Do you remember how it all began?..

Any film-"ancestor of the genre" becomes more and more a "collection of stamps" with the passage of time. It is unfair, because the current stamp - the then lucky find, hit the top ten, but, alas, it's hard to look serious, it is not clear where the bodies come to life once again roam and devour the living. Yes, then they did it for the first time, but many years have passed since then.

The ridiculous cause behind the ears of the resurrection of the corpses then, back in 1968, at the height of the space program, was very relevant. Several years ago Gagarin visited space, a year later Armstrong had to set foot on the moon ... fears on the topic "what we find in space" were beaten by the sick man. From the momentary point of view, Romero was right to include this fear in the film. Of course, he did not expect a long-term, but still ... after all the other fears - before the corpses, to cannibalism before the betrayal of the native people (I mean the brother of Barbara - albeit involuntarily, but he betrayed his sister), prior to fragmentation, to state machine (the final episodes) - are almost eternal.

As in the subsequent zombie-movies, the characters quickly find out the strengths and weaknesses of opponents. This - one of the highlights of these tapes: the opportunity, together with the characters to come up with ways to resist a clearly delineated danger. To Romero's honor, the characters act quite sensibly and are quite forgivable. The practicality of the main character, the negro Ben, generally above praise, not much from him in terms of practicality (not courage), lags behind the head of the family - after all, it turns out he is right, it's in the basement that monsters never make it. True, based on stereotypes, from women in the film little use. How did Stephen King say in The Dance of Death: "How similar it is to the Hollywood screenwriters - male chauvinistic pigs." According to rumors, in the remake of "Night" the situation is corrected - Barbara is no worse than men, but here women either passively wait for their fate, or commit a little common sense actions, and all decisions are made by men. Not the most optimal, of course, but it's good to reason about optimality while sitting in a comfortable chair. More or less rational, in general, decisions.

Plus pictures - the ending that gives the tape even some social overtones. However, and it seems now is not too original. As well as all the "filth and horror", so shocking the society at the time the film was released. We, who saw "Hellraiser" and "Saw", some innocent of a week ago corpses, eating people and hammering to death with a trowel is not completely scary.

To look, probably, it is necessary - «for the sake of the general erudition». But the film will not cause a special delight for the sophisticated spectator. However, the ancestor of the genre is not a sin and add a point.

7 out of 10