02/03/2026
The second film in our Top Ten is a true classic of the horror genre: George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, released in 1968.
The story follows Ben (Duane Jones) and Barbara (Judith O'Dea) who, along with five other people, find themselves trapped in a farmhouse near a Pennsylvania cemetery swarming with the 'living dead' (1).
Towards the late sixties, Romero founded Image Ten Productions with a group of friends. The initial idea was to shoot a film with an extremely low budget of $6,000. Ultimately, $114,000 was spent on the film, a modest amount even for a 1960s production. The movie was shot on 35 mm film (2).
According to some critics, the film addresses themes such as the free circulation of fi****ms and racism in the US. Ben’s tragic and unjust death at the end of the movie—at the hands of a group of white hunters who mistake him for a living dead—represents a powerful critique of racism and social injustice (3).
The film required a large number of extras for the zombies. Some were recruited by Romero from the advertising industry where he previously worked, while others were residents of Evans City, where the movie was filmed, drawn to the idea of appearing in a horror movie (4).
In 1999, the Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry as 'culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.' In 2001, the American Film Institute included it in the 100 Years... 100 Thrills list, which ranks the 100 greatest horror and thriller movies(5).
See you soon for the third film.
Which is your favorite indie films? Let us know in the comments. Long life for Cinema.
