''Night of the Living Dead'' is a 1968 American
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
horror film
Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes.
Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...
directed, photographed, and edited by
George A. Romero
George Andrew Romero (; February 4, 1940 – July 16, 2017) was an American-Canadian filmmaker, writer, editor and actor. His ''Night of the Living Dead'' series of films about an imagined zombie apocalypse began with the 1968 film of the ...
, with a screenplay by
John Russo and Romero, and starring
Duane Jones
Duane L. Jones (April 11, 1937July 22, 1988) was an American actor and theatre director, best known for his lead role as Ben in the 1968 horror film ''Night of the Living Dead''. He was later director of the Maguire Theater at the State Universi ...
and
Judith O'Dea
Judith O'Dea (born April 20, 1945) is an American actress. She portrayed Barbra in the 1968 George Romero classic horror film ''Night of the Living Dead''.
Career
In addition to her signature role, O'Dea has appeared in the television movie '' ...
. The story follows seven people who are trapped in a rural farmhouse in western
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, which is under assault by an enlarging group of
flesh-eating,
undead
The undead are beings in mythology, legend, or fiction that are deceased but behave as if alive. Most commonly the term refers to corporeal forms of formerly-alive humans, such as mummies, vampires, and zombies, who have been reanimated by super ...
ghoul
A ghoul ( ar, غول, ') is a demon-like being or monstrous humanoid. The concept originated in pre-Islamic Arabian religion, associated with graveyards and the consumption of human flesh. Modern fiction often uses the term to label a cert ...
s.
Having gained experience through directing
television commercial
A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...
s and
industrial film Sponsored film, or ephemeral film, as defined by film archivist Rick Prelinger, is a film made by a particular sponsor for a specific purpose other than as a work of art: the films were designed to serve a specific pragmatic purpose for a limited t ...
s for their
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
-based production company The Latent Image, Romero and his friends Russo and
Russell Streiner decided to fulfill their ambitions to make a feature film. Electing to make a horror film that would capitalize on contemporary commercial interest in the genre, they formed a partnership with Karl Hardman and Marilyn Eastman of Hardman Associates called Image Ten. After evolving through multiple drafts, Russo and Romero's final script primarily drew influence from
Richard Matheson
Richard Burton Matheson (February 20, 1926 – June 23, 2013) was an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres.
He is best known as the author of '' I Am Legend'', a 1954 science fictio ...
's 1954 novel ''
I Am Legend''.
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
took place between July 1967 and January 1968, mainly on location in
Evans City
Evans City is a borough in Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,833 at the 2010 census.
Geography
Evans City is located in southwestern Butler County at (40.769310, -80.061409), in the valley of Breakneck Creek. It is ...
; aside from the Image Ten team themselves, the cast and crew consisted of their friends and relatives, local
stage
Stage or stages may refer to:
Acting
* Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions
* Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage"
* ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper
* Sta ...
and
amateur
An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...
actors, and residents from the area. Although the film was his
directorial debut
This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many film makers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early work ...
, Romero utilized many of the
guerrilla filmmaking
Guerrilla filmmaking refers to a form of independent filmmaking characterized by ultra-low micro budgets, skeleton crews, and limited props using whatever resources, locations and equipment is available. Often scenes are shot quickly in real loc ...
techniques he had honed in his commercial and industrial work to complete the film on a
budget of approximately .
Following its theatrical premiere in Pittsburgh on October 1, 1968, ''Night of the Living Dead'' eventually grossed
domestically and internationally, earning more than 250 times its budget and making it one of the most profitable film productions ever made at the time. Released shortly prior to the adoption of the
Motion Picture Association of America rating system, the film's explicit violence and gore was considered groundbreaking and unprecedented for the time, leading to widespread controversy and negative reviews upon its initial release. It eventually garnered a
cult following
A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...
and acclaim among critics, and has appeared on lists of
the greatest and most influential films ever made by such outlets as ''
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
'', ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' and ''
Total Film
''Total Film'' is a British film magazine published 13 times a year (published monthly and a summer issue is added every year since issue 91, 2004, which is published between July and August issue) by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched ...
''. Frequently identified as the first modern
zombie film
A zombie film is a film genre. Zombies are fictional creatures usually portrayed as reanimated corpses or virally infected human beings. They are commonly portrayed as cannibalistic in nature. While zombie films generally fall into the horror g ...
and 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 being directed towards the casting of Jones, an
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
, in the leading role.
In 1999, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
and selected for preservation in the
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception i ...
.
''Night of the Living Dead'' spawned a successful
franchise
Franchise may refer to:
Business and law
* Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees
* Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...
that includes five official sequels released between 1978 and 2009, all of which were also directed by Romero. The film has also inspired several
remake
A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...
s as a result of its
public domain
The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work
A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...
status. An
official remake, written by Romero and directed by
Tom Savini
Thomas Vincent Savini (born November 3, 1946) is an American prosthetic makeup artist, actor, stunt performer and film director. He is known for his makeup and special effects work on many films directed by George A. Romero, including ''Martin'' ...
, was released in 1990 and has similarly gained a small cult following.
Plot
Siblings Barbra and Johnny drive to a cemetery in rural Pennsylvania to visit their father's grave. Their car radio goes off the air due to technical difficulties. As they are leaving, a strange, ashen-faced, stumbling man wearing a tattered suit kills Johnny and attacks Barbra. She flees and takes shelter in a farmhouse but finds the woman who lived there dead and half-eaten. She sees a multiplying number of strange ghouls, led by the man from the cemetery, approaching the house. A man named Ben arrives, secures the farmhouse by boarding the windows and doors, and drives away the ghouls with a
lever-action rifle
The toggle-link action used in the iconic Winchester Model 1873 rifle, one of the most famous lever-action firearms
Lever-action is a type of action for repeating firearms that uses a manually operated cocking handle located around the trigger g ...
he finds in the closet and with fire, which the ghouls fear.
Barbra, in a
catatonic state from shock, is surprised when Harry Cooper and Tom emerge from the cellar. Harry has been taking shelter there with his wife Helen and their young daughter Karen after a group of the same monsters overturned their car and bit Karen on the arm, leaving her seriously ill. Tom arrived with his girlfriend Judy after hearing an emergency broadcast about a series of brutal killings. Tom aids Ben in securing the farmhouse while Harry angrily protests that it is unsafe before returning to the cellar, which he believes is safer. Ghouls continue to besiege the farmhouse in ever-increasing numbers.
The refugees listen to radio and television reports of a wave of
mass murder being committed across the
east coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the coa ...
by an army of cannibalistic, reanimating corpses, and posses of armed men patrolling the countryside to kill the ghouls. They confirm that the ghouls can be stopped with a bullet or heavy blow to the head or by being burned, as Ben discovered, and that various rescue centers are offering refuge and safety. Scientists theorize that the reanimations are occurring due to
radiation
In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium. This includes:
* ''electromagnetic radiation'', such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visi ...
from a
space probe
A space probe is an artificial satellite that travels through space to collect scientific data. A space probe may orbit Earth; approach the Moon; travel through interplanetary space; flyby, orbit, or land or fly on other planetary bodies; or ent ...
that exploded in
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
's atmosphere on the way back from
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...
.
Ben devises a plan to obtain medical supplies for Karen and transport the group to a rescue center by refueling his truck. Ben, Tom, and Judy drive to a nearby gas pump, holding the ghouls off with torches and
Molotov cocktail
A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with flamma ...
s. However, the gas from the pump spills and causes the truck to catch fire and explode, killing Tom and Judy. Ben runs back to the house on his own and breaks down the door when Harry does not let him back in. Ben beats Harry for his cowardice. While the ghouls feast on the remains of Tom and Judy, the remaining survivors attempt to find a way out. However, the ghouls break through the barricades. In the ensuing chaos, Harry is shot dead by Ben. Karen dies from her injuries, reanimates, begins to eat her father's remains, and stabs Helen to death with a masonry
trowel
A trowel is a small hand tool used for digging, applying, smoothing, or moving small amounts of viscous or particulate material. Common varieties include the masonry trowel, garden trowel, and float trowel.
A power trowel is a much larger gas ...
. Barbra recovers from her catatonic state and tries to help Ben keep the ghouls out but is dragged away by a reanimated Johnny and the other ghouls.
As the horde breaks into the house, Ben takes refuge in the cellar, where he shoots Harry and Helen's reanimating corpses. The next morning, an armed posse arrives and begins dispatching the remaining ghouls in the area. Awoken by their gunfire and sirens, Ben emerges from the cellar but is shot and killed when they mistake him for a ghoul. His body is thrown onto a bonfire and burned with the rest of the ghouls.
Cast
![Duane Jones NLD](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Duane_Jones_NLD.jpg)
*
Duane Jones
Duane L. Jones (April 11, 1937July 22, 1988) was an American actor and theatre director, best known for his lead role as Ben in the 1968 horror film ''Night of the Living Dead''. He was later director of the Maguire Theater at the State Universi ...
as Ben. An unknown stage actor, Jones' performance as Ben was described in a 1969 review as a "comparatively calm and resourceful Negro"; he was a distinguished gentleman and former university professor in real life. Jones' casting was potentially controversial in 1968, when it was rare for a black man to be cast as the hero of an American film primarily composed of white actors, but Romero said that Jones simply performed the best in his audition. He went on to appear in other films after ''Night of the Living Dead'', including ''
Ganja & Hess
''Ganja & Hess'' is a 1973 American blaxploitation horror film written and directed by Bill Gunn and starring Marlene Clark and Duane Jones. The film follows the exploits of anthropologist Dr. Hess Green (Jones), who becomes a vampire after h ...
'' (1973) and ''
Beat Street
''Beat Street'' is a 1984 American drama dance film featuring New York City hip hop culture of the early 1980s. Set in the South Bronx, the film follows the lives of a pair of brothers and their group of friends, all of whom are devoted to ...
'' (1984) and continued working as a theater actor and director until his death in 1988. Despite his other film roles, Jones worried that people only recognized him as Ben.
*
Judith O'Dea
Judith O'Dea (born April 20, 1945) is an American actress. She portrayed Barbra in the 1968 George Romero classic horror film ''Night of the Living Dead''.
Career
In addition to her signature role, O'Dea has appeared in the television movie '' ...
as Barbra. A 23-year-old commercial and stage actress, O'Dea previously worked for Hardman and Eastman in
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
. O'Dea was in Hollywood seeking entry to the movie business when she auditioned. O'Dea remarked in an interview that starring in the film was a positive experience for her. However, O'Dea admitted horror movies terrified her, particularly
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...
's ''
House of Wax'' (1953). In addition to acting, O'Dea performed her own stunts, which she jokingly claimed amounted to "lots of running". Assessing ''Night of the Living Dead'', O'Dea commented, "I honestly had no idea it would have such a lasting impact on our culture." O'Dea was just as surprised at the renown the film brought her: "People treat you differently.
'mho-hum Judy O'Dea until they realize
'mBarbra from ''Night of the Living Dead''. All of a sudden
'mnot so ho-hum anymore!"
* Karl Hardman as Harry Cooper. One of the film's producers (alongside Streiner), Hardman also provided the voice of the newscaster heard on the radio in Johnny's car.
*
Marilyn Eastman as Helen Cooper. Eastman also played a female ghoul eating an insect.
*
Keith Wayne as Tom
* Judith Ridley as Judy. Ridley later played the lead in Romero's second feature ''
There's Always Vanilla
''There's Always Vanilla'' (also known as ''The Affair'') is a 1971 romantic comedy film directed by George A. Romero and starring Raymond Laine, Judith Ridley, Roger McGovern, and Johanna Lawrence. It was Romero's second motion picture and hi ...
'' (1971).
* Kyra Schon as Karen Cooper. Hardman's daughter in real life, the 11-year-old daughter Schon also portrayed the mangled corpse on the house's upstairs floor that Ben drags away.
* Charles Craig as TV Newscaster / Ghoul
*
Bill Hinzman
Samuel William Hinzman (October 24, 1936 – February 5, 2012) was an American actor and film director.
Hinzman's first role was the cemetery zombie in the popular horror film ''Night of the Living Dead'' (1968). He reprised the role in ...
as The ghoul encountered by Barbra and Johnny in the cemetery. He reprised the role in new scenes filmed for the 30th anniversary edition of the film.
*
George Kosana as Sheriff McClelland. Kosana also served as the film's
production manager
In the cinema of the United States, a unit production manager (UPM) is the Directors Guild of America–approved title for the top below-the-line staff position, responsible for the administration of a feature film or television production. Non- ...
.
*
Russell Streiner ''(uncredited)'' as Johnny. Streiner later served as a producer of the
1990 remake of the film, in which he also has a cameo appearance as Sheriff McClelland.
*
Bill "Chilly Billy" Cardille as Himself. Cardille was well known in Pittsburgh as a TV presenter who hosted a horror film anthology series, ''
Chiller Theatre'', on late Saturday nights in the 1960s and 70s. Cardille would later make a cameo appearance as the TV news reporter in the 1990 remake.
Production
Development and pre-production
Romero embarked upon his career in the
film industry
The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, post ...
while attending
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...
in
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
. He directed and produced television commercials and
industrial films for The Latent Image, in the 1960s, a company he co-founded with friends
John Russo, and
Russell Streiner. The trio grew bored making commercials and wanted to film a horror movie during this period. They wanted to capitalize on the film industry's "thirst for the bizarre", according to Romero.
He and Streiner contacted Karl Hardman and Marilyn Eastman, president and vice president respectively of a Pittsburgh-based industrial film firm called Hardman Associates, Inc. They pitched their idea for a then-untitled horror film.
A production company, conceived by Romero, called Image Ten, was formed that included Romero, Russo, Streiner, Hardman, and Eastman. The initial budget was $6,000 with the ten members of the production company, investing $600 each for a share of the profits. Another ten investors were found when it was found that another $6,000 was required but this was also soon found to be inadequate. Image Ten eventually raised approximately $114,000 for the budget ($ today).
Writing
![Zombies NightoftheLivingDead](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Zombies_NightoftheLivingDead.jpg)
Co-written as a
horror comedy
Comedy horror, also known as horror comedy, is a literary, television, and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as able to be categorized under three types: "black comedy, parody and sp ...
by John Russo and George A. Romero under the title ''Monster Flick'', an early screenplay draft concerned the exploits of adolescent aliens who visit Earth and befriend human teenagers. A second version of the script featured a young man who runs away from home and discovers rotting human corpses that aliens use for food scattered across a meadow. Russo came up with the concept that they would be the recently dead only because they could not afford to bring long-dead people out of their graves. He also came up with the idea that they would be "flesh-eaters". The final draft, written mainly by Russo during three days in 1967, focused on reanimated human corpses – Romero refers to them as ''
ghoul
A ghoul ( ar, غول, ') is a demon-like being or monstrous humanoid. The concept originated in pre-Islamic Arabian religion, associated with graveyards and the consumption of human flesh. Modern fiction often uses the term to label a cert ...
s'' – that consume the flesh of the living. In a 1997 interview with the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
's ''Forbidden Weekend'', Romero explained that the script developed into a three-part short story anthology epic. Part one became ''Night of the Living Dead''. Sequels ''
'' (1985) were adapted from the two remaining unfinished parts.
Romero drew heavy inspiration from
that ravages a futuristic Los Angeles. The infected in ''I Am Legend'' become
-like creatures and prey on the uninfected. Discussing the creation of ''Night of the Living Dead'', Romero remarked, "I had written a short story, which I basically had ripped off from a Richard Matheson novel called ''I Am Legend''." Romero further explained:
Official film adaptations of Matheson's novel appeared in 1964 as ''
''. Matheson was not impressed by Romero's interpretation, feeling that "It was ... kind of cornball", though he later said, "George Romero's a nice guy, though. I don't harbor any animosity toward him."
Russo and Romero revised the screenplay while filming. Karl Hardman attributed the edits to lead actor Duane Jones:
Eastman modified cellar scenes featuring dialogue between Helen and Harry Cooper.
According to lead actress Judith O'Dea, much of the dialogue was improvised. She 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". One example offered by O'Dea concerns a scene where Barbra tells Ben about Johnny's death:
Although the film is regarded as one of the launching pads for the modern zombie movie, the screenplay itself never uses the word.
In fact, Romero would later confess that he felt the film's antagonists were distinct enough from Haitian zombies that they were "something completely new" with Romero actively avoiding any similarities between the two creatures although he notes that they may have subtly inspired him.
descent, but upon casting African-American actor Duane Jones, Romero intentionally did not alter the script to reflect this.
that same year, 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.
The small budget dictated much of the production process. According to Hardman, "We knew that we could not raise enough money to shoot a film on a par with the classic horror films with which we had all grown up. The best that we could do was to place our cast in a remote spot and then bring the horror to be visited on them in that spot".
; the opening sequence was shot at the Evans City Cemetery on Franklin Road, south of the borough. The cemetery chapel was under warrant for demolition; however, Gary R. Steiner led a successful effort to raise $50,000 to restore the building, and the chapel is currently undergoing renovations.
The outdoor, indoor (downstairs), and basement scenes were filmed at a location northeast of Evans City, near a park. The basement door (external view) shown in the film was cut into a wall by the production team and led nowhere. As this house was scheduled for demolition, damage during filming was permitted. The site is now a
s were fairly simple and limited by the budget. The blood, for example, was
drizzled over cast members' bodies. Consumed flesh consisted of roasted
and entrails donated by one of the actors, who also owned a chain of butcher shops. Costumes consisted of second-hand clothing from cast members and
. Zombie makeup varied during the film. Initially, makeup was limited to white skin with blackened eyes. However, as filming progressed, mortician's wax simulated wounds and decaying flesh. As filming was not linear, the piebald faces appear sporadically. Eastman supervised the special effects, wardrobe and makeup.
Filming took place between July 1967 and January 1968 under the working title ''Night of Anubis'' and later ''Night of the Flesh Eaters''.
black-and-white film. The completed film ultimately benefited from the decision, as film historian Joseph Maddrey describes the black-and-white filming as "
". Maddrey adds, it "seem
".
''Night of the Living Dead'' was the first feature-length film directed by George A. Romero. His initial work involved filming
''.
Romero's decision to direct ''Night of the Living Dead'' essentially launched his career as a horror director. He took the helm of the sequels as well as ''
'' (1993). 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. Romero describes the mood he wished to establish: "The film opens with a situation that has already disintegrated to a point of little hope, and it moves progressively toward absolute despair and ultimate tragedy."