Less than a week after it emerged that George A. Romero, the father of the zombie genre, left behind up to 50 scripts when he passed away last year, his first movie is coming to cinemas all over Ireland. The film, ‘Night of the Living Dead’, which changed the face of horror cinema forever, celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.
Starting on October 24th, just in time for Halloween, CinEvents, Fathom Events, and Living Dead Media are bringing a newly restored and remastered version of Romero’s groundbreaking horror Film back to the big screen.
Not only that but screenings will be accompanied by a 20 minute exclusive featuring Robert Rodriguez and Guillermo del Toro, and a new behind-the-scenes look at the making of this iconic film.
Prior to his death, Romero supervised the restoration of ‘Night of the Living Dead’ in anticipation of the film’s 50th anniversary. He worked with the film’s sound engineer, Gary Streiner, to restore and remaster the movie in 4K Ultra HD from the original camera negative. The Museum of Modern Art, The Film Foundation, The George Lucas Family Foundation, and The Celeste Bartos Film Preservation Center supported the restoration project.
Steve Wolsh, CEO of Living Dead Media, added, “It’s been a two-year labor of love to bring this stunning version of ‘Night of the Living Dead’ into theaters for the 50th anniversary. This movie was intended to be seen in a dark theater with a live audience, and this restoration gives fans and newcomers alike a chance to see the film as they’ve never seen it before.”
The film tells the story of a group of strangers trapped in a farmhouse, outside of which a horde of dead flesh-eating ghouls stalk them.
It not only introduced zombies to the horror canon (without ever using the word ‘zombie’ in the film, interestingly enough) but also provided a commentary on 1960s American society and its capitalist, consumerist culture. It’s been read as a critique of racism and as an allegory of the Vietnam War. While zombie films since have to varying degrees tried to have this deeper meaning, none have achieved quite the endurance of Romero’s original.
You can watch the trailer for ‘Night of the Living Dead’ here.
To purchase tickets and to find your closest participating cinema, go to www.fathomfear.com.
