For the record, you can count me amongst those who thinks that Ben got everyone killed. We root for Ben because he’s the more likable character but, in the end, Harry was right and Ben ended up becoming a cold-blooded murderer. These are the type of things that make Night of the Living Dead the scariest zombie film ever made. The living are just as terrifying as the dead.
I should also note that, for all the criticism the character gets, Barbara has one of the most totally realistic reactions that I’ve ever seen in a horror movie. She’s in shock and denial. I would probably have the same reaction.
And now, here is the greatest zombie film ever made!
Well, as another horrorthon draws to a close, it’s time for another Shattered Lens tradition! Every Halloween, we share one of the greatest and most iconic horror films ever made. For your Halloween enjoyment, here is George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead!
1987’s The Majorettes takes place in a small town in Pennsylvania. It’s the type of town where everyone follows the high school football team, everyone goes to church on Sunday, and everyone admires the baton-twirling high school majorettes, even more so than the cheerleaders.
Unfortunately, it appears that someone is murdering the majorettes, one-by-one. The first majorette victim is murdered while out on a date with Tommy, the class nerd. (Poor old Tommy is killed as well.) Her body is left in a creek. The second victim is killed while lounging in front of her swimming pool. The third victim is killed in the shower. Detective Roland Martell (Cal Hetrick) thinks that the murders are linked to some sort of purification ritual. Sheriff Braden (Mark V. Jivicky) says that he agrees but he doesn’t really have much time to worry about motives. Braden’s dismissal of Martell could be due to the fact that Braden is a deeply religious man who we first see observing a creek baptism and singing a gospel song. Meanwhile, Martell is an agnostic who is having an affair with a teenage girl named Nicole (Jacqueline Bowman).
Who could be the murderer? Could it be Harry (Harold K. Keller), the slow-witted handyman who is always watching the majorettes while they’re practicing and who peeps on them and takes pictures while they’re changing in the locker room?
Could it be Harry’s mother, Helga (Denise Huot)? Helga is a nurse who is plotting to murder both majorette Vicky McAlister (Terrie Godfrey) and her grandmother as a part of her plot to inherit the McAlister fortune. But just because Helga is planning to kill one majorette, that doesn’t necessarily mean that she killed the others.
Or could the murderer be the school’s resident dope dealer, Mace (Tom E. Desrocher)? Mace spends most of his time hanging out with his gang in their trailer, which is decorated with Confederate flags and 666 graffiti. Mace was seen with the first victim and quarterback Jeff Holloway (Kevin Kindlin) is pretty sure that Mace was responsible for the murder. When Jeff goes to the police, Mace decides to go after Jeff.
Anyone of them could be the murderer. I won’t spoil the killer’s identity, beyond telling you that we learn who the killer is about halfway through the film. And once the killer is known, The Majorettes goes from being a high school slasher film to being a backwoods action/revenge film, complete with shotguns being fired, vehicles blowing up, and Jeff the clean-cut quarterback suddenly running around with an arsenal of weapons. Ultimately, The Majorettes feels like 3 different movies in one, with moments of horror balanced with scenes of Lifetime-style melodrama and Cannon-style action. To be honest, the entire film is a bit silly but there’s enough twists and turns to hold one’s interest. It’s hard not to enjoy the film’s “just toss it all in” approach to storytelling.
The Majorettes was based on a novel by John Russo, who is also credited as one of the screenwriters on Night of the Living Dead. The film itself was directed by Bill Hinzman, who played the first zombie to show up in Romero’s classic film. There’s not much visual flair to Hinzman’s direction but he keeps the action moving and really, that’s the most important thing that one can do with a film like The Majorettes.
It’s Halloween in rural Pennsylvania. It is a time for hayrides, trick or treating, and flesh eating. A farmer comes across a box underneath a tree stump. The box has a seal that says it shouldn’t be opened so, of course, the farmer opens it. Out pops a member of the undead (Bill Hinzman) who tears the farmer’s throat out and, before you can say Night of the Living Dead, starts an entire zombie outbreak. Soon, the entire town is under siege as the zombies eat farmers, teenagers, and children alike. The only thing more dangerous than the zombies is the posse that’s been put together to take them down. You might survive the night but, in the morning, just try not to get shot by mistake.
Bill Hinzman might not be a familiar name but every horror fan knows his face. He played the graveyard zombie in the original Night of the Living Dead, the one who killed Johnny and then chased after Barbara. He ws he zombie who started it all. Hinzman not only stars in but he also wrote and directed FleshEater, which is basically an extra bloody remake of Romero’s better-known film. Hinzman even got the some of the same actors who played the members of the posse in Night of the Living Dead to play essentially the same roles in FleshEater. Hinzman made for a good zombie but, unfortunately, he was not as good a director as Romero. While there’s more than enough gore and nudity to keep the film’s target audience happy, FleshEater never comes close to duplicating Night of the Living Dead‘s nightmarish intensity. With most of the victims consisting of shallow teenagers and dumb rednecks, you’ll be on the side of the zombies for the entire movie.
Hi and welcome to the latest edition of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse and Exploitation trailers! To be honest, I’m usually way too ADD to come up with (let alone maintain) any sort of theme with my trailer posts but this weekend — almost by pure chance — a theme has emerged! So, without further hold up, let us consider 6 Trailers of the Dead!
1) Night of the Living Dead (1968)
How have I done nearly a 100 of these posts without featuring the trailer for George Romero’s landmark Night of the Living Dead?
2) The Astro-Zombies (1968)
Apparently, 1968 was a big year for the dead returning to life.
3) The Majorettes (1986)
The Majorettes was directed by the late Bill Hinzman, the guy who played the Cemetary Zombie in Night of the Living Dead.
4) Dawn of the Dead (1978)
To be honest, I think I’ve already featured this trailer in an earlier post. However, there’s no way that you can start a post with Night of the Living Dead and then end it with Day of the Dead without finding some room for Dawn of the Dead in the middle.
5) Dead Heat (1988)
Wow, this looks really, really, really … not good. However, according to Wikipedia, it’s about zombies and it’s got the word “dead” in the title so it works theme-wise.
6) Day of the Dead (1985)
I’ve watched this trailer several times and those arms still make me jump every time!
Lisa Marie has been posting some very good pubic domain horror films for the past couple weeks and I think it’s about high time I posted one of the best public domain films. This one happens to be a horror film and also happens to be one of the best horror films ever made. I would be of the mind to call this one of the most important films ever made in the last hundred years.
The film I speak of is George A. Romero’s classic and iconic horror film from 1968 simply called Night of the Living Dead. I’ve reviewed and posted this film from over a year ago, but it’s only been recently that Youtube has had a quality HD version of the full film uploaded to its site. Now, people don’t need to go find and buy the countless DVD versions of this film floating around in almost every store imaginable. I think even 7-11 and corner mom-and-pop stores carry a dvd of this film. This is why public domain films can be such a boon to films of the past (though also a curse since some transfers of pubic domain films are beyond awful) that tend rarely get a video release.
Fortunately, Night of the Living Dead is not one of those films. It’s the opposite in that it’s a film that many consider the birth of modern horror cinema and one of the perfect example of guerrilla filmmaking. It’s a film that didn’t just change how we look at horror now (gone are the gothic trappings that most horror had prior), but it also was one of the few horror films to successfully marry not just scares but thought-provoking themes and ideas. Even now most horror films fail to do one of the other let alone both at the same time.
The modern zombie genre of entertainment (films, stories, video games and even protest movements) owe it’s existence to this little low-budget horror film from the late 60’s by a Pittsburgh native and his friends who decided to pool their money together and make a horror flick. It’s a film that still stands the test of time. When all the hoopla over the Paranormal Activity nonsense, remakes of horror (both good and bad) and teen-sanitized horror goes by the wayside this film will continue to impress, remain relevant and still scare (pardon my French) the shit out of young people discovering it for the first time.
Well, here it is October 1st and you know what that means. It’s time for horror, horror, and more horror. This edition of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse and Exploitation Trailers is dedicated to just that. So, without further ado, let’s jump into the world of ghosts, zombies, maniacs, and Paul Naschy…
Though this appears to be a fairly standard old school Jamie Lee Curtis slasher film, I like this trailer a lot. The opening shots of the train are nicely ominous, the shots of winter are perfectly matched with the trailer’s grim atmosphere, and it’s interesting to see Ben Johnson in one of these films.
Through the Shattered Lens 