This Day in Horror History: Tom Savini’s NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD Remake Opened in 1990
Mike Sprague
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On this day in horror history, Tom Savini’s remake of George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead with Tony Todd and Patricia Tallman was unleashed back in 1990.
The film came about because Romero was worried someone else might make an unauthorized remake. Romero originally hired Savini to provide the SFX but persuaded him to direct as well. Production wasn’t easy for Savini, who describes the shoot as “the worst nightmare of my life” and claims only about 40% of his ideas made it into the final film.
The initial response to the remake was negative with Roger Ebert giving the film one out of a possible four stars, writing: “The remake is so close to the original that there is no reason to see both.” Ouch. That said, time has been (kinda) kind to the film which currently sports a 66% on Rotten Tomatoes with a Critics Consensus that reads: Night of the Living Dead doesn’t quite reinvent the original’s narrative, but its sleek action and amplified gore turn it into a worthy horror showcase.
Directed by Tom Savini from a screenplay Romero rewrote based on the original script he wrote with John A. Russo. It stars Tony Todd, Patricia Tallman, and Tom Towles with McKee Anderson, William Butler, Katie Finneran, and Bill Moseley.
Here’s the synopsis: For reasons unknown, the recently deceased are rising from the grave as flesh-hungry zombies. Fleeing from the undead horde, a small group of survivors, including Barbara (Patricia Tallman), Ben (Tony Todd) and Harry (Tom Towles), sequester themselves in a remote farmhouse. With the zombies outside the house multiplying, tensions flare, as the group argues over the best way to escape their increasingly dire situation before they are overrun completely.
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