Film Review: A Night of the Living Dead (2014)

SYNOPSIS:

A group of people hide out in a house and try to survive the night against an ever-growing army of zombies. A reimagining of George Romero’s classic horror film.

REVIEW:

I was a little torn when I heard that this movie was being made. On the one hand I’m not a fan of remakes/reimaginings and think that the biggest majority of the suck out loud, but on the other I have always liked director/co-writer Chad Zuver’s other films and think that they are pretty kick ass. Still, I went into it with a pretty skeptical attitude as I wasn’t sure if it was going to work or not but after all was said and done I can say that Zuver and his crew pulled it off nicely. It isn’t a perfect film as it has some issues but overall I enjoyed it for the most part.

As I’ve said time and time again I admire anyone who picks up a camera and makes their own movie with a limited budget and that is what Zuver has done here. I’m thinking that he didn’t have a great deal of money to work with as it isn’t a huge Hollywood blockbuster crammed with big name actors but he does an awesome job with what he had to work with nonetheless. The end result is pretty impressive and everyone involved should be proud of what they accomplished here. As a matter of fact I would go so far as to argue that it is superior to a lot of other zombie movies out there that had a bigger budget and more main stream actors (I personally thought that it was 100 times better than World War Z to be brutally honest).

I liked how Zuver and co-writer Sean Gallagher changed things up a bit and put their own spin on Romero’s film. They make a few changes (Johnny and Barbara are teenagers who are dating as opposed to being siblings, Barbara dies fairly early on, the main characters are different, etc) and I dug the fact that they didn’t just go for a shot-for-shot remake as I don’t think it would have been nearly as good (remember the remake of Psycho back in 1998, anyone?) and it probably would have angered a lot of the die-hard fans of the original film. At the same time some viewers probably won’t like these changes but I was fine with them and thought that they worked very well.

I also dug the characters too. While I really dug Melanie and Samantha my favorite character was without a doubt Ben. There was something about him that I really liked and I couldn’t help but root for him. I thought that he was an awesome character and I liked the way that he was handled as he is a little different from the way he is portrayed in the original film. Gad Holland did an excellent job of bringing him to life and I am certain that he will be a favorite among many viewers.

On the downside the movie isn’t without a couple of flaws. The acting could have been a little stronger and while it isn’t horrible it could have been better. There were a couple of instances where certain actors seemed to stumble with (or forget) their lines and these scenes where a little awkward to watch as a result. It only happens a few times but it left a big enough impression on me that I thought that it was worth mentioning. I also wasn’t too keen on the booming score that kept playing on and off throughout the movie. It was very distracting and at times it was almost too loud as it came close to drowning out some of the dialogue that was being spoken. I know that the score is used for a reason but I could have done without it completely as I think that the film would have been a little more effective without it.

Overall I liked A Night of the Living Dead. I thought that it was cool that it was shot in black and white and I loved the ending (even if it was a little depressing). I thought that it was a good movie that obviously had a lot of heart and despite a few problems I enjoyed the time that I spent watching it. If you’re a fan of the original Night of the Living Dead (or a fan of zombies in general) then check it out as I think you’ll really dig it.