Night of the Living Dead

Released in 1968, George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead revolutionized horror, redefining the zombie subgenre and influencing filmmakers for generations.

This official retrospective tells the full story of how the film was made by a small group of people at the outset of their film-making careers. Interviews with cast and production company members explore the genesis of the movie, from persuading friends and family to become investors, finding the perfect run-down farmhouse in rural western Pennsylvania for the central location, assembling a cast of extras to portray “flesh-eating ghouls”, including the ground-breaking casting of a black actor in a leading role—Duane Jones as Ben—to the rough-and-tumble guerilla-style shoot.

The book explores how Night of the Living Dead went from controversial to iconic over the years, gaining critical acclaim and a hardcore cult following. And how zombies—as envisioned by Romero and his co-creators—now permeate everything from video games to literature, all tracing back to the unparalleled original. Illustrated with movie stills, memorabilia, and unpublished on-set photos never previously seen, and including analysis of the original shooting script annotated by George A. Romero, this book is a must-have for horror fans.

About the Author

Simon Braund has been a contributing editor to Empire, the world’s leading film title, and his work has appeared in The Sunday Times, The London Evening Standard, The Financial Times, Time Out, The Observer, Q and Mojo.

He is the co-author of The Greatest Movies You’ll Never See and author of Total Recall: The Official Story of the Film, The Orson Welles Portfolio and Janis Joplin: Queen of Psychedelic Rock. He divides his time between Los Angeles and Cambridge, England.