By Melissa Garza
It goes without saying that the original Night of the Living Dead (1968) is a horror classic. Not only do the tactics used to scare stand the test of time, the conclusion is one that still sits with me. I remember the first time I saw it, I cried for the character of Ben (Duane Jones). The thought that he survived the entire ordeal only to be shot dead by someone believing him to be a zombie made me as a child devastated and as an adult appreciative for such a powerful ending.
Though few would ever say anything negative about the original, the 1990 remake is one that gets consistently mixed reviews. It is nowhere near as groundbreaking or intense as the original. Still, the movie is a decent production worth more than just watching once. It is definitely one of the better remakes that the horror genre has to offer.
The film opens very similar to the original. Our female protagonist Barbara (Patricia Tallman) is in the graveyard with her brother Johnny (Bill Moseley) who is poking fun at her for being afraid. Zombies begin their slow attack nearly instantly murdering Johnny. Barbara barely escapes with her life. She comes across a large home where she is forced to face more of the living dead.
Soon, Ben (Tony Todd) arrives. He aids in developing a plan. He too is afraid but encourages Barbara to fight back. Among the other occupants are Harry (Tom Towles) and Helen Cooper (McKee Anderson). Harry is a complete pompous jerk interested only in self-preservation and the preservation of his daughter Sarah (Heather Mazur). Whenever Towles is on he is entertaining and delivers the same caliber performance as his predecessor Karl Hardman.
Young couple Tom (William Butler) and Judy Rose (Katie Finneran) are also present yet add very little to the film. Judy sadly portrays the typical scared woman. Her youth excuses the lack of willingness to fight though it would have been interesting to see some hardness to her.
Overall, the pace and basic premise work together well and make a quality movie. My one major area of contention is the character of Barbara. Though making her docile and meek in the manner of the original wouldn’t make sense, modifying her into a badass is equally insulting. There is a very fine line between Damsel in Distress and superhuman behavior. Unfortunately, they crossed the line and Tallman’s portrayal is unbelievable and demeaning.
When women grew tired of the weak female portrayals present in the horror genre, a shift happened. Rather than a positive shift where women were able to stand on their own two feet, fight back, and keep their femininity something else occurred entirely. The trend is one that sees female leads utilizing behaviors that are stereotypically masculine in nature. These are the times you see a woman stand head-to-head, relying strictly on brute force to take on someone who is much stronger than she. A smarter move, of course, would be to concoct a plan to beat the villain and to only rely on brute force when no other strategy is available. When physically fighting without a plan is the direction of the character it sends a message that a woman can only be strong when acting in a way that is masculine.
Furthermore, there is a stigma where men are frowned upon showing emotions such as fear and pain. To force women to abide by the same principals in effort to be equal is actually just sexism disguised as political correctness.
Very rarely are female leads in horror able to both keep their feminism and their strength. Katherine Ross in The Stepford Wives (1975) is an amazing example of women in horror done correctly. Joanna (Ross) was terrified upon facing the villains. Ross didn’t portray Joanna emotionless. She didn’t transcend into just brute force. No, she fought back despite her fear.
Joanna is one of the strongest female characters ever put on screen. She was a woman of the arts where she aimed to become a professional photographer. She was an intellectual and was actually smart enough to determine that something was horrifically wrong in the town of Stepford. Joanna and Ross’s portrayal is the perfect example of a strong, smart, and determined woman.
The same cannot be said for Tallman’s portrayal of Barbara. She starts off as a complete damsel in distress. Her initial reaction makes sense. She just saw the dead walking the earth, so being frightened is a completely normal reaction. Instead of making a wonderful transition into a strong woman the second half is written and portrayed as if Barbara was a typical empty male lead. Everything from her wardrobe to the way in which she walks and carries herself, the character is played like something out of a Super Hero movie.
I want to make it clear that this is in no way saying women can’t be strong. Just the opposite – women ARE strong, but they are not strong like a man. It reminds me of the old Secret deodorant slogan; “strong enough for a man but made for a woman.” I always found that extremely insulting. Women are strong in different ways. Women are the ones who give birth and go through insurmountable pain. Women are the continuation of life. We are different from men and we do not need to act like a man to display our strength.
Some may say I’m being very picky. I probably am but this is one area where horror consistently fails and it irritates me. There are exceptions to the rule and when horror does it right, I applaud. Dead End (2003), The Hills Have Eyes (2006), Vacancy (2007), and even (taking in consideration when it was filmed) Psycho (1960) all depict very strong female characters. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) is another great example. Here we saw Nancy make preparations and plan to fight Freddy in a way where she had a chance to win.
Those are sadly few and far between. More often than not, we see characters like Erin (Jessica Biel) from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) who foolishly turns around to take on Leatherface even after she’s out of harms way.
Despite the way in which I feel about Tallman’s performance, I would still say the film is an asset to the horror genre. It’s a fun zombie movie with entertaining characters and mostly well-acted roles.
Tony Todd does an amazing job as Ben. Though, no one could ever fill Jones’s shoes, Todd definitely made the character his own.
Overall, this is most certainly a movie to watch with your friends.
Scared Stiff Rating: 6.5/10
