Night of the Living Dead (1990)
Directed By: Tom Savini
The Prologue
The name Night of the Living Dead is a name that represents horror to the fullest. The original by George Romero is an essential horror film for horror fans to watch. Now in the year 1990, gore master Tom Savini, would be set to direct a remake while Romero would still write the script for it. Keep in mind that this was a time when remakes weren’t the norm. Sure we had a few of them by this time. But unlike today, most of them were very good and done in ways that took what the original had and improved upon it. Things like The Thing and The Blob are prime examples of this. I think this movie here we are about to get into might be the greatest remake ever made.
The Movie
Original “Night” co-creator George A. Romero scripted this all-new updating of the horror classic, directed by special effects master Tom Savini. Who will survive the most terrifying night ever, as the dead come back to life to feast on the living? And the gore’s in color, too! And don’t go into it expecting the same thing as we got from the original either.
While Night of the Living Dead 90′ starts off like the black and white original it quickly tosses us a curve to let us know that this might be a film of the same name, but the rules have changed. The gore is upped, the characters are slightly altered for the most part, and above all else we have a red headed Barbara that is actually useful in the place of the blonde and rather useless Barbara we had in the original. I think Patricia Tallman plays this character very well and I also think Tony Todd plays Ben much better than the original Ben..No offense intended, but I think it’s true.
Now let’s go back to the gore. Tom Savini made a name for himself with his effects work during the late 70s and 80s. He has his skills on display here and it really helps make this film stand out. The original Night of the Living Dead has small amounts of gore that were probably still very good for it’s time. All the gore here really helps make this one seem special. I’m sure at the time people might have been a little down on the idea of remaking this one but once they saw it I’m sure the gore fans out there had a field day with it.
The end results here is a film that sets the prime example of what a remake should be. It keeps the general story, improves upon it, and only changes enough to keep the viewer on their toes. Just because you’ve seen the original and know how that goes doesn’t mean you’ll get the same results here. You end up with a film that is one of the few bright spots on horror from the early 90s. And if you’ve never seen it before, you need to change that asap.
The Conclusion
The ONLY reason I’m not giving this a perfect score is because it is a remake after all. But this is a film that I think tops the original. I think it’s also the best horror film of the year 1990 and the overall second best horror film of the 90s, behind Scream and in front of Dead-Alive. The 90s were a mess when it comes to horror but a few did shine and this was one of them. I also think it’s the only thing Tom Savini directed that is worth watching.
The Rating (9.5/10)
