Zombie Noir

Not having done, by and large, nothing outstanding, but "having guessed" once with the right combination of symbols, George Romero has written his name into the history of the cinema.

Say goodbye to delusions interesting. Just over a year ago, my knowledge of the zombie-movie genre boiled down to viewing two or three trashy horror films with a primitive storyline, as is now clear, full of stereotypes. All the popular zombie culture and the enthusiasm of some acquaintances about individual samples of it provoked bewilderment, turning into inner sarcasm. According to the almost Pasternak formula - "I did not look, but I condemn".

And then I caught sight of a thematic collection, with which I continue to get acquainted until now. 10 best movies about zombies. It began, of course, with Romero. And immediately it became clear that one interesting genre for me in cinematography was added. Contrary to prejudice, it turned out that the films do not boil down to the blunt curse of third-rate actors. Let the stories are typical enough, but in every good zombie-movi has its own zest. In addition, they are very atmospheric. And George Romero had many worthy followers. But the master of the movie about the zombie always kept the bar at the level, although sometimes did not have the capabilities of Danny Boyle and Zack Snyder. Those films did not become their favorites, and it would be strange, otherwise. But spitting at the thought of the upcoming viewing of something on the subject of zombies do not want to.

The first Romero film is unique in its own way, but at the same time it is quite typical. Unique, of course, the very idea of ​​a zombie in the form in which they appear in the "Night of the Living Dead." About this, we will see them in hundreds of other films - successful and stupid, innovative and primitive. Getting to the point, Romero forever became a lifetime classic. Although, by and large, nothing great in the movie did. None of the zombie masterpieces, however successful it was in its genre, jumps above the head in the global plan. The names of his other "horror movies", despite the ratings comparable to the "dead" series on the CP, hardly anyone will remember without looking at the Internet. It turns out that zombies have glorified the director, but they have also been captivated forever, without giving, perhaps, to reveal the obvious talent on a large scale. However, it is unlikely that the maestro regrets this.

What then is the typicality of this film? Like many "horror movies", he is not terribly afraid of the usual understanding of fear. This is more a social fear, in which it is more worrying that nearby people can cause more evil than the notorious zombies. Like many budget pictures, he does not have a good acting. Today it in this form would be unambiguously attributed to B-movie. Even the soloing character of Dwayne Jones is marked by a certain toughness. What can we say about secondary heroes. Like many retro paintings, it looks a little monotonous today. So you expect that now the action will become more intense, faster, but this does not happen.

In general, the shortage of the picture is enough. In the script, unfortunately, there was not a place for any really good joke. In the later best samples of the genre, suspense will often be combined with good humor. But until this stage of development, the genre that was just born then, in 1968, is far away.

However, there is a "Night of the Living Dead", in addition to all zombie stylistics, a chip that immediately takes the film to the category of strong directorial work. Despite these numerous shortcomings. If to reflect - for a picture many signs of a genre "noir" are characteristic, by the time of the release of "Night ..." already lost its former urgency. Black and white tape, where the characters for the greater part of the story find out the relationship in a closed, restricted space. Gloomy stylistics and quite unexpected, typical Noarovsky finale. True, without a happy ending.

It's good, by the way, that in our cinema there are not any noticeable attempts to shoot your zombie-movi. It would hardly have been successful. The example of the director of "Night of the Living Dead" shows that you should not be afraid to experiment and look for your chip. Find it can be quite unexpectedly, where no one expected a breakthrough. Recognition is a tricky thing, and it can be overtaken when it is not expected at all. I think Romero will confirm ...

6 out of 10