Roles/events stereotypically within the genre:
- Leader
- Children
- Moronic character that messes everything up
- An individual, stereo typically a girl, emotionally attached to a zombie
- Zombies are killed
- Mass destruction
- Panicked individuals
What has been said about the film? How have audiences received it? Why is it a classic of its genre?
'Night of the Living Dead' - 1968 - an American independent horror film - directed by George A. Romero.
This zombie horror film was made with a $114,000 budget and premiered on October 1st 1986. The film became a financial success, grossing $12 million domestically and $18 million internationally. It has been considered a classic ever since. However, it was heavily criticised for its explicit gore.
The story follows a family being attacked by a large and growing group of unnamed "living dead" monsters drawing on earlier depictions in popular culture of the ghoul which has led this type of creature to be referred to most popularly as a zombie. 'Night of the Living Dead' led to five subsequent films between 1978 and 2010, also directed by Romero, and inspired two remakes.
Reception:
The film had earned between $12 and $15 million at the American box office after a decade. It was translated into more that 25 languages and released across Europe, Canada and Australia. The Wall Street Journal reported that it was the top-grossing film in Europe 1969.
More than 40 years after its release, the film enjoys a reputation as a classic and still receives positive reviews; review website Rotten Tomatoes collected 52 reviews and gave 'Night of the Living Dead' a 96% and it is regarded by many as one of the best films of 1968.
Critical response:
Reviewers disliked the film's gory special effects. The New York Times critic Vincent Canby referred to the film as a "junk movie" as well as "spare, uncluttered, but really silly".
Some reviewers cited the film as groundbreaking. 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... The film's grainy, banal seriousness works or it - gives it a crude realism".
Identified patterns of conventions: Two short films
'Waterborne': Within this short film, the zombies were animals of whom drank from a contaminated lake, which thus led them to attacking a park ranger. Key conventions found in this was a contrast between slow and fast editing, introducing main characters, cliff hanger, main people dying, conflict between two characters.
'Alice Jacobs is dead': This film is set in a post-apocoliptic world after the virus has been cured, one man is hiding his wife who will eventually become a zombie. Key conventions used in this are the apocalyptic world, a betrayer, a character attached to a zombie emotionally, and zombies repopulating the earth.
What do experts say about this genre:
History:
Films featuring zombies have been part of cinema since the 1930s, with 'White Zombie' (1932) being one of the earliest examples. With George A.Romero's 'Night of the Living Dead' (1968), the zombie trope began to be increasingly linked to consumerism. Today, zombie films are released with such regularly (at least 55 titles were released in 2014) that they can be viewed as a separate sub-genre of Horror films.
Codes and conventions:
Reception:
The film had earned between $12 and $15 million at the American box office after a decade. It was translated into more that 25 languages and released across Europe, Canada and Australia. The Wall Street Journal reported that it was the top-grossing film in Europe 1969.
More than 40 years after its release, the film enjoys a reputation as a classic and still receives positive reviews; review website Rotten Tomatoes collected 52 reviews and gave 'Night of the Living Dead' a 96% and it is regarded by many as one of the best films of 1968.
Critical response:
Reviewers disliked the film's gory special effects. The New York Times critic Vincent Canby referred to the film as a "junk movie" as well as "spare, uncluttered, but really silly".
Some reviewers cited the film as groundbreaking. 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... The film's grainy, banal seriousness works or it - gives it a crude realism".
Identified patterns of conventions: Two short films
'Waterborne': Within this short film, the zombies were animals of whom drank from a contaminated lake, which thus led them to attacking a park ranger. Key conventions found in this was a contrast between slow and fast editing, introducing main characters, cliff hanger, main people dying, conflict between two characters.
'Alice Jacobs is dead': This film is set in a post-apocoliptic world after the virus has been cured, one man is hiding his wife who will eventually become a zombie. Key conventions used in this are the apocalyptic world, a betrayer, a character attached to a zombie emotionally, and zombies repopulating the earth.
What do experts say about this genre:
History:
Films featuring zombies have been part of cinema since the 1930s, with 'White Zombie' (1932) being one of the earliest examples. With George A.Romero's 'Night of the Living Dead' (1968), the zombie trope began to be increasingly linked to consumerism. Today, zombie films are released with such regularly (at least 55 titles were released in 2014) that they can be viewed as a separate sub-genre of Horror films.
Codes and conventions:
- a tight community of protagonists
- isolation
- apocalyptic world
- contrast between slow and fast editing
- chase scenes
- abandoned locations
- want to survive
- shot in the head to kill
Typical character conventions:
- leader
- children
- betrayer
- human sacrifice
- eye candy
- nerd
- the dumb blonde (of whom usually dies first)
- lead girl
- 'moronic' character
Beginnings and endings:
- cliff-hangers
- everyone dies
- zombies are killed/cured
- show previous world before the apocalyptic state
- outbreak of virus
- introduction of main characters
Story elements:
The first time someone interacts with or sees zombies are dangerous and traumatic, causing shock, panic and disbelief. The response of authorities to the threat is slower than its rate of growth, giving the zombie epidemic enough time to expand beyond containment. This results in the collapse of the given society and zombies take full control, while small groups of the living must fight for their survival.
Most stories usually follow a single group of survivors, who have been caught up in the sudden rush of the crisis and they usually don't all know each other. The narrative generally progresses from the beginning of the zombie epidemic, then initial attempts to seek the aid of authorities, then failure, meaning they have to try surviving of their own. They usually focus on the way characters react to such an extreme catastrophe, and how their personalities are changed by the stress, often acting on more primal motivations than they would display in normal life e.g. being more violent because of their fear.
Feature films: Conventions and ideas
'Night of the Living Dead' (1968) - woman falling over is the first response to seeing a zombie, woman being helpless, needs to be saved - isolated place, abandoned house, the want to survive, shot in the head to kill.
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