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Someone I just met (and I hope to get to know better) asked me what my favorite film was and I said THE BEST OF YOUTH and NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Having already heard of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, she was more interested in the film THE BEST OF YOUTH. This being Cryptshow, I’m sure you all are more interested in what I have to say about George A. Romero’s classic 1968 film NIGHT OF THE LIVING THE DEAD. Suffice it to say, I’ve already talked long and hard about NOTLD about as much as I want to for the next several years but it got me wondering “why” I liked it so much.
The film NOTLD is the only film of which I watch at least 1-2 times a year and I never get tired of it. I own several different versions of the film both digitally remastered and not, black & white or color (although I’ve not seen the colorized version yet) and I even own a plethora of documentaries on the making of not only the original film but all of Romero’s original dead trilogy. The funny thing is that NOTLD is not the best of the Dead films, in fact, this honor goes to Romero’s DAWN OF THE DEAD which is superior to NOTLD on so many levels. I’ve seen both films more than I can count but whereas I may only put DAWN in and use it as background noise, I always sit down and watch NOTLD (which also happens to be only one of the two films I’ve ever listened the commentary track for).
When I was growing up my only real icon was Sydney Poitier. He was the only African American whose films we ever saw in school (I remember seeing LILIES OF THE FIELD for the first time at school and I declared that he was my favorite actor of all-time). I grew up with Cosby and Pryor but they all did comedies whereas Poitier did comedies, drama, action, and generally anything he could get his hands on. I bring this up because NOTLD presented one of the only films I ever watched as a child that starred an African American who wasn’t a caricature but was stronger than any of the other characters in the film. The character of Ben is the driving force of the film (and he even slapped a white woman!) and to me that was something I never saw in a horror film. Poitier did this all the time in his films but race became such a theme in his films that it sometimes over shadowed the overall impact of the film. In NOTLD Ben was a character that only wanted to survive at any cost and wasn’t going to let anyone, white or black, get in his way. He was not a character that died within the first ten minutes of the film nor was he someone who was a servant to others. He was a character that had “balls” and would stand up to anyone who got in his way.
As a child I identified with the Ben character. I didn’t allow anyone to stand in my way. I wanted to be like Ben despite the fact that he was killed at the end of the film by “country hillbillies” (which is exactly what I thought of them). I even remember – when I was younger, getting in trouble for being belligerent to some of my teachers. If I felt a few “country hillbillies” were standing in my way I would shoot first before they shot me. My parents were none too happy when I got into trouble at school.
I took their copy of NOTLD and made it my own. My parents had bought a cheap VHS copy of NOTLD distributed by Good Times Home Video which was the only film in “My” video collection. As a fan of not only this film but horror films in general we tend to claim ownership over our films whether they be Box Office sensations or duds that go onto cult status. NOTLD was this film to me which is why I can watch it over and over again with the glee of a small child as if seeing the film for the very first time.
We all have a similar memory of a film that for one reason or another has touched us. Has made us a horror fan for life whether it be THE EVIL DEAD, THE EXORCIST, THE SHINING, or SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. This website Cryptshow is here to celebrate the horror film and fan both big and small. Whether you think THE EXORCIST is the greatest movie ever made or you think a man by the name of Michael Myers is the greatest screen villain, there is a place on the website for everyone.
So, if there is one thing I hope that you all take away with you each and every time you walk away (or log out) of this website, it is that you are not alone and even if you’re holding onto your copy of John Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN refusing to let go know in your heart that there are others out there just like you clutching their copy for dear life as well. I hope that this site helps you find them and you can enjoy the same film together in harmony…and not kill each other.
