(George Romero/1968/USA)
Romero’s low budget independent
horror changed the genre on so many levels it’s hard to watch it objectively
for the first time. What I was immediately struck by was the similarity in
style to the early French New Wave films - handheld camera, creative angles and dynamic
framing. No great surprise there as the idea that film was the preserve of
studios with the financial clout to fund productions was deconstructed by
Godard et al in the early 60’s. They made films in a matter of weeks with virtually
nonexistent budgets in comparison to anything coming out of Hollywood and revolutionized cinema by demonstrating it could be accessible to more or less
anyone who could get their hands on a camera. This would be a blueprint for
many subversive and underground cinematic movements to come but in particular
within the horror genre and especially later with the advent of video
technology. Anyway back to the film at hand, working within the restrictions of
a tight budget, minimal setting and effects means creativity and innovation is
key and Romero smashes it on those terms. The entire film is an exercise in
intense, claustrophobic tension building that uses the space allowed to maximum
effect. There are plenty of close ups, skewed angles and chaotic mise-en-scène
with actors flailing and panicking and filling the frame. All of which adds up
to an inherent terror on screen being instilled in the viewer. 
There’s also the subtext of
social commentary which was right out there at the time. Ben, the main
character and hero of the film, is a black man and he is the alpha male saving
a bunch of hysterical white people in the face of terror. Romero is absolutely
making a statement when Ben is not allowed to be the hero he should be and that
statement, especially in the way the film finishes, is more relevant today than
ever before when you consider the racial issues and tensions in America in
regard to the deaths of black people at the hands of law enforcers. Quite often
the most significant artifacts of culture come from those operating outside the
mainstream and this film is one of the finest examples of that.
(3.5/5)
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