"Night of the Living Dead" (1968)

Words cannot describe the love I have for the original Night of the Living Dead (and I say "original" only because there was a truly unfortunate remake from the 90's... yuck!).  As George A. Romero's first film, and the granddaddy of all zombie-themed exploits, the story revolves around a group of survivors who huddle together in a deserted farmhouse to hide from, well, the living dead.  Apparently, while our generation focuses on zombies being the result of a nasty virus, they were originally caused by an out-of-control satellite orbiting the earth and bringing the dead back to life (anybody care to do a sociology project on that theme?).  Best of all, the hero in the movie was African-American, which had not been done before.

(Photo Credit)

You can watch Night of the Living Dead instantly on Netflix, or you can add this classic to your collection from Amazon.  Check out the following trailer, too, for a taste (no pun intended) of the film:



P.S. The filmmakers of Night of the Living Dead were deemed "Satanically-inspired" by certain religious groups.  I guess we know who got the last laugh....

P.S.S. Night of the Living Dead was one of the first films to actually feature a violent death on the big screen.  Additionally, it was one of the most successful independent films of all time!