I bought and am watching this on Amazon Prime. As far as remakes go it's not.... bad... I suppose. But it's still filled with cheese and even more cheese common to the time and the budget of this movie. (1990 and $50, I'm guessing, respectively.) Probably the only good thing I have to say about it is Tony Todd playing the role of "Ben" and Barbara is a bit stronger of a role. Anyone else seen the 1990 remake?
I think I saw it in the early 90s but haven't seen it since then. Patricia Tallman must be very good in it cos that's how she landed the role on Babylon 5!
It's an odd movie. As a remake, one can see many things in this which are technically better than the original. But coming out in 1990, it lacks a lot of the subtext of the original set in the 60s with the black working man struggling all night long in vain.
I actually saw the 1990 version before the original and found it quite unsettling... of course, I was probably about ten at the time...
Love that movie. I used to watch it all the time, long ago. I don't think I've seen it since before DVDs were even known.
Interesting take on the classic. Sort of like a comic adaptation of a film, when a few things are changed along the way. If there is one thing I have a problem with both versions is: okay, you're searching for the gas pump keys....but in a desperate situation where time is not on your side, wouldn't you think of taking along some tools in case the key does not work, or the lock is damaged? Who would shoot...SHOOT anywhere near a gas pump? No one is that stupid. That has always bugged me about the NOTLD remake. Aside from that, I do like the relationship between Ben & Barbara; unlike the original, they have time to know/trust each other, so you believe Barbara's anguish as the wounded Ben tells her to leave, and her heartbreak after she returns to find him changed into a zombie.
Eh, to be *fair* while shooting at a gas pump isn't exactly smart it's not exactly stupid either. Unlike how it's portrayed in movies gasoline isn't highly dangerous, unstable, stuff. In requires a pretty specific set of circumstance and conditions to catch fire. The worst that would happen shooting at a gas pump would be you damage it and it leaks fuel. *Maybe* if the fuel-to-air mixture happens to be *just* right and the bullet *just happens* to strike the metal and create a spark the gasoline *might* catch fire. But it wouldn't exactly explode like a tanker truck in a Michael Bay movie. On finishing the movie, oy. It's pretty painful. Prefer the original much, much better. Even the tensions between Ben and Mr. Cooper weren't well done. (And Mr. Cooper's asshaterry is turned up to 11.) The original movie is far superior. But, again, it's nice to see Barbara with a stronger role and Todd really does do a good job with Ben. I would've had preferred to see the movie be pretty much a true remake rather than having the differences from the original. Some of the best moments in the original is Ben talking to himself/Barbara about what is going on and the, while tense, the some what reasoned interactions between him and Cooper. Makeup and zombie effects were also better in the original.
I like NotLD 90, although it does seem pretty tame in the wake of Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, and the legion of Romero imitators of the 80's. If I recall correctly this remake was primarily done so George Romero would hold the copyright on SOME version of Night of the Living Dead, having lost it on the original. Or, at least, make money off some version. If you think this version was bad avoid Night of the Living Dead 3D and Night of the Living Dead Reanimation, two more recent remakes, like the plague.
I may check those out, I love me some bad movies. (As long as they're "entertainingly bad." And, well, a moment of pedantry. Romero didn't "lose" the copyright on the original NOTLD. He never had it.