxOiIzIjtzOjI6ImlkIjtzOjI6IjI4Ijt9 |author=Romero, George A. |author-link=George A. Romero |title=''Bloody Diary: Part 2'' |website=diamonddead.com |date=January 15, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070216005517/http://www.diamonddead.com/diary/view.php?s=YToyOntzOjM6ImFpZCI7czoxOiIzIjtzOjI6ImlkIjtzOjI6IjI4Ijt9 |archive-date=February 16, 2007 |ref=none}}
|{{cite web |url=http://www.diamonddead.com/diary/view.php?s=YToyOntzOjM6ImFpZCI7czoxOiIzIjtzOjI6ImlkIjtzOjI6IjM1Ijt9 |author=Romero, George A. |author-link=George A. Romero |title=''Bloody Diary: Part 3'' |website=diamonddead.com |date=January 28, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061026095318/http://www.diamonddead.com/diary/view.php?s=YToyOntzOjM6ImFpZCI7czoxOiIzIjtzOjI6ImlkIjtzOjI6IjM1Ijt9 |archive-date=October 26, 2006 |ref=none}}
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.grunge.com/816022/how-mr-rogers-gave-night-of-the-living-dead-director-george-romero-his-start/ |title=How Mr Rogers Gave Night Of The Living Dead Director George Romero His Start |first=Matt |last=Reigle |date=March 30, 2022 |website=Grunge |access-date=September 4, 2023 |archive-date=September 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230904014148/https://www.grunge.com/816022/how-mr-rogers-gave-night-of-the-living-dead-director-george-romero-his-start/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Romero's decision to direct ''Night of the Living Dead'' launched his career as a horror director. He took the helm of the sequels as well as ''[[Season of the Witch (1972 film)|Season of the Witch]]'' (1972), ''[[The Crazies (1973 film)|The Crazies]]'' (1973), ''[[Martin (1978 film)|Martin]]'' (1978), ''[[Creepshow]]'' (1982) and ''[[The Dark Half (film)|The Dark Half]]'' (1993).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ew.com/movies/george-romero-movies-ranked/ |title=George Romero Movies, Ranked |first=Declan |last=Gallagher |date=August 17, 2023 |website=EW.com |access-date=September 4, 2023 |archive-date=September 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230904014151/https://ew.com/movies/george-romero-movies-ranked/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/literary-cultural-heritage-map-pa/bios/Romero__George |title=George A. Romero |publisher=Pennsylvania State University Libraries |website=Center for the Book |access-date=September 4, 2023 |archive-date=September 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230904014204/https://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/literary-cultural-heritage-map-pa/bios/Romero__George |url-status=live}}</ref> Critics saw the influence of the horror and science-fiction films of the 1950s in Romero's directorial style. Stephen Paul Miller, for instance, witnessed "a revival of fifties schlock shock ... and the army general's television discussion of military operations in the film echoes the often inevitable calling-in of the army in fifties horror films". Miller admits that "''Night of the Living Dead'' takes greater relish in mocking these military operations through the general's pompous demeanor" and the government's inability to source the zombie epidemic or protect the citizenry.{{sfn|Miller|1999|p=81}} Romero described the film's intended mood as a downward arc from near hopelessness to complete tragedy. Film historian Carl Royer praised the film's sophistication—especially considering Romero's limited experience—and noted the use of [[chiaroscuro]] ([[film noir]] style) lighting to create a mood of increasing alienation.{{sfn|Royer|2005|p=15}}

''Night'' was visually influenced by [[Golden Age of Comic Books|Golden Age]] [[horror comics]].{{sfn|Chute|1982|p=15}} The [[EC Comics]] books that Romero read as a child were graphic stories set in modern America. They often featured brutal deaths and reanimated corpses seeking revenge on the living.{{sfn|Hervey|2008|p=36}} Romero said that he tried to bring into the film the "real hard shadows and weird angles and beautiful lighting that a comic book artist can create."{{sfn|Selby|2004|loc=43:40}} He later collaborated with horror writer [[Stephen King]] and former EC Comics artists on the homage ''[[Creepshow]]''.{{sfn|Selby|2004|loc=44:25}}

While some critics dismissed Romero's film because of the graphic scenes, writer [[R. H. W. Dillard]] claimed that the "open-eyed detailing" of [[taboo]] heightened the film's success. He asked, "What girl has not, at one time or another, wished to kill her mother? And Karen, in the film, offers a particularly vivid opportunity to commit the forbidden deed vicariously."{{sfn|Dillard|Waller|1988|p=15}} Romero featured social taboos as key themes, especially cannibalism. Film historian Robin Wood interprets the flesh-eating scenes of ''Night of the Living Dead'' as a late-1960s critique of American capitalism. Wood argues that the zombies' consumption of people represents the logical endpoint of human interactions under capitalism.{{sfn|Wood|1985|p=213}}

=== Post-production ===
Members of Image Ten were involved in filming and [[Film editing|post-production]], participating in loading [[camera magazine]]s, [[Gaffer (filmmaking)|gaffing]], constructing props, recording sounds and editing.{{sfn|Russo|1985|p=7}} Production stills were shot and printed by Karl Hardman, assisted by a "production line" of other cast members.<ref name="Hardman/Eastmaninterview"/> Upon completion of post-production, Image Ten found it difficult to secure a distributor willing to show the film with the gruesome scenes intact. [[Columbia Pictures|Columbia]] rejected the film for its lack of color, and [[American International Pictures]] declined after requests to soften it and re-shoot the final scene were rejected by producers.{{sfn|Peary|1981|p=227}} The [[Walter Reade|Walter Reade Organization]] agreed to show the film uncensored but changed the title from ''Night of the Flesh Eaters'' to ''Night of the Living Dead'' because of an existing film with a [[The Flesh Eaters (film)|similar title]]. While changing the title, the copyright notice was accidentally deleted from the early releases of the film.{{sfn|Boluk|Lenz|2011|p=5}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.library.cmu.edu/about/news/2017-11/legacy-dead-zombie-redux |title=Legacy of the Dead: Zombie Redux |publisher=Carnegie Mellon University |website=CMU Libraries |access-date=September 4, 2023 |archive-date=September 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230904020141/https://www.library.cmu.edu/about/news/2017-11/legacy-dead-zombie-redux |url-status=live |last1=Mulligan |first1=Rikk |last2=Prisbylla |first2=Andy |last3=Scherer |first3=David}}</ref>

=== Soundtrack ===
[[File:0752 Fallout When and How to Protect Yourself Against It 12 01 05 00.ogg|thumbtime=114 |thumb |alt=|start=6|end=28|Drawn from pre-existing recordings, the music in ''Night of the Living Dead'' appears in many other films. The composition from the end credits previously appeared during this 1959 nuclear fallout public service video.<ref>{{cite journal |trans-title=New Children of War: On the Iconography of the Zombie Archetype in the Context of the Vietnam War |title=Des Krieges Neue Kinder. ÜBerlegungen Zur Ikonografie Des Zombiearchetyps Im Kontext Des Vietnamkriegs |last=Drogla |first=Paul |date=2015 |journal=Zeitschrift für Fantastikforschung |language=German |issue=2 |page=31:24 |quote=[...] Lehrfilms Fallout: When and How to Protect Yourself Against It  (USA 1959, produziert von Creative Arts Studio Inc. im Auftrag des Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization). Was im Aufklärungsfilm einleitend Aufnahmen von Nuklearexplosionen begleitet, unterlegt in NIGHT die dokumentierte Katastrophe im Abspann (vgl. Höltgen 23). |trans-quote=[...] educational film Fallout: When and How to Protect Yourself Against It  (USA 1959, produced by Creative Arts Studio Inc. on behalf of the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization). What accompanies the introductory shots of nuclear explosions in the educational film is accompanied by the documented catastrophe in the end credits in NIGHT (cf. Höltgen 23).}}</ref>]]

The film's music consisted of existing pieces that were mixed or modified for the film. Much of the soundtrack had been used by previous films.{{efn|The opening title music with the car on the road had been used in a 1961 episode of the TV series ''[[Ben Casey]]'' entitled "I Remember a Lemon Tree" and is also featured in an episode of ''[[Naked City (TV series)#Season 1: 1958–59|Naked City]]'' entitled "Bullets Cost Too Much". Most of the music in the film had previously been used on the soundtrack for the science-fiction [[B movie|B-movie]] ''[[Teenagers from Outer Space (film)|Teenagers from Outer Space]]'' (1959), as well as several pieces used in the classic [[Steve McQueen]] western series ''[[Wanted Dead or Alive (TV series)|Wanted Dead or Alive]]'' (1958–61). The piece playing when Ben finds the rifle can be heard in a more complete form during the beginning of ''[[The Devil's Messenger]]'' (1961) starring [[Lon Chaney Jr.]] Another piece, accompanying Barbra's flight from the cemetery zombie, was taken from the score for ''[[The Hideous Sun Demon]]'' (1959) {{harv|Kane|2010|pp=71–72}}.}}  Romero selected tracks from the [[Hi-Q (production music)|Hi-Q music library]], and Hardman cut them to match the scenes and augmented them with electronic effects.{{sfn|Kane|2010|pp=71–72}}<ref name="Hardman/Eastmaninterview"/> Probably the most recognizable production music to be used were from the Hi-Q reel D-24 (1956), which included several tracks composed by Spencer Moore titled "Eerie - Heavy Echo" and include the opening and closing music in the film.<ref name="comerford-2011"/> Previous uses of some of the "Eerie - Heavy Echo" tracks in film and television include the ''[[Gumby]]'' episode "The Magic Show" (1956), the low-budget science fiction film ''[[Teenagers from Outer Space (film)|Teenagers from Outer Space]]'' (1959), and the [[civil defence]] film ''Fallout: When and How to Protect Yourself Against It'' (1959).

A soundtrack album featuring music and dialogue cues from the film was compiled and released on LP by [[Varèse Sarabande]] in 1982. In 2010, Jim Cirronella, a producer and writer for the ''Night of the Living Dead'' documentary ''[[Autopsy of the Dead]]'', put together the collection ''They Won't Stay Dead! (Music from the Soundtrack of Night of the Living Dead)'' containing the complete collection of Hi-Q music used in the film, plus a recording of the music box used in one of the scenes in the film.<ref name="comerford-2011">{{Cite web |last=Comerford |first=Jason |title=Night of The Living Dead (1968) by various artists including Spencer Moore (Season 02, Episode 13) |work=13 Chills: Thirteen Memorable Moments In Horror Film Music |format=podcast transcript |access-date=2025-03-24 |date=2011-10-01 |url=https://www.howlinwolfrecords.com/13chills/2011/13chills2011_13_nightofthelivingdead.html |publisher=Howlin' Wolf Records}}</ref> However, the collection did not contain the electronic effects created by Hardman. In 2020, [[Waxwork Records]] issued a 50th Anniversary edition of the original soundtrack, produced in cooperation with the surviving members of Image Ten, that contained a fully remastered version of the complete soundtrack, including material thought to be lost.<ref name="kaplan-2023">{{Cite web |last=Kaplan |first=Avery |title=They won't stay dead!: Revisiting the ''Night of the Living Dead'' soundtrack |work=The Beat |access-date=2025-03-24 |date=2023-10-23 |url=https://www.comicsbeat.com/horror-beat-they-wont-stay-dead-revisiting-the-night-of-the-living-dead-soundtrack/}}</ref><ref name="waxworkrecords">{{Cite web |title=Night Of The Living Dead: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack |work=Waxwork Records |access-date=2025-03-24 |url=https://waxworkrecords.com/products/night-of-the-living-dead}}</ref>

==== 1982 Varèse Sarabande edition track listing ====
{{Track listing
| headline        = Side one

| title1          = Driveway to the Cemetery (Main Theme)
| note1           =
| writer1         = Spencer Moore
| length1         = 02:19

| title2          = At the Gravesite/Flight/Refuge
| note2           =
| writer2         = [[William Loose]]/[[William Loose|Loose]]—Seely/[[William Loose|W. Loose]]
| length2         = 03:42

| title3          = Farmhouse/First Approach
| note3           =
| writer3         = [[Geordie Hormel]]
| length3         = 01:16

| title4          = Ghoulash (J.R.'s Demise)
| note4           =
| writer4         = [[Ib Glindemann]]
| length4         = 03:30

| title5          = Boarding Up
| note5           =
| writer5         = [[Geordie Hormel|G. Hormel]]/Loose—Seely/[[Ib Glindemann|Glindemann]]
| length5         = 03:00

| title6          = First Radio Report/Torch on the Porch
| note6           =
| writer6         = [[Philip Green (composer)|Phil Green]]/G. Hormel
| length6         = 02:27

| title7          = Boarding Up 2/Discovery: Gun 'n Ammo
| note7           =
| writer7         = G. Hormel
| length7         = 02:07

| title8          = Cleaning House
| note8           =
| writer8         = S. Moore
| length8         = 01:36
}}

{{Track listing
| headline        = Side two

| title9          = First Advance
| note9           =
| writer9         = Ib Glindemann
| length9         = 02:43

| title10         = Discovery of TV/Preparing to Escape/Tom & Judy
| note10          = All the samples of the track were composed by Geordie Hormel
| writer10        = G. Hormel/J. Meakin/J. Meakin
| length10        = 04:20

| title11         = Attempted Escape
| note11          =
| writer11        = G. Hormel
| length11        = 01:29

| title12         = Truck on Fire/Ben Attacks Harry/Leg of Leg*
| note12          = *electronic sound effects by Karl Hardman
| writer12        = G. Hormel
| length12        = 03:41

| title13         = Beat 'Em or Burn 'Em/Final Advance
| note13          = ''Final Advance'' was composed by [[Harry Bluestone]] and [[Emil Cadkin]]
| writer13        = G. Hormel
| length13        = 02:50

| title14         = Helen's Death*/Dawn/Posse in the Fields/Ben Awakes
| note14          = *electronic sound effects by Karl Hardman
| writer14        = S. Moore
| length14        = 03:05

| title15         = O.K. Vince/Funeral Pyre (End Title)
| note15          =
| writer15        = S. Moore
| length15        = 01:10
}}

== Release ==
=== Premiere controversy ===
[[File:Night Of The Living Dead (1968) - trailer.webm|thumb|start=2|thumbtime=102|''Night of the Living Dead'' trailer highlighting the film's gore and violence]]

''Night of the Living Dead'' premiered on October 1, 1968, at the Fulton Theater in [[Pittsburgh]].{{sfn|Collum|2004|p=3}} Nationally, it was a Saturday afternoon matinée—typical for horror films at the time—and attracted the usual horror film audience of mainly [[Preadolescence|pre-teen]]s and [[adolescence|adolescents]].{{sfn|Russo|1985|p=70}}{{sfn|Heffernan|2002|pp=59–60}}<ref name="Ebertreview">{{cite news |last=Ebert |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Ebert |title=Night of the Living Dead |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |date=January 5, 1969 |url=https://rogerebert.com/reviews/the-night-of-the-living-dead-1968 |access-date=March 20, 2015 |archive-date=March 14, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150314213621/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-night-of-the-living-dead-1968 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Motion Picture Association of America film rating system|MPAA film rating system]] was not in place until the following month, so children were able to purchase tickets. [[Roger Ebert]] of the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' chided theater owners and parents who allowed children access to a film they were entirely unprepared for. Ebert noted that the children in the audience initially displayed typical reactions to '60s horror films, including shouting when ghouls appeared on the screen. He said that the atmosphere in the theater shifted to grim silence as the protagonists each began to fail, die, and be consumed—either by fire or the undead.<ref name="Ebertreview"/> The deaths of Ben, Barbra, and the supporting cast showed audiences an uncomfortable, [[nihilism|nihilistic]] outlook that was unusual for the genre.{{sfn|Jones|2005|pages=117–18}}  According to Ebert:

{{blockquote|The kids in the audience were stunned. There was almost complete silence. The movie had stopped being delightfully scary about halfway through, and had become unexpectedly terrifying. There was a little girl across the aisle from me, maybe nine years old, who was sitting very still in her seat and crying ... It's hard to remember what sort of effect this movie might have had on you when you were six or seven. But try to remember. At that age, kids take the events on the screen seriously, and they identify fiercely with the hero. When the hero is killed, that's not an unhappy ending but a tragic one: Nobody got out alive. It's just over, that's all.<ref name="Ebertreview"/>}}

A review in ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' denounced the movie as a moral failing of the film's makers, the horror genre, and regional cinema.<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://variety.com/1968/film/reviews/night-of-the-living-dead-1200421603/ |title='Night of the Living Dead': Film Review |magazine=Variety |date=October 15, 1968 |access-date=July 23, 2024}}</ref> The reviewer claimed that the "unrelieved orgy of [[Sadomasochism|sadism]]" was effectively pornography due to its [[Graphic violence|extreme violence]].{{sfn|Russell|2008|p=65}} These early denouncements would not limit the film's commercial success or later critical recognition.{{sfn|Paffenroth|2006|pp=27–28}}

=== Critical reception ===
[[File:StateTheatreAnnArborMarquee.jpg|thumb|alt=The neon marquee of a theater lists several notable cult films including Donnie Darko, Reanimator, and Night of the Living Dead. |Decades after its initial release, a theater runs a midnight showing of the cult classic]]

In 1969, George Abagnalo published the film's first positive critical review in the fourth issue of Warhol's ''Interview'' magazine.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Abagnalo |first1=George |title=Night of the Living Dead |journal=Interview |date=1969 |volume=1 |issue=4 |pages=23 |url=https://blog.nuclearsecrecy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/1969-Abagnalo-Interview-Night-of-the-Living-Dead-review.pdf}}</ref> That issue also contained an interview of director George A. Romero by Abagnalo along with William Terry Ork.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ork |first1=Terry |last2=Abagnalo |first2=George |title=Night of the Living Dead – Interview with George A. Romero |journal=Interview |date=1969 |volume=1 |issue=4 |page=23}}</ref> The review and interview are known as the first acknowledgements of the importance of the film.{{sfn|Hervey|2008|pp=16–17}}<ref>{{cite web |last1=Punch |first1=David A. |title=Night of the Living Dead: Horrors of Reality Manifested in the Flesh |url=https://medium.com/@DavidA.Punch/night-of-the-living-dead-horrors-of-reality-manifested-in-the-flesh-46722bb15e8a |website=Medium |date=October 2, 2018 |access-date=June 13, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Kuhns |first1=Rob (director) |title=Birth of the Living Dead |date=2014 |publisher=First Run Features (Documentary Film)}}</ref>

Five years after the film's premiere, Paul McCullough of ''[[Take One (Canadian magazine)|Take One]]'' observed that ''Night of the Living Dead'' was the "most profitable horror film ever ... produced outside the walls of a major studio".<ref>{{cite news |author=McCullough, Paul |title=A Pittsburgh Horror Story |work=Take One |volume=4 |number=6 |date=July–August 1973 |page=8}}</ref> In the decade after its release, the film grossed over $15&nbsp;million at the U.S. box office. It was translated into over 25 languages.{{sfn|Higashi|1990|p=175}} ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' reported that it was the top-grossing film in Europe in 1968.{{sfn|Dillard|Waller|1988|p=15}}{{sfn|Dillard|Waller|1988|p=15}} In a 1971 ''[[Newsweek]]'' article, [[Paul D. Zimmerman]] noted that the film had "become a bona fide cult movie for a burgeoning band of blood-lusting cinema buffs".<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Zimmerman |first1=Paul D. |author-link=Paul D. Zimmerman |title=We Killed 'Em in Pittsburgh |magazine=Newsweek |date=November 8, 1971 |page=118}}</ref>

Decades after its release, the film enjoys a reputation as a classic and still receives positive reviews.<ref>{{cite news |title='Night of the Living Dead': What a Zombie Classic Says About Death in America |last=Rouner |first=Jef |date=July 3, 2018 |publisher=Hearst Newspapers, LLC |newspaper=Houston Chronicle |url=https://www.chron.com/entertainment/movies_tv/article/Night-of-the-Living-Dead-What-a-zombie-13047293.php}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/15/movies/night-of-the-living-dead-zombies-restored-to-their-full-beauty.html |title='Night of the Living Dead': Zombies Restored to Their Full Beauty |first=Glenn |last=Kenny |date=February 16, 2018 |newspaper=New York Times |access-date=September 7, 2023 |archive-date=August 23, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180823075121/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/15/movies/night-of-the-living-dead-zombies-restored-to-their-full-beauty.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Mann |first=Brian |date=December 23, 2018 |newspaper=NPR |title=When An Undead Apocalypse First Swept America In The 'Night Of The Living Dead' |url=https://www.npr.org/2018/12/03/672202431/when-an-undead-apocalypse-first-swept-america-in-the-night-of-the-living-dead |access-date=September 7, 2023 |archive-date=April 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417181432/https://www.npr.org/2018/12/03/672202431/when-an-undead-apocalypse-first-swept-america-in-the-night-of-the-living-dead |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2008, the film was ranked by ''[[Empire (film magazine)|Empire]]'' magazine No. 397 of ''The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time''.<ref>{{cite magazine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118222018/http://www.empireonline.com/500/21.asp |url=https://www.empireonline.com/500/21.asp |archive-date=January 18, 2012 |title=The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time |magazine=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]] |access-date=August 5, 2010}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' also placed the film on their ''Best 1000 Movies Ever'' list.<ref>{{cite news |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080612032429/https://www.nytimes.com/ref/movies/1000best.html |url=https://www.nytimes.com/ref/movies/1000best.html |title=The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 29, 2003 |access-date=June 12, 2008 |archive-date=June 12, 2008}}</ref> In January 2010, ''[[Total Film]]'' included the film on its list of ''The 100 Greatest Movies of All Time''.<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519171047/http://www.totalfilm.com/features/100-greatest-movies-of-all-time/page:7 |url=http://www.totalfilm.com/features/100-greatest-movies-of-all-time/page:7 |archive-date=May 19, 2011 |title=100 Greatest Movies Of All Time |website=Total Film |department=Features |date=January 25, 2010 |page=7}}</ref> ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' named ''Night of the Living Dead'' one of ''The 100 Maverick Movies in the Last 100 Years''.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.filmsite.org/rstone2.html |title=100 Maverick Movies in the Last 100 Years |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]. Published by [[AMC (TV channel)|AMC]] [[Filmsite.org]] |access-date=January 15, 2011 |archive-date=June 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210605015559/https://www.filmsite.org/rstone2.html |url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Reader's Digest]]'' found it to be the 12th scariest movie of all time.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rd.com/list/the-31-scariest-movies/#slideshow=slide12 |title=The 31 Scariest Movies of All Time |work=Reader's Digest |access-date=December 31, 2020 |archive-date=December 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221152557/https://www.rd.com/list/the-31-scariest-movies//#slideshow=slide12 |url-status=live}}</ref> {{Rotten Tomatoes prose|95|8.9|84|George A. Romero's debut set the template for the zombie film, and features tight editing, realistic gore, and a sly political undercurrent.|ref=yes|access-date=October 12, 2023 |archive-date=August 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803094113/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1015052-night_of_the_living_dead |url-status=live}} {{Metacritic film prose|89|17|ref=yes|access-date=October 31, 2023}}

''Night of the Living Dead'' was awarded two distinguished honors decades after its debut. The [[Library of Congress]] added the film to the [[National Film Registry]] in 1999 with other films deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".<ref name="CNN">{{Cite news |url=https://edition.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/Movies/9911/16/natl.film.registry/ |title=U.S. Film Registry Adds 25 New Titles |last=Allen |first=Jamie |date=November 16, 1999 |access-date=November 20, 2017 |publisher=CNN |department=Entertainment |archive-date=June 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616011440/https://edition.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/Movies/9911/16/natl.film.registry/ |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=":0"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Librarian of Congress Names 25 More Films to National Film Registry |date=November 16, 1999 |url=https://www.loc.gov/today/pr/1999/99-174.html |publisher=Library of Congress |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160707074055/http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/1999/99-174.html |archive-date=July 7, 2016}}. Retrieved June 24, 2006.</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite web |title=Complete National Film Registry Listing |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/ |access-date=2020-05-06 |website=Library of Congress |archive-date=March 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305191832/https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/ |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2001, the film was ranked No. 93 by the [[American Film Institute]] on their ''[[AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Thrills]]'' list, a list of America's most heart-pounding movies.<ref>{{cite web |title=AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Thrills |url=https://www.afi.com/docs/tvevents/pdf/thrills100.pdf |publisher=American Film Institute |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514033323/http://www.afi.com/Docs/tvevents/pdf/thrills100.pdf |archive-date=May 14, 2019 |access-date=June 24, 2006}}</ref> The zombies in the picture were also a candidate for AFI's ''[[AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Heroes & Villains]]'', in the villains category, but failed to make the official list.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://connect.afi.com/site/DocServer/handv400.pdf?docID=245 |title=AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Heroes and Villains: The 400 Nominated Characters |publisher=afi.com |access-date=June 6, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807135603/http://connect.afi.com/site/DocServer/handv400.pdf?docID=245 |archive-date=August 7, 2011}}</ref> The [[Chicago Film Critics Association]] named it the 5th scariest film ever made.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.altfg.com/film/chicago-critics-scariest-films/ |title=Chicago Critics' Scariest Films |publisher=AltFilmGuide.com |access-date=May 21, 2010 |archive-date=February 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226232241/https://www.altfg.com/film/chicago-critics-scariest-films/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The film also ranked No. 9 on [[Bravo (U.S. TV channel)|Bravo]]'s ''[[The 100 Scariest Movie Moments]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bravotv.com/The_100_Scariest_Movie_Moments/index.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071030070540/http://www.bravotv.com/The_100_Scariest_Movie_Moments/index.shtml |archive-date=October 30, 2007 |title=Bravo's The 100 Scariest Movie Moments |access-date=May 21, 2010}}</ref> Rotten Tomatoes lists the film on its 100 Best Zombie Movies, Ranked by Tomatometer.<ref>{{Cite web |title=100 Best Zombie Movies, Ranked by Tomatometer |url=https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/essential-zombie-movies/ |access-date=2025-05-04 |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

{{Anchor|Reviews|Critics}}
''New Yorker'' critic [[Pauline Kael]] called the film "one of the most gruesomely terrifying movies ever made – and when you leave the theatre you may wish you could forget the whole horrible experience.&nbsp;... The film's grainy, banal seriousness works for it – gives it a crude realism".{{sfn|Kael|1991|p=526}} A ''[[Film Daily]]'' critic commented, "This is a pearl of a horror picture that exhibits all the earmarks of a [[sleeper hit|sleeper]]."{{sfn|Higashi|1990|p=175 | loc = ''Film Daily'', review of ''Night of the Living Dead''}} While Roger Ebert criticized the matinée screening, he admitted that he "admires the movie itself".<ref name="Ebertreview"/> Critic [[Rex Reed]] wrote, "If you want to see what turns a B movie into a classic ... don't miss ''Night of the Living Dead''. It is unthinkable for anyone seriously interested in horror movies not to see it."{{sfn|Petsko|2011|page=108}}

=== Copyright status and home media ===
In the United States, ''Night of the Living Dead'' was mistakenly released into the [[public domain]] because the original distributor failed to replace the [[copyright notice]] when changing the film's name.{{sfn|Boluk|Lenz|2011|p=5}}{{sfn|Kane|2010|pp=93–94}} Image Ten displayed a notice on the title frames of the film beneath the original title, ''Night of the Flesh Eaters'', but the Walter Reade Organization removed it when changing the title.{{sfn|Boluk|Lenz|2011|p=5}}<ref name='public_release'>United States Senate, Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Technology and the Law, ''Legal Issues that Arise when Color is Added to Films Originally Produced, Sold and Distributed in Black and White'' (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1988), p. 83.</ref> At that time, [[Copyright law of the United States|United States copyright law]] held that public dissemination required copyright notice to maintain a copyright.<ref>{{cite book |title=Copyright Law of the United States |chapter=Copyright Notice, Deposit, and Registration |publisher=U.S. Copyright Office |edition=Circular 92 |url=https://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap4.html#405 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201218004422/https://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap4.html#405 |archive-date=December 18, 2020 |at=sec.&nbsp;Omission of notice on certain copies and phonorecords}}</ref> Four years after the film's release, its creators discovered that the original prints distributed to theaters had no copyright protection, which they were upset about for several years until they won a case regarding the film's copyright in federal court in 1983. Russell Streiner noted in an interview that he supported the [[Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988|Berne Convention Implementation Act]] and the [[Copyright Term Extension Act]] because they allowed copyright notices to be automatic, stating; "We have to keep pursuing it, because it's rightfully our property, and there's no other argument to be made."{{sfn|Kane|2010|pp=93–94}}

Because ''Night of the Living Dead'' was not copyrighted, it has received hundreds of home video releases on [[VHS]], [[Betamax]], DVD, [[Blu-ray]], and other formats.{{sfn|Hervey|2008|p=14}} Over two hundred distinct versions of the film have been released on tapes alone.<ref>{{multiref2
|{{cite news |last=Locklin |first=Kristy |date=September 16, 2021 |title='Night of the Living Tapes' details classic zombie film's record-setting afterlife on VHS |newspaper=NEXTpittsburgh |url=https://nextpittsburgh.com/features/night-of-the-living-tapes-details-classic-zombie-films-record-setting-afterlife-on-vhs/ |ref=none |access-date=September 8, 2023 |archive-date=June 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230606051735/https://nextpittsburgh.com/features/night-of-the-living-tapes-details-classic-zombie-films-record-setting-afterlife-on-vhs/ |url-status=live}}
|{{cite book |last=Turner |first=Geoff |title=Night of the Living Tapes |publisher=Image Ten |isbn=979-8-5985-2981-2 |date=2021 |ref=none}}
|{{cite web |url=http://nightofthelivingtapes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Collectors-Checklist-v1.6.pdf |title=Collector's Checklist |date=2021 |last=Turner |first=Geoff |publisher=nightofthelivingtapes.com |ref=none |access-date=September 8, 2023 |archive-date=July 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706044452/http://nightofthelivingtapes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Collectors-Checklist-v1.6.pdf |url-status=live}}
}}</ref> Numerous versions of the film have appeared on DVD, Blu-ray, and [[LaserDisc]] with varying quality.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fangoria.com/original/night-of-the-living-dead-dvd-review/ |title=DVD Review: Night of the Living Dead 40th Anniversary Edition |website=Fangoria |access-date=September 8, 2023 |archive-date=March 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326124045/https://www.fangoria.com/original/night-of-the-living-dead-dvd-review/ |url-status=live |last=Gingold |first=Michael |date=May 19, 2019}}</ref> The original film is available to view or download for free on many websites.{{efn|Online hosts include:
* Amazon<ref name="Egan2021"/>
* Apple TV<ref name="Egan2021"/>
* Google Play<ref name="Egan2021"/>
* Vudu<ref name="Egan2021">{{cite web |url=https://www.polygon.com/22725152/best-horror-movies-netflix-amazon-prime-hulu-hbo |title=The Best Horror Movies You Can Watch Right Now |first1=Toussaint |last1=Egan |first2=Pete |last2=Volk |first3=Austen |last3=Goslin |first4=Polygon |last4=Staff |website=[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] |date=October 16, 2021 |access-date=September 8, 2023 |archive-date=September 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902161200/https://www.polygon.com/22725152/best-horror-movies-netflix-amazon-prime-hulu-hbo |url-status=live}}</ref>
* YouTube<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.digitaltrends.com/movies/best-free-movies-on-youtube/ |title=The Best Free Movies on YouTube Right Now (September 2023) |date=September 1, 2023 |website=Digital Trends |access-date=September 8, 2023 |archive-date=September 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230904023818/https://www.digitaltrends.com/movies/best-free-movies-on-youtube/ |url-status=live |last1=Perry |first1=Nick |last2=Marnell |first2=Blair}}</ref>
* PublicDomainMovies.net<ref>{{cite web |url=https://decider.com/2017/07/26/did-you-know-you-can-stream-a-ton-of-classic-films-online-for-free/ |title=Did You Know You Can Stream A Ton Of Classic Films Online For Free? |website=Decider |date=July 26, 2017 |access-date=September 8, 2023 |archive-date=January 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230127235113/https://decider.com/2017/07/26/did-you-know-you-can-stream-a-ton-of-classic-films-online-for-free/ |url-status=live |last=Budowski |first=Jade}}</ref>
* Peacock<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nbc.com/nbc-insider/horror-movies-on-peacock |title=10 Terrifying Horror Movies to Watch on Peacock |last=Manno |first=Jackie |date=October 14, 2022 |access-date=September 17, 2023 |archive-date=October 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002005130/https://www.nbc.com/nbc-insider/horror-movies-on-peacock |url-status=live}}</ref>
* HBO Max<ref name="Roark2023"/>
* Paramount+<ref name="Roark2023"/>
* Tubi<ref name="Roark2023">{{cite web |url=https://www.reflector-online.com/life/article_6aca585c-ab58-11ed-b54f-f774aff1ca8a.html |title=5 Movies to Help Celebrate Black History Month |first=Elijah |last=Roark |date=February 12, 2023 |website=The Reflector |access-date=September 8, 2023 |archive-date=February 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215193902/http://www.reflector-online.com/life/article_6aca585c-ab58-11ed-b54f-f774aff1ca8a.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Internet Archive]]<ref>''Night of the Living Dead'' at [https://archive.org/details/night_of_the_living_dead Internet Archive]. Retrieved June 24, 2006.</ref>
* Hulu<ref>{{cite AV media |title=Night of the Living Dead |url=https://www.hulu.com/watch/41065/night-of-the-living-dead |via=Hulu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125091638/http://www.hulu.com/watch/41065/night-of-the-living-dead |archive-date=January 25, 2012 |access-date=January 28, 2012}}</ref>
* Wikimedia Commons<ref>{{cite web |title=File:Night of the Living Dead (1968).webm |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Night_of_the_Living_Dead_(1968).webm |website=Wikimedia Commons |date=1968 |access-date=October 31, 2023}}</ref>
}} It was the Internet Archive's third most-viewed film, with over 3.5&nbsp;million views.<ref>{{cite web |title=Most Viewed Films |url=https://archive.org/search?query=(collection:feature_films%20OR%20mediatype:feature_films)%20AND%20-mediatype:collection&sort=-downloads |access-date=September 12, 2024 |website=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref>

The film received a VHS release in 1993 through Tempe Video.{{sfn|Kane|2010|p=205}} The next year, a [[THX]] certified 25th anniversary [[Laserdisc]] was released by [[Elite Entertainment]]. It features special features, including commentary, trailers, gallery files, and more.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://hollywoodlaserdisc.com/products/night-of-the-living-dead-elite-thx |title=Night of the Living Dead: 25th Anniversary (1968) THX ELITE [EE1114] |website=Hollywood Laserdisc |access-date=November 5, 2021 |archive-date=November 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105132955/https://hollywoodlaserdisc.com/products/night-of-the-living-dead-elite-thx |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1999, Russo's revised version of the film, ''Night of the Living Dead: 30th Anniversary Edition'', was released on VHS and DVD by [[Anchor Bay Entertainment]].{{sfn|Kane|2010|p=205}} In 2002, Elite Entertainment released a special edition DVD featuring the original cut.{{sfn|Kane|2010|p=205}} [[Dimension Extreme]] released a restored print of the film on DVD.{{sfn|Kane|2010|p=205}} This was followed by a [[4K resolution|4K restoration]] Blu-ray released by [[The Criterion Collection]] on February 13, 2018, sourced from the original camera negative owned by the [[Museum of Modern Art]] and acquired by [[Janus Films]].<ref name=critblu>{{cite web |title=Night of the Living Dead |url=https://www.criterion.com/films/29331-night-of-the-living-dead |website=[[Criterion Collection]] |access-date=November 17, 2017 |archive-date=November 16, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116151013/https://www.criterion.com/films/29331-night-of-the-living-dead |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://streamondemandathome.com/night-of-the-living-dead-1968-criterion-dvd-blu-ray-vod/ |title='Night of the Living Dead' Restored on HBO Max and Criterion Channel |first=Sean |last=Axmaker |date=October 6, 2022 |website=Stream On Demand |access-date=September 8, 2023 |archive-date=March 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327204504/https://streamondemandathome.com/night-of-the-living-dead-1968-criterion-dvd-blu-ray-vod/ |url-status=live}}</ref> This release also features a [[workprint]] edit of the film under the title of ''Night of Anubis'', in addition to various bonus materials.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3470524/night-anubis-expect-criterions-night-living-dead-workprint/ |title=Home Video 'Night of Anubis': What to Expect from Criterion's 'Night of the Living Dead' Workprint |last=Squires |first=John |date=November 17, 2017 |website=[[Bloody Disgusting]] |access-date=November 14, 2019 |archive-date=July 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190720063247/https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3470524/night-anubis-expect-criterions-night-living-dead-workprint/ |url-status=live}}</ref> In February 2020, [[Netflix]] took down ''Night of the Living Dead '' from its streaming service in Germany following a legal request in 2017 because "a version of the film is banned in that country."<ref>{{cite web |last=Spangler |first=Todd |url=https://variety.com/2020/digital/news/netflix-removals-government-censorship-takedown-1203496331/ |title=Netflix Reveals All the TV Shows and Movies It's Removed Because of Foreign Government Takedown Demands |publisher=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=February 7, 2020 |access-date=February 8, 2020 |archive-date=January 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129012940/https://variety.com/2020/digital/news/netflix-removals-government-censorship-takedown-1203496331/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pghcitypaper.com/arts-entertainment/report-reveals-netflix-removed-night-of-the-living-dead-from-germanys-streaming-services-16731157 |title=Report Reveals Netflix Removed Night of the Living Dead from Germany's Streaming Services |first=Amanda |last=Waltz |website=Pittsburgh City Paper |date=February 11, 2020 |access-date=August 11, 2023 |archive-date=August 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230811034142/https://www.pghcitypaper.com/arts-entertainment/report-reveals-netflix-removed-night-of-the-living-dead-from-germanys-streaming-services-16731157 |url-status=live}}</ref>

== Revisions ==
There are numerous [[re-edited film|revised versions]] of the film with content added, deleted, rearranged, or more heavily modified. From its initial release into the public domain, ''Night of the Living Dead'' was widely screened from inferior prints in [[grindhouse]] theaters, a trend that continued among the bottom-tier [[home video]] companies. The first major revisions of ''Night of the Living Dead'' involved [[film colorization|colorization]] by home video distributors. [[Hal Roach Studios]] released a colorized version in 1986 that featured ghouls with pale green skin.{{sfn|Kane|2010|p=157}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://publicrecords.copyright.gov/detailed-record/11388532 |title=Night of the Living Dead. Detailed Record View |date=June 14, 1991 |access-date=July 17, 2013 |publisher=[[United States Copyright Office]] |archive-date=July 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230718001608/https://publicrecords.copyright.gov/detailed-record/11388532 |url-status=live}}</ref> Another colorized version appeared in 1997 from [[Anchor Bay Entertainment]] with grey-skinned zombies.<ref>''Night of the Living Dead'' (VHS, Anchor Bay Entertainment, 1997), ASIN<!-- probably not just ASIN, but definitely not ISBN --> 6301231864.</ref> In 2009, Legend Films co-produced a colorized [[3D film|3D]] version of the film with [[PassmoreLab]], a company that converts 2-D film into 3-D format.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://dreadcentral.com/news/33597/johnny-ramone-tribute-includes-night-living-dead-3d |title=Johnny Ramone Tribute Includes Night of the Living Dead in 3D |work=Dread Central |access-date=March 26, 2010 |archive-date=September 24, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090924025810/http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/33597/johnny-ramone-tribute-includes-night-living-dead-3d |url-status=live}}</ref> The film was theatrically released on October 14, 2010.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Zombie Classic "''Night of the Living Dead, Now in 3D!''" Begins Its First Theatrical Run |url=http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/10/prweb4661664.htm |work=[[Vocus (software)|PRWeb]] |publisher=[[Vocus (software)|Vocus]] |date=October 17, 2010 |access-date=September 4, 2011 |archive-date=June 3, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110603093634/http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/10/prweb4661664.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref> According to Legend Films founder Barry Sandrew, ''Night of the Living Dead'' is the first entirely live action 2-D film to be converted to 3-D.<ref>{{Cite news |title="Night of the Living Dead" to Be Released in Color and 3D |url=https://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20081223005830&newsLang=en |work=Business Wire |date=December 23, 2008 |access-date=January 2, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 26, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081226073613/http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20081223005830&newsLang=en}}</ref>

In 1999, co-writer Russo released a modified version called ''Night of the Living Dead: 30th Anniversary Edition''.<ref>{{cite AV media |title=Night of the Living Dead: 30th Anniversary Edition |type=DVD |date=1999}}</ref> He wrote and directed additional scenes and recorded a revised soundtrack composed by Scott Vladimir Licina, who also played the role of Reverend John Hicks. Bill Hinzman, in addition to serving as cinematographer for the new scenes, also reprised his role as Zombie No. 1, who gets an extended backstory of a convicted child murderer who was executed and rose again as a zombie on his burial day. In an interview with ''[[Fangoria]]'' magazine, Russo explained that he wanted to "give the movie a more modern pace".{{sfn|Kane|2010|p=174}} Russo took liberties with the original script. The additions are neither clearly identified nor even listed. ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' reported "no bad blood" between Russo and Romero. The magazine quoted Romero as saying, "I didn't want to touch ''Night of the Living Dead''".<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://ew.com/article/1999/04/23/return-night-living-dead/ |title=Return to the Night of the Living Dead |last=Pinsker |first=Beth |date=April 23, 1999 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=September 8, 2023 |archive-date=September 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230908021118/https://ew.com/article/1999/04/23/return-night-living-dead/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Critics disliked the revised film, notably [[Harry Knowles]] of ''[[Ain't It Cool News]]'', who promised to permanently ban anyone from his publication who offered positive criticism of the film.{{sfn|Kane|2010|p=177}}<ref>{{cite web |author=Knowles, Harry |title=NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD – 30th Anniversary DVD Special Edition |date=September 19, 1999 |url=http://legacy.aintitcool.com/node/4397 |work=Ain't It Cool News |access-date=October 17, 2017 |archive-date=March 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190305131457/http://legacy.aintitcool.com/node/4397 |url-status=live}}</ref>

A collaborative animated project known as ''Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated'' was screened at several film festivals<ref>{{multiref2 |{{cite web |url=https://www.metrocinema.org/film_view/2290/ |title=Night of the Living Dead Reanimated |publisher=Metro Cinema |access-date=March 26, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314093324/http://metrocinema.org/film_view/2290/ |archive-date=March 14, 2016 |url-status=dead}} |{{cite web |url=http://events.getoutaz.com/tempe-az/events/show/91764705-night-of-the-living-dead-reanimated |title=Tempe Film: Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated on Thursday 1/28 |publisher=Events.getoutaz.com |date=January 28, 2010 |access-date=March 26, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160807115433/http://events.getoutaz.com/tempe-az/events/show/91764705-night-of-the-living-dead-reanimated |archive-date=August 7, 2016 |url-status=dead}} |{{cite news |title=MOHAI's zombie film fest to feature Port Gamble movie |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/movies/mohais-zombie-film-fest-to-feature-port-gamble-movie/ |work=The Seattle Times |date=September 25, 2009}} }}</ref> and was released onto DVD on July 27, 2010, by Wild Eye Releasing.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sneakpeek.ca/2010/06/mvd-resurrects-night-of-living-dead.html |work=Sneak Peek |title=Wild Eye and MVD Resurrect "Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated" |date=June 18, 2010 |access-date=October 17, 2017 |author=Stevens, Michael |archive-date=October 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019111834/http://www.sneakpeek.ca/2010/06/mvd-resurrects-night-of-living-dead.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105230417/http://www.shootforthehead.com/2010/03/interview-with-night-of-the-living-dead-reanimateds-mike-schneider/ |archive-date=November 5, 2013 |url=http://www.shootforthehead.com/356-Interview-with-Night-of-the-Living-Dead-Reanimated.html |title=Interview with Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated's Mike Schneider |work=Shoot for the Head |access-date=June 6, 2013}}</ref> This project aims to "reanimate" the 1968 film by replacing Romero's celluloid images with animation done in a wide variety of styles by artists from around the world, laid over the original audio from Romero's version.<ref>{{cite web |title=Official NOTLD:Reanimated Site |url=http://www.notldr.com/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090331092426/http://www.notldr.com/ |archive-date=March 31, 2009 |access-date=October 16, 2009}}</ref> ''Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated'' was nominated in the category of Best Independent Production (film, documentary or short) for the 8th Annual [[Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://rondoaward.com/rondo/Rondowinners2009.html |publisher=Rondoaward.com |access-date=January 19, 2013 |title=Rondo Hatton Awards 2009 Winners |archive-date=February 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180226154039/http://rondoaward.com/rondo/Rondowinners2009.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

Starting in 2015, and working from the original camera [[Negative (photography)|negatives]] and [[Soundtrack|audio track elements]], a [[4K resolution|4K]] digital [[Film preservation|restoration]] of ''Night of the Living Dead'' was undertaken by the [[Museum of Modern Art]] (MoMA) and [[The Film Foundation]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theverge.com/2016/11/4/13517892/night-of-the-living-dead-restored-moma-4k-george-romero |title=Night of the Living Dead Has Always Looked Awful, But the 4K Restoration Is Terrific |last=Bramesco |first=Charles |date=November 4, 2016 |website=theverge.com |publisher=The Verge |access-date=January 5, 2017 |archive-date=January 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170105181123/http://www.theverge.com/2016/11/4/13517892/night-of-the-living-dead-restored-moma-4k-george-romero |url-status=live}}</ref> The fully restored version was shown in November 2016 as part of ''To Save and Project: The 14th MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/2506?locale=en |title=Night of the Living Dead. 1968. Directed by George A. Romero. |website=moma.org |publisher=Museum of Modern Art |access-date=January 5, 2017 |archive-date=January 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106010720/https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/2506?locale=en |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.moma.org/calendar/film/3614?locale=en |title=To Save and Project: The 14th MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation |website=moma.org |publisher=Museum of Modern Art |access-date=January 5, 2017 |archive-date=January 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106010717/https://www.moma.org/calendar/film/3614?locale=en |url-status=live}}</ref> This same restoration was released on Blu-ray by [[The Criterion Collection]] on February 13, 2018,<ref name=critblu/> and on Ultra HD Blu-ray on October 4, 2022.<ref>{{cite web |last=Squires |first=John |url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/home-video/3725770/night-of-the-living-dead-getting-4k-ultra-hd-upgrade-from-criterion-collection-this-halloween/ |title='Night of the Living Dead' Getting 4K Ultra HD Upgrade from Criterion Collection This Halloween |date=August 2, 2022 |publisher=[[Bloody Disgusting]] |access-date=July 17, 2023 |archive-date=July 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230718002404/https://bloody-disgusting.com/home-video/3725770/night-of-the-living-dead-getting-4k-ultra-hd-upgrade-from-criterion-collection-this-halloween/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

== Related works ==
=== Romero's ''Dead'' films ===
{{Main|Night of the Living Dead (film series)}}
[[File:Dawn of the Dead image cover.jpg|thumb|alt=An album with illustrations of hands bursting through the ground, above the words "When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth."|Cover for ''Dawn of the Dead'' album]]

''Night of the Living Dead'' is the first of six '' ... of the Dead'' films directed by George Romero. Following the 1968 film, Romero released ''[[Dawn of the Dead (1978 film)|Dawn of the Dead]]'', ''[[Day of the Dead (1985 film)|Day of the Dead]]'', ''[[Land of the Dead]]'', ''[[Diary of the Dead]]'' and ''[[Survival of the Dead]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/318716/this-day-in-horror-diary-of-the-dead-was-released-12-years-ago/ |title=This Day in Horror: 'Diary of the Dead' Was Released 12 Years Ago |first=Josh |last=Millican |date=February 15, 2020 |website=Dread Central |access-date=September 8, 2023 |archive-date=October 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030104342/https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/318716/this-day-in-horror-diary-of-the-dead-was-released-12-years-ago/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Each film traces the evolution of the living dead epidemic in the United States and humanity's desperate attempts to cope with it. As in ''Night of the Living Dead'', Romero peppered the other films in the series with critiques specific to the periods in which they were released.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/41054186 |author=Schott, Gareth |title=Dawn of the Digital Dead: The Zombie as Interactive Social Satire in American Popular Culture |journal=Australasian Journal of American Studies |date=September 8, 2023 |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=61–75 |jstor=41054186 |access-date=September 8, 2023 |archive-date=February 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230211050421/https://www.jstor.org/stable/41054186 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://movieweb.com/george-romero-creator-zombies-movies/ |title=Why George Romero Movies Aren't Just About the Horror of Zombies |first=Katie |last=Cusson |date=March 27, 2023 |website=MovieWeb |access-date=September 8, 2023 |archive-date=September 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230901184509/https://movieweb.com/george-romero-creator-zombies-movies/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://slate.com/culture/2017/07/the-defining-feature-of-george-romeros-movies-wasnt-their-zombies-it-was-their-brains.html |title=The Defining Feature of George Romero's Movies Wasn't Their Zombies. It Was Their Brains. |first=Caetlin |last=Benson-Allott |journal=Slate |date=July 18, 2017 |via=slate.com |access-date=September 8, 2023 |archive-date=April 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230423085001/https://slate.com/culture/2017/07/the-defining-feature-of-george-romeros-movies-wasnt-their-zombies-it-was-their-brains.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Romero died with several "Dead" projects unfinished, including the posthumously completed novel ''[[The Living Dead (novel)|The Living Dead]]''<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.polygon.com/2020/8/3/21352606/the-living-dead-book-george-romero-zombie-novel-daniel-kraus-interview |title=George Romero's Final Project Unites All His Zombie Movies |first=Noel |last=Murray |website=[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] |date=August 3, 2020 |access-date=September 8, 2023 |archive-date=June 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609200035/https://www.polygon.com/2020/8/3/21352606/the-living-dead-book-george-romero-zombie-novel-daniel-kraus-interview |url-status=live}}</ref> and the upcoming film ''[[Night of the Living Dead (film series)#Twilight of the Dead (TBA)|The Twilight of the Dead]]'', intended as a conclusion to the franchise.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/twilight-of-the-dead-george-a-romeros-final-zombie-movie-in-the-works-4175965/ |title='Twilight of the Dead,' George A. Romero's Final Zombie Movie, In the Works (Exclusive) |first=Aaron |last=Couch |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=April 30, 2021 |access-date=September 8, 2023 |archive-date=May 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520081046/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/twilight-of-the-dead-george-a-romeros-final-zombie-movie-in-the-works-4175965/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== ''Return of the Living Dead'' series ===
{{Main|Return of the Living Dead (film series)}}

The ''[[Return of the Living Dead (film series)|Return of the Living Dead]]'' series takes place in an alternate [[continuity (fiction)|continuity]] where both the original film and the titular living dead exist. The series has a complicated relationship with Romero's ''Dead'' films.{{sfn|Kane|2010|pp=147–153}} Co-writer John Russo wrote the novel ''Return of the Living Dead'' (1978) as a sequel to the original film and collaborated with ''Night'' alumni Russ Streiner and Rudy Ricci on a screenplay under the same title. In 1981, investment banker Tom Fox bought the rights to the story. Fox brought in [[Dan O'Bannon]] to direct and rewrite the script, changing nearly everything but the title.{{sfn|Kane|2010|p=147}}<ref name="Fordy2020"/> O'Bannon's ''[[The Return of the Living Dead]]'' arrived in theaters in 1985 alongside ''Day of the Dead''. Romero and his associates attempted to block Fox from marketing his film as a sequel and demanded the name be changed. In a previous court case, ''Dawn Associates v. Links'' (1978), they had prevented Illinois-based film distributor William Links from re-releasing [[Messiah of Evil|an unrelated film]] under the title ''Return of the Living Dead''. Fox was forced to cease his advertising campaign but allowed to retain the title.{{sfn|Kane|2010|loc=ch. 10}}<ref name="Fordy2020">{{cite news |last=Fordy |first=Tom |date=December 19, 2020 |title=The Horror Film That Won't Die: How Night of the Living Dead Spawned a Spin-Off Zombie Army |newspaper=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/horror-film-wont-die-hownight-living-dead-spawned-spin-off-zombie/ |access-date=September 23, 2023 |archive-date=October 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002005130/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/horror-film-wont-die-hownight-living-dead-spawned-spin-off-zombie/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Patrick J. Flinn, ''Handbook of Intellectual Property Claims and Remedies: 2004 Supplement'' (New York: Aspen Publishers, 1999), pp. 24–25, {{ISBN|978-0-7355-1125-5}}.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Dowell |first=Jonathan |date=1998 |title=Bytes and Pieces: Fragmented Copies, Licensing, And Fair Use in a Digital World |journal=California Law Review |volume=86 |issue=4 |pages=871–872 |publisher=California Law Review, Inc |doi=10.2307/3481141 |jstor=3481141 |url=https://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/californialawreview/vol86/iss4/3 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

=== ''Rise of the Living Dead'' ===
George Cameron Romero, the son of director George A. Romero, wrote a prequel to his father's classic, under the working titles ''Origins'' and ''Rise of the Living Dead''. George Cameron Romero said that he created ''Rise of the Living Dead'' as an homage to his father's work, a glimpse into the political turmoil of the mid-to-late 1960s, and a bookend piece to his father's original story. Despite raising funds for the film on [[Indiegogo]] in 2014,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3467991/george-romeros-son-announces-rise-living-dead-love-letter-dad/ |title=George Romero's Son Announces 'Rise of the Living Dead' |last=Squires |first=John |date=November 1, 2017 |access-date=November 1, 2017 |archive-date=November 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171102052047/http://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3467991/george-romeros-son-announces-rise-living-dead-love-letter-dad/ |url-status=live}}</ref> as of 2023 the film has yet to go into production.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.romeropictures.com/rise-production-diary |title=Production Diary |date=November 26, 2019 |website=Films Used to be Dangerous |access-date=September 9, 2023 |archive-date=October 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002005132/https://www.romeropictures.com/rise-production-diary |url-status=live}}</ref> In April 2021, [[Heavy Metal magazine|''Heavy Metal'' magazine]] published the first issue of a graphic novel adaptation of the story titled ''The Rise'' from Romero's script and with art by Diego Yapur.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/comics/3656970/rise-preview-george-c-romeros-night-living-dead-prologue-comic-heavy-metal-magazine-exclusive/ |title='The Rise': Preview George C. Romero's 'Night of the Living Dead' Prologue Comic from Heavy Metal Magazine! [Exclusive] |last=Squires |first=John |date=March 22, 2021 |access-date=May 6, 2021 |archive-date=May 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507003119/https://bloody-disgusting.com/comics/3656970/rise-preview-george-c-romeros-night-living-dead-prologue-comic-heavy-metal-magazine-exclusive/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite comic |writer=Romero, George Cameron |artist=Yapur, Diego |issue=1 |title=The Rise |date=April 7, 2021 |publisher=[[Heavy Metal (magazine)|Heavy Metal]]}}</ref>

=== Remakes and other related films ===
{{Main|Night of the Living Dead remakes}}

Many [[remake]]s have attempted to reimagine the original film's story, most notably [[Night of the Living Dead (1990 film)|the 1990 remake]] written by Romero and directed by special effects artist [[Tom Savini]]. Savini had planned to work on the 1968 film before being drafted into the [[Vietnam War]],{{sfn|Skal|1993|pp=307–309}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/10/19/movies/review-film-the-zombies-return-in-living-or-is-it-dead-color.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=October 19, 1990 |title=The Zombies Return, In Living (Or Is It Dead?) Color |first=Caryn |last=James}}</ref> and, after the war, worked with Romero on the sequels.{{sfn|Grant|2015|p=230}} The remake was based on the original screenplay but included a revised plot that portrayed Barbra ([[Patricia Tallman]]) as a capable and active heroine.{{sfn|Grant|2015|pp=228, 230–231}} Film historian Barry Grant interprets the new Barbara as a reversal of the original film's portrayal of feminine passivity.{{sfn|Grant|2015|p=228}} He explores how the 1990 Barbra embodies—arguably masculine—virtuous professionalism, as depicted in the works of classic Hollywood director [[Howard Hawks]], a major influence on Romero.{{sfn|Grant|2015|pp=232, 234}} Grant describes her as the film's only Hawksian professional. After changing from a mousy outfit that mirrors the original into the visually militaristic clothing she discovers in the farmhouse, Barbra is the lone character able to separate her emotions from the objective necessity to exterminate the living dead.{{sfn|Grant|2015|p= 234}} According to Grant, Romero is able to offer one of the most important feminist outlooks in horror because the undead disrupt all traditional values including patriarchy.{{sfn|Grant|2015|p=239}}

Due to its public domain status, many independent producers have created remakes of ''Night of the Living Dead''.{{sfn|Boluk|Lenz|2011|p=5}}{{sfn|Kane|2010|pp=93–94}} The film has been remade more than any other movie.<ref name="Brynne-2020"/> Independent remakes have used the film's titular "living dead" as an allegory for racial tension, terrorism, nuclear war, and beyond.<ref name="Brynne-2020">{{Cite magazine |last=Ramella |first=Brynne |date=November 19, 2020 |title=Why There Are So Many Night of the Living Dead Remakes |url=https://screenrant.com/night-living-dead-movies-many-remakes-reason/ |magazine=Screen Rant}}</ref>

=== In other media ===
In 1988, Savage Software released a text adventure on the [[TRS-80 Color Computer]] titled "Night of the Living Dead", based on the film, offering a $500 prize for the first person who could demonstrate having beat the game.<ref>{{cite web |title=Night of the Living Dead |url=https://www.mobygames.com/game/191812/night-of-the-living-dead/ |website=MobyGames |access-date=2024-11-19}}</ref>

At the suggestion of [[Bill Hinzman]] (the actor who played the zombie that first attacks Barbra in the graveyard and kills her brother Johnny at the beginning of the original film), composers Todd Goodman and Stephen Catanzarite composed an opera ''Night of the Living Dead'' based on the film.<ref>{{cite web |last=Podurgiel |first=Bob |title='Night of the Living Dead' Opera Arrives in Time for Halloween |url=https://www.post-gazette.com/ae/music/2015/10/30/Night-of-the-Living-Dead-opera-arrives-in-time-for-Halloween/stories/201510300093 |work=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]] |date=October 30, 2015 |access-date=September 8, 2020 |archive-date=October 31, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151031135459/http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/music/2015/10/30/Night-of-the-Living-Dead-opera-arrives-in-time-for-Halloween/stories/201510300093 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Microscopic Opera Company produced its world premiere, which was performed at the [[Kelly-Strayhorn Theater]] in Pittsburgh, in October 2013.<ref>{{cite web |title=Night of the Living Dead – The Opera |url=https://www.cmu.edu/homepage/creativity/2013/fall/night-of-the-living-dead-opera.shtml |publisher=[[Carnegie Mellon University]] |access-date=September 8, 2020 |archive-date=December 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204142729/https://www.cmu.edu/homepage/creativity/2013/fall/night-of-the-living-dead-opera.shtml |url-status=live}}</ref> The opera was awarded the American Prize for Theater Composition in 2014.<ref>{{cite web |title=Composition Winners 2014 |url=http://www.theamericanprize.org/compwinners2013.html |access-date=2021-05-07 |website=www.theamericanprize.org |archive-date=July 15, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190715192808/http://www.theamericanprize.org/compwinners2013.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

A play called ''Night of the Living Dead Live!'' was published in 2017<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bond |first1=Christopher |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h564tQEACAAJ |title=Night of the Living Dead Live |last2=Boyer |first2=Dale |last3=Martin (Screenwriter) |first3=Trevor |last4=Lamb |first4=Jamie |last5=Harrison |first5=Christopher |last6=Pattison |first6=Phil |date=2017 |publisher=Samuel French |isbn=978-0-573-70595-3 |language=en}}</ref> and has been performed in major cities including [[Toronto]], [[Leeds]] and [[Auckland]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Night Of the Living Dead Live! |url=http://www.nightofthelivingdeadlive.com/ |access-date=2021-08-03 |website=www.nightofthelivingdeadlive.com |archive-date=August 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802091802/http://www.nightofthelivingdeadlive.com/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Wiegand |first=Chris |date=January 14, 2020 |title=Cue the Zombies! Night of the Living Dead Remade in Real Time on Stage |url=http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/jan/14/night-of-the-living-dead-remix-theatre-george-romero-zombie |url-status=live |access-date=2021-08-03 |website=The Guardian |language=en |archive-date=August 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803165119/https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/jan/14/night-of-the-living-dead-remix-theatre-george-romero-zombie}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last= |date=August 3, 2021 |title=Ultimate Collision Of Form Brings Zombies And Cinema To Silo |work=Scoop News |url=https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU2108/S00020/ultimate-collision-of-form-brings-zombies-and-cinema-to-silo.htm |url-status=live |access-date=2021-08-03 |archive-date=August 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803165019/https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU2108/S00020/ultimate-collision-of-form-brings-zombies-and-cinema-to-silo.htm}}</ref> Another theatrical adaptation by Nick Birchill and Rosie Nikolich premiered at the [[Todmorden]] Hippodrome in 2025.<ref>{{cite web |title=Night Of the Living Dead |url=https://www.todhip.org/night-of-the-living-dead |access-date=2025-06-29 |website=Todmorden Hippodrome |archive-date=June 29, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250629124550/https://www.todhip.org/night-of-the-living-dead |url-status=live}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
{{See also|Zombie}}
[[File:Zombie walk Pittsburgh 29 Oct 2006.png|thumb|alt=A packed crowd in zombie makeup hold a banner reading, "World Record Zombie Walk, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, October 26, 2006, The It's Alive Show, Pittsburgh East Nissan, Monroeville Mall"|A [[zombie walk]] in [[Monroeville Mall]], the setting of Romero's ''Dawn of the Dead'']]

Romero revolutionized the horror film genre with ''Night of the Living Dead''; according to Almar Haflidason of the [[BBC]], the film represented "a new dawn in horror film-making".<ref>{{cite news |first=Almar |last=Haflidason |title=Night of the Living Dead (1968) |date=March 20, 2001 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2001/03/20/night_of_the_living_dead_1968_review.shtml |newspaper=BBC |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818092337/http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2001/03/20/night_of_the_living_dead_1968_review.shtml |archive-date=August 18, 2020 |access-date=June 24, 2006}}</ref> The film ushered in the [[splatter film]] subgenre. Earlier horror films had largely involved rubber masks, costumes, cardboard sets, and mysterious figures lurking in the shadows. They were set in locations far removed from rural and suburban America.{{sfn|Jones|2005|p=117}} Romero revealed the power behind [[exploitation film|exploitation]] and setting horror in ordinary, unexceptional locations and offered a template for making an effective film on a small budget.{{sfn|Rockoff|2002|p=35}} ''Night'' spawned countless imitators in cinema, television, and video gaming.<ref name="PM"/> According to author [[Barry Keith Grant]], the [[slasher film]]s of the 1970s and 1980s such as [[John Carpenter]]'s ''[[Halloween (1978 film)|Halloween]]'' (1978), [[Sean S. Cunningham]]'s ''[[Friday the 13th (1980 film)|Friday the 13th]]'' (1980), and [[Wes Craven]]'s ''[[A Nightmare on Elm Street]]'' (1984) are indebted to Romero's use of gore in a familiar setting.{{sfn|Grant|2015|p=229}}

The film is regarded as one of the launching pads for the modern zombie movie,{{sfn|Paffenroth|2006|pp=2–3}} and effectively redefined the "[[zombie]]".{{sfn|Stommel|2013}} Before the film's release, the term "zombie" described a concept from [[Culture of Haiti|Haitian folklore]] whereby a [[bokor]] could reanimate a corpse into an [[sentience|insensate]] slave.{{sfn|Bishop|2006|pp=198–199}} Early [[zombie film]]s like ''[[White Zombie (film)|White Zombie]]'' (1932) combined this with racial and [[postcolonial]] anxieties.{{sfn|Boluk|Lenz|2011|pp=27, 32–34, 44}} Romero never used the word "zombie" in the 1968 film or its script—using instead, ''ghoul''—because he said that his flesh-eaters were something new.{{sfn|Collum|2004|p=3}}{{sfn|Tudor|1989|p=101}}{{sfn|Poole|2011|pp=194–195}}<ref name="Walkdead">{{cite web |last1=Robey |first1=Tim |title=George A Romero: Why I Don't like The Walking Dead |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/10436738/George-A-Romero-Why-I-dont-like-The-Walking-Dead.html |website=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=November 8, 2013 |access-date=February 13, 2017 |archive-date=December 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201207023543/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/10436738/George-A-Romero-Why-I-dont-like-The-Walking-Dead.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The term "zombie" was retroactively applied to ''Night'' after its cannibalistic undead became the dominant zombie concept in the United States,{{sfn|Zimmerman|2013|p=78}} to such an extent that zombie has become a byword for concepts that failed to "die".{{sfn|Petsko|2011}}
[[File:Night of the Living Dead - Coolidge Corner Theater.jpg|thumb|left|A 35mm screening of ''Night of the Living Dead'' on October 2, 2023 at the [[Coolidge Corner Theatre]]]]
According to professor of religious studies Kim Paffenroth, Romero's antagonists broke with earlier traditions of "voodoo zombies" by having no human villain in control of the zombie and thus no potential to ever restore the monsters' humanity.{{sfn|Paffenroth|2006|p=3}} Compared to the vampires and Haitian zombies that served as inspiration, Romero's antagonists derive more horror from [[abjection]], the disgust that arises from an inability to separate clean from corrupt. While the vampire myth offers a potential escape from mundane life, the zombie offers an infinite decay more abject than conventional death.{{sfn|Zimmerman|2013|pp=78–80}} Cultural critic [[Steven Shaviro]] has remarked that—unlike with other movie characters—audiences cannot identify with the zombies because there is no identity left within their bodies, and that they instead provide audiences a combination of disgust and fascinated attraction.{{sfn|Stommel|2013}}{{sfn|Shaviro|2017|loc=sec. The Seductiveness of Horror}}

=== Critical analysis ===
[[File:Ben giving Barbra slippers in Night of the Living Dead bw.jpg|alt=Ben crouches to give shoes to Barbra who is sitting on the couch barefoot|thumb|Barbra and Ben after their first meeting]]
Since its release, many critics and film historians have interpreted ''Night of the Living Dead'' as a subversive film that critiques 1960s American society, international [[Cold War]] politics and [[Racism in the United States|domestic racism]].{{sfn|Harper|2005}} Film historian Robin Wood organized "The American Nightmare"—a sixty-film retrospective combining screenings and director interviews to frame horror in terms of oppression and [[Repression (psychoanalysis)|repression]]—for the 1979 [[Toronto International Film Festival]]. His essay from the [[program note]]s, "An Introduction to the American Horror Film", was highly influential, especially in film criticism where horror as a genre had not previously been considered a topic for serious analysis.{{sfn|Lowenstein|2022|loc=ch. 1}}{{sfn|Wood|Lippe|2018|p=181}} Wood interprets notable horror films including ''Night'' through a [[Psychoanalytic literary criticism|psychoanalytic framework]].{{sfn|Wood|1985|loc=sec.&nbsp;I}} He discusses how traits deemed unacceptable are repressed on the personal level or when not repressed, oppressed on the societal level.{{sfn|Wood|1985|loc=sec.&nbsp;I}} He identifies repressed taboos and [[Other (philosophy)|othered]] groups as the psychological basis for horror monsters.{{sfn|Wood|1985|loc=sec.&nbsp;I}} Wood and later critics used this framework to discuss ''Night'' as a commentary on repressed sexuality, the marginalized groups of 1960s America, and the disruption to societal norms resulting from the [[civil rights movement]] and the Vietnam War.{{sfn|Higashi|1990|p=176–178}}{{sfn|Wood|1985|loc=sec.&nbsp;II: Since Psycho}}

Elliot Stein of ''[[The Village Voice]]'' sees the film as an ardent critique of American involvement in the [[Vietnam War]], arguing that it "was not set in [[Transylvania]], but Pennsylvania – this was [[Middle America (United States)|Middle America]] at war, and the zombie carnage seemed a grotesque echo of the conflict then raging in Vietnam".<ref name="Steinreview">{{cite web |first=Elliot |last=Stein |url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2003/01/07/the-dead-zones/ |title=The Dead Zones: 'George A. Romero' at the American Museum of the Moving Image |work=The Village Voice |date=January 7, 2003 |access-date=December 21, 2015 |archive-date=October 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019112141/https://www.villagevoice.com/2003/01/07/the-dead-zones/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> Film historian Sumiko Higashi concurs, arguing that ''Night of the Living Dead'' draws from the visual vocabulary the media used to report on the war, noting especially that the photographs of [[Phan Thi Kim Phuc|the napalm girl]] and the [[execution of Nguyễn Văn Lém]] would be fresh in the minds of the film's creators and audience.{{sfn|Higashi|1990|p=184}} She points to aspects of the Vietnam War paralleled in the film: grainy black-and-white newsreels, [[search and destroy]] operations, helicopters, and graphic carnage.{{sfn|Higashi|1990|p=181}} In 1968, the news was still [[News broadcasting|broadcast]] in black and white, and the graphic photographs that appear during the closing credits resemble the contemporary Vietnam War [[photojournalism]].{{sfn|Harper|2005}}

Critics have compared the shooting of the film's black protagonist to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.{{sfn|Harper|2005}}{{sfn|Paffenroth|2006|pp=38, 157–158|loc=sec. 39}}{{sfn|Kane|2010|p=36}} Stein explains, "In this first-ever subversive horror movie, the resourceful black hero survives the zombies only to be surprised by a [[redneck]] posse".<ref name="Steinreview"/> In 2018, on the film's 50th anniversary, Mark Lager of ''[[CineAction]]'' noted a clear parallel between the killing and destruction of Ben's body by white police and the violence directed at African Americans during the [[civil rights movement]]. Lager described it as a more honest exploration of 1960s America than anything produced by Hollywood.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://cineaction.ca/issue-99/night-of-the-living-dead-texas-chainsaw-massacre-race-and-capitalism-in-trumps-america/ |title=Night of the Living Dead & Texas Chainsaw Massacre – Race and Capitalism in Trump's America |last=Lager |first=Mark |website=[[CineAction]] |date=2018 |access-date=July 29, 2023 |archive-date=July 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230729204322/https://cineaction.ca/issue-99/night-of-the-living-dead-texas-chainsaw-massacre-race-and-capitalism-in-trumps-america/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

''Night'' shows influence from Alfred Hitchcock's ''The Birds''.{{sfn|Stommel|2013}} In both films, a small group takes refuge in an isolated house and attempts to fend off an inexplicable attack.{{sfn|Johnson|2020}} Film historian [[Robin Wood (critic)|Robin Wood]] comments that the zombies and birds both function as projections of the familial tensions.{{sfn|Wood|Lippe|2018|p=162}} The living dead appear during a familial dispute at the cemetery, and the danger escalates as familial resent builds in the farmhouse.{{sfn|Wood|Lippe|2018|pp=162–164}} Professor of Film Studies Carter Soles argues that the films offer different perspectives on an "environmental apocalypse".{{sfn|Rust|Soles|2014|p=511}} Hitchcock's birds were a force of nature, but Romero's zombies were a direct product of human actions. Soles argues that this reflects changing cultural attitudes, especially after the 1962 environmental science book ''[[Silent Spring]]''  made Americans aware of harm done by the pesticide [[DDT]].{{sfn|Soles|2014|pp=526–527}}

Film historian Gregory Waller identifies broad-ranging critiques of American institutions including the nuclear family, private homes, media, government, and "the entire mechanism of [[civil defense]]".{{sfn|Dillard|Waller|1988|p=4}} Film historian Linda Badley explains that the film was so horrifying because the monsters were not creatures from outer space or some exotic environment, but rather that "They're us."{{sfn|Badley|1995|p=25}} In the 2009 documentary film ''[[Nightmares in Red, White and Blue]]'', the zombies in the film are compared to the "[[silent majority]]" of the U.S. in the late 1960s.<ref>{{cite AV media |people=Monument, Andrew (director) |date=2009 |title=Nightmares in Red, White and Blue |title-link=Nightmares in Red, White and Blue |medium=motion picture |language=en}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Film|Speculative fiction/Horror|1960s}}
* [[List of American films of 1968]]
* [[List of cult films]]
* [[List of films in the public domain in the United States]]
* [[List of zombie films]]
{{clear}}

== Notes ==
{{anchor|Explanatory notes}}
{{notelist|30em}}

== Citations ==
{{reflist}}

== References ==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book |last=Badley |first=Linda |title=Film, Horror, and the Body Fantastic |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-313-27523-4}}
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* {{cite book |title=Generation Zombie: Essays on the Living Dead in Modern Culture |last1=Boluk |first1=Stephanie |last2=Lenz |first2=Wylie |editor1-last=Boluk |editor1-first=Stephanie |editor2-last=Lenz |editor2-first=Wylie |chapter=''Introduction'': Generation Z, the Age of Apocalypse |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jc3Or27Mzr0C |year=2011 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-6140-0 |access-date=November 18, 2020 |archive-date=June 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210605015557/https://books.google.com/books?id=Jc3Or27Mzr0C&q=Generation+Zombie%3A+Essays+on+the+Living+Dead+in+Modern+Culture&pg=PA5 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite journal |last=Chute |first=David |date=September–October 1982 |title=Films go EC/DC. The Great Frame Robbery |journal=Film Comment |volume=18 |issue=5 |pages=13–17 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43452895 |publisher=Film Society of Lincoln Center |jstor=43452895}}
* {{cite book |last=Collum |first=Jason Paul |title=Assault of the Killer B's: Interviews with 20 Cult Film Actresses |publisher=McFarland |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-7864-1818-3 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/assaultofkillerb0000unse}}
* {{cite book |last1=Dillard |first1=R. H. W. |chapter=''Night of the Living Dead'': It's Not Like Just a Wind That's Passing Through |title=American Horrors: Essays on the Modern American Horror Film |last2=Waller |first2=Gregory A. |publisher=University of Illinois Press |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-252-01448-2 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/americanhorrorse0000unse}}
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* {{cite book |last=Heffernan |first=Kevin |title=Ghouls, Gimmicks, and Gold: Horror Films and the American Movie Business, 1953–1968 |publisher=[[Duke University Press]] |date=2004 |isbn=978-0-8223-3215-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/ghoulsgimmicksgo0000heff}}
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* {{cite journal |last1=Johnson |first1=Steve |title=Dreams and the Human Material in Night of the Living Dead |journal=Bright Lights |date=December 2, 2020 |url=https://brightlightsfilm.com/dreams-and-the-human-material-in-night-of-the-living-dead/}}
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* {{cite book |last=Maddrey |first=Joseph |title=Nightmares in Red, White and Blue: The Evolution of the American Horror Film |publisher=McFarland |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-7864-1860-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Miller |first=Stephen Paul |title=The Seventies Now: Culture as Surveillance |publisher=Duke University Press |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-8223-2166-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/seventiesnowcult0000mill}}
* {{cite journal |last=Newman |first=Robert |title=The Haunting of 1968 |journal=[[South Central Review]] |volume=16 |issue=4 |date=2000 |pages=53–61 |doi=10.2307/3190076 |jstor=3190076 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3190076 |url-access=subscription}}
* {{cite book |last=Paffenroth |first=Kim |date=2006 |title=Gospel of the Living Dead: George Romero's Visions of Hell on Earth |publisher=Baylor |isbn=978-1-932792-65-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/gospeloflivingde0000paff}}
* {{cite book |last=Peary |first=Danny |date=1981 |title=Cult Movies |publisher=Delacorte Press |isbn=978-0-440-01626-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/cultmoviesclassi0000pear}}
* {{cite journal |doi=10.1186/gb-2011-12-3-108 |pmc=3129666 |doi-access=free |date=2011 |last1=Petsko |first1=G. A. |title=The walking dead |journal=Genome Biology |volume=12 |issue=3 |page=108 |pmid=21450113}}
* {{cite book |last=Poole |first=W. Scott |title=Monsters in America: Our Historical Obsession with the Hideous and the Haunting |publisher=Baylor |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-60258-314-6}}
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* {{cite book |last=Russell |first=Jamie |title=Book of the Dead |year=2008 |publisher=FAB Press |isbn=978-1-903254-33-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Russo |first=John |title=The Complete Night of the Living Dead Filmbook |publisher=Imagine, Inc. |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-911137-03-3}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Rust |first1=Stephen A. |last2=Soles |first2=Carter |date=2014 |title=Ecohorror Special Cluster: 'Living in Fear, Living in Dread, Pretty Soon We'll All Be Dead' |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26430358 |journal=Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=509–512 |doi=10.1093/isle/isu085 |jstor=26430358 |issn=1076-0962 |url-access=subscription}}
* {{cite AV media |title=Tales From The Crypt: From Comics to Television |people=Selby, Chip |date=2004 |type=DVD |ref={{sfnref|Selby|2004}} |publisher=CS Films}}
* {{cite book |last=Shaviro |first=Steven |chapter=Contagious Allegories:: George Romero |title=Zombie Theory |date=2017 |pages=7–19 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |isbn=978-1-4529-5552-0 |doi=10.5749/j.ctt1pwt6zr.5 |url=https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/zombie-theory}}
* {{cite book |last=Skal |first=David |date=1993 |chapter=Scar Wars |title=The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror |edition=revised |isbn=978-0-571-19996-9 |publisher=Faber and Faber, Inc. |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780571199969}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Soles |first=Carter |date=2014 |title='And No Birds Sing': Discourses of Environmental Apocalypse in 'The Birds' and 'Night of the Living Dead' |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26430360 |journal=Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=526–537 |doi=10.1093/isle/isu082 |jstor=26430360 |issn=1076-0962 |url-access=subscription}}
* {{cite magazine |last=Stommel |first=Jesse |date=July 31, 2013 |title=When the Zombie Looks: The Human Being Undone in George Romero's Night of the Living Dead |url=https://brightlightsfilm.com/when-the-zombie-looks-the-human-being-undone-in-george-romeros-night-of-the-living-dead/ |magazine=[[Bright Lights Film Journal]]}}
* {{cite magazine |last=Surmacz |first=Gary Anthony |title=Anatomy of a Horror Film |date=1975 |magazine=Cinefantastique |volume=4 |issue=1 |url=https://archive.org/details/CinefantastiqueVol04No1Spring1975/page/n13/mode/2up}}
* {{cite book |last=Tudor |first=Andrew |title=Monsters and Mad Scientists: A Cultural History of the Horror Movie |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-631-16992-5}}
* {{cite book |last=Weaver |first=Tom |title=Return of the B Science Fiction and Horror Movie Makers: The Mutant Melding of Two Volumes of Classic Interviews |publisher=[[McFarland (publisher)|McFarland]] |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-7864-0755-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Wood |first=Robin |chapter=An Introduction to the American Horror Film |title=Movies and Methods |volume=II |editor-first=Bill |editor-last=Nichols |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-520-05409-7}}
* {{cite book |last1=Wood |first1=Robin |last2=Lippe |first2=Richard |title=Robin Wood on the horror film: collected essays and reviews |date=2018 |publisher=Wayne State University Press |isbn=978-0-8143-4523-8}}
* {{cite journal |last=Zimmerman |first=Elizabeth |title=Vampire Gentlemen and Zombie Beasts |date=2013 |journal=Gothic Studies |volume=15 |number=1 |pages=76–87 |publisher=Manchester University Press |doi=10.7227/GS.15.1.8}}
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
{{Sister project links|d=Q623051|commons=category:Night of the Living Dead| n=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|mw=no|s=yes|m=no|species=no|wikt=no}}

=== Film databases ===
* {{IMDb title|0063350}}
* {{AFI film|19843}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|1015052_night_of_the_living_dead}}
* {{TCMDb title|84925|Night of the Living Dead}}

=== Media ===
* {{YouTube|nIztmsmi2BQ|''Original Trailer''}}
* {{YouTube|gqPDpBn6iWs|''Full Movie''}}
* {{Internet Archive|Night.Of.The.Living.Dead_1080p|''Night of the Living Dead'' (full film)}}
* {{Internet Archive|notld_201610|''Night of the Living Dead'' (full colorized film)}}
* {{Internet Archive|night-of-the-living-dead-hd-1080p|''Night of the Living Dead'' (trailer)}}
* {{Internet Archive|10-space-drama|''Night of the Living Dead'' (soundtrack)}}. (2010 ''They Won't Stay Dead!'' edition.)

=== Other ===
*[https://www.image-ten.com/ Image Ten]
* [https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/5390-night-of-the-living-dead-mere-anarchy-is-loosed ''Night of the Living Dead: Mere Anarchy Is Loosed''] an essay by [[Stuart Klawans]] at the [[Criterion Collection]]
* [https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/night_living_dead2.pdf ''Night of the Living Dead'' essay] by Jim Trombetta on the [[National Film Registry]] website

{{George A. Romero}}
{{Living Dead}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Night of the Living Dead}}
[[Category:1960s American films]]
[[Category:1960s English-language films]]
[[Category:1968 directorial debut films]]
[[Category:1968 films]]
[[Category:1968 horror films]]
[[Category:1968 independent films]]
[[Category:African-American horror films]]
[[Category:American black-and-white films]]
[[Category:American exploitation films]]
[[Category:American zombie films]]
[[Category:American independent films]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Censored films]]
[[Category:Films about cannibalism]]
[[Category:Films directed by George A. Romero]]
[[Category:Films set in abandoned houses]]
[[Category:Films set on farms]]
[[Category:Films set in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Films shot in Pittsburgh]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by George A. Romero]]
[[Category:Fiction about matricide]]
[[Category:Night of the Living Dead (film series)]]
[[Category:Rating controversies in film]]
[[Category:Siege films]]
[[Category:United States National Film Registry films]]
[[Category:Varèse Sarabande soundtracks]]
[[Category:Films set in country houses]]
[[Category:American splatter films]]
[[Category:Video nasties]]
[[Category:Saturn Award–winning films]]
[[Category:Social thriller films]]
[[Category:English-language horror films]]
[[Category:English-language science fiction films]]
[[Category:English-language independent films]]
[[Category:1968 science fiction films]]
[[Category:Guerrilla filmmaking]]