--- title: "Night of the Living Dead: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/night-of-the-living-dead/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/night-of-the-living-dead" critics_score: 78 critics_reviews: 10 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Night of the Living Dead (1968): what the critics said Critics' score 78 from 10 reviews: 8 positive, 1 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics regard Night of the Living Dead as an influential horror film that retains its capacity to unsettle. Praise centres on Romero’s relentless atmosphere and the rough, documentary-like black-and-white images, which make the terror feel immediate rather than polished. Several reviews also value its treatment of human error, prejudice and social division. Its bleakness is widely understood as purposeful, challenging reassuring horror conventions rather than merely supplying shocks. The reservations range from scares dulled by imitation to dated gender politics and scrappy production, both noted by The Guardian. Den of Geek’s qualified response chiefly concerns a colour presentation that weakens the original shadows and menace. The spread is wide, but the strongest dissent comes from Variety’s 1968 review, which condemns the sadism and faults nearly every craft department. What most critics find convincing in the film’s roughness, that review regards as amateurism. ## Radio Times — Alan Jones Rating 5/5. Jones calls the film a seminal horror classic, though its scares have been dulled by imitation. He praises Romero’s relentless, documentary-like black-and-white atmosphere. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-ny5rxb/night-of-the-living-dead/) ## Slant Magazine — Jeremiah Kipp Rating 4/4. 27 May 2008. Kipp finds the film remains a powerful, unrelenting parable of dread. He singles out its painfully plain depiction of human error and the ending’s lasting emotional force. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/night-of-the-living-dead/) ## Empire — Kim Newman Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 6 October 2006. Newman presents the film as a landmark horror movie that remains compelling despite the many works that followed it. He praises its grimy, semi-amateur look for giving the horror a convincing sense of dread. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/night-living-dead-2-review/) ## The Guardian — Steve Rose Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 24 October 2018. Rose finds the film still vital and unsettling, despite dated gender politics and scrappy production. He praises its cryptic, subversive ending and the radical impact of Ben’s character. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/oct/24/night-living-dead-review-george-romero-horror-1968-classic-ghouls) ## Time Out — NF Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). The review presents Romero’s film as a radical and influential reworking of horror. It praises how the film overturns the genre’s convention that good triumphs over evil. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/night-of-the-living-dead) ## The New York Times Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 19 October 1990. The page could not be read, so its verdict is unavailable. No specific praise or criticism can be confirmed. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1990/10/19/movies/review-film-the-zombies-return-in-living-or-is-it-dead-color.html) ## Variety — Lee Beaupre Fi1m's normalised score 10/100 (inferred from the text). 16 October 1968. The critic strongly condemns the film as an unrelieved, amateurish orgy of sadism. The graphic gore is staged with zestful realism, but the direction, performances, photography, sound, and screenplay are all faulted. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1968/film/reviews/night-of-the-living-dead-1200421603/) ## Consequence — Michael Roffman Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 30 September 2018. Roffman presents the film as a timeless, suffocating nightmare and a landmark in American horror. He especially praises its visceral, unforgiving atmosphere and the way its bleak ending reinforces its social commentary. [Read the review](https://consequence.net/2018/09/classic-film-review-night-of-the-living-dead/) ## Eye for Film — Anton Bitel Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 10 January 2006. Bitel presents the film as an enduringly influential, socially probing horror classic. He praises its realistic gore and its use of familiar settings to expose social divisions and prejudice. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/night-of-the-living-dead-film-review-by-anton-bitel) ## Den of Geek — Matt Haigh Rating 4 out of 5. 21 May 2010. Haigh praises the film as a classic but judges this colour DVD presentation a poor way to experience it. He singles out the loss of the original black-and-white shadows, which he says diminishes the menace. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/night-of-the-living-dead-dvd-review/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/night-of-the-living-dead.md