Remaking one of the most legendary horror films of all time is no easy feat, but Tom Savini excelled at it with Night of the Living Dead. Originally made by George A. Romero in 1968, the first NOTLD is considered by many to be the quintessential zombie film, setting the stage for what zombie fiction has become today. Certainly, zombie flicks are known to be hit or miss as we’ve seen over the years, but the NOTLD remake stands right up there as a classic along with the original version.
To be fair, a big part of the reason why Tom Savini’s Night of the Living Dead works so well is that Romero was heavily involved. In fact, it was Romero who led the charge in getting a new version of his classic horror movie made. This was due in part to legal complications over the rights to the original along with fears that another filmmaker would make an unauthorized remake. He wrote the script himself and called John A. Russo and Russell Streiner, who helped with the 1968 version, and the trio got to work on a horror remake that they could control.
Initially, Tom Savini was approached to do FX work for the film. Because he was serving in the military when the original was produced, he wasn’t available to work on the first NOTLD, so he was excited about working with George for the remake. The next thing he knew, Savini was persuaded to direct the film as well. Unfortunately for Tom, his experience working on the film was not a good one, as he clashed with producers when Romero wasn’t on set.
“It was the worst nightmare of my life,” Romero said in a 2015 interview with Film Monthly, noting that the producers and the MPAA had both heavily interfered with his creative vision. “The movie is about forty percent of what I intended. It would be a much better movie if I had got to put in all the stuff I really wanted to do.”
The film may not be as visceral as Savini was hoping for, but the end result is still fantastic. For the most part, the film reimagines the story told in the 1968 original, beginning with Barbara (Patricia Tallman) and Johnny (Bill Moseley) visiting a cemetery when the dead begin to rise. They take refuge in an abandoned farmhouse with a group of others — Ben (Tony Todd), Harry (Tom Towles), Tom (William Butler), Judy Rose (Katie Finneran), Helen (McKee Anderson), and Sarah (Heather Mazur).
Even if Savini was limited in what he could do, the FX are also top-notch in the film, as the zombies appear rather unsettling — certainly much more so than the pale-faced ghouls in the original. You’ve also got to love how Barbara is a much stronger character this time around, serving a much bigger purpose with more badass moments than the 1968 version had.
The remake also manages to find that sweet balance between offering something new to fans while staying faithful to the original film. It seems to know when the deviations are necessary, and I would also say that the ending was a lot better in the remake than the original. While it’d have been nice to see Ben survive in both cases, the remake’s ending is much more satisfying with Barbara getting vengeance for his death in a great way. RIP, Ben.
RELATED: Top 10 Tony Todd Roles (Besides Candyman)
