Throwback Thursday - Night of the Living Dead by John Russo

note: This was originally published ten years ago for another website. To make it fit here at Crappy Movie Reviews I had to make some format changes. The contents of the review remain unchanged.

Okay so Night of the Living Dead is one of my favorite movies ever. It launched the zombie genre that is obviously important to me. I mean I ran a site called Gutmunchers! A few years after the movie was made someone came to Russo, who was involved in the movie, and asked him to write a novelization. That book is what I read for this review. Now that we have some of the history out of the way lets talk about the book itself.

This is a pretty faithful adaptation of the movie. The setup is the same with Ben and Barbara arriving at the farmhouse, both looking for shelter from the undead wandering around outside. They board up the house, deal with zombies, and are surprised by the other survivors in the basement. We still get the conflict between Ben and Harry Cooper (one of the basement survivors) and things end the same way that they do in the movie. For the most part if you have seen and enjoyed the movie (how could you not?) then you will like the book.

That last sentence was a huge relief for me to write. As a fan I’ve had a difficult time dealing with Russo. On one hand I think that he is a very nice guy who I’ve met several times. He is very kind and generous to the fans. He also had a lot to do with the formation and creation of Night of the Living Dead, which is a huge plus for me. But I’ve also had issues with Russo. All his post Romero movies have been either terrible or barely passable. I also have disliked his attempts to go back and live off of Night of the Living Dead. For example, the comics or new footage he shot for the classic movie. I won’t even go into his attempts to continue the zombie story without Romero and the resulting legal wrangling.

This novelization is maybe the best thing that I’ve read from Russo. He follows the movie plot closely and when he does deviate it is to add things that they couldn’t have shot. There is a bit more gore and the deaths of the characters are way more gruesome. From Johnny being eaten to the barbeque at the pickup things are way more graphic. Russo is also able to share the thoughts of the characters and explain their actions or lack of them to the reader. While this doesn’t change anything it does make you more sympathetic to a Harry Cooper. Sure he is a coward, but he does care about his daughter. 

For me this is exactly what I wanted when I sat down to read this book. Russo is spot on and does a wonderful job with the story. I’d say that this is a must read for any fan of the movie.  t is available in a book called Undead, which also includes Russo’s Return of the Living Dead novel. It is his original idea for the story and is dramatically different from the movie. Instead of the familiar characters we get a sequel/follow up to the events of Night of the Living dead and is worth checking out. I recommend all fans of the zombie genre as well as Romero/Russo fans track themselves down a copy of Undead.

 

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer

Dawn of the Dead by George Romero and Susanna Sparrow

Dawn of the Dead is my favorite movie and Romero is my favorite filmmaker. That statement shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who reads my reviews here at Crappy Movie Reviews. I’m a huge nerd when it comes to the maestro of zombies. I’ve had an original copy of the book for many years but was afraid to crack it open. I just like looking at it in the hermetically sealed acid free package I have it safely tucked away in. Yeah, I know it is obsessive. When I was on my road trip to Evans City, check out the link here, I found that it had been reprinted and snapped up a copy. Finally, I felt comfortable in diving into the novelization of my favorite movie.

Just in case you haven’t seen the movie I’ll give a brief recap. The world is falling apart as the zombies are overrunning everything. It doesn’t help that instead of banding together the people are fighting with each other. Society is going down the tubes quickly, so Stephen and Fran decide to get out of Philadelphia before it is too late. They work together at a local television station with Stephen serving as the helicopter pilot. They plan on taking the chopper and with Stephen’s friend Roger making a break for it. Roger is a S.W.A.T. officer and before he meets up with them invites Peter to come along. The four end up landing on the roof of a Mall and talking it over as their home. Just when things seem to get peaceful and the situation under control looters show up and the thing goes all to hell again.

I’ve seen Dawn of the Dead hundreds of times and was satisfied with the book. It is an easy read that, like the movie, gets right to the good stuff without getting bogged down. At its core the story is about four people trying to survive in a world gone crazy with the dead trying to eat the living. After briefly setting up how bad it has gotten and how far the plague has spread, we get to the attack on the apartment building by the authorities. They are trying to clean out the zombies that are being kept there by the families which leads to a lot of killing. Much of it unnecessary and heavy handed. This is the first time that the reoccurring theme of human beings being the real problem is shown.

After this they make their break from the city and end up at the mall for a rest. Instead of continuing to Canada they instead decide to stick around and fall into an oddly normal domestic life for a few months. They clear out the place and basically have access to anything that they could possibly want or need. After a bit of peace, it is shattered when more people show up to wreck it all due to their greed. What is interesting is that it isn’t only the raiders/looters that are greedy but our main characters who don’t want to let what they have worked for be taken. So again, people die because of each other and not due to the zombies who could have been easily avoided. The dead are winning because the living are stupid, greedy, and selfish.

Since this is a novelization of the script for Dawn of the Dead, I thought it would be interesting to compare how it differs from the movie. The biggest change from book to movie is how long the story lingers on our surviving characters hanging out at the mall before the raiders show up. In the movie we see a lot of them talking and montages of them shopping. Stephen even proposes to Fran, which she declines, in the movie. That isn’t anywhere in the book. I’m not sure why that is different. Perhaps Romero edited the film to show more of them living their lives and therefore more character development. Ironically if you have seen the European cut of the movie it also cuts this daily life stuff out as well. I don’t think that the story suffers either way, it is just different. Personally I like getting to know the characters but I also acknowledge that is what some zombie movie fans consider the worst part of Dawn of the Dead.

The above is the only big difference. The rest I think were just due to the shooting locations that they had and some inspiration on set. For example, in the book the hideaway was hidden at the end of a hallway full of offices instead of a hallway to maintenance. That I think was due to what they had to work with at the Monroeville mall. The iconic Hari Krishna zombie doesn’t make an appearance, nor does the attack in the department store. Both of these were last minute changes due to the look of an extra (Krishna zombie) and for continuity (the department store attack).

I know that I’ve already said this but I’m going to say it again. Dawn of the Dead is my favorite movie and I’ve spent the last forty years collecting everything that I could related to it and Romero’s other movies. I’m glad that I finally found a copy I felt okay cracking open and reading. In a way it allowed me to revisit familiar territory with a slightly new twist to it. Now if they would only reprint The Zombies that ate Pittsburgh! Yeah, I have it and won’t take it out of the bag either. I did mention that I’m obsessive, didn’t I? If you like zombies, then track down a copy of Dawn of the Dead novelization.

 

Ó Copyright 2021 John Shatzer

Road Trip to Evans City

I had a chance to work four ten-hour days which earned me a “day off” since I had already got my time in. Normally my wife and I try to do something when that happens, but she had work stuff and couldn’t go anywhere. That meant that I had an unsupervised day all to myself. Imagine the possibilities! I certainly had fun figuring out what I wanted to do. I’d like to say that I had to think and do some planning but immediately I knew that I wanted a Primanti Brothers’ sandwich, so I was definitely headed to Pittsburgh.

Now I’m not going to drive two and a half hours to eat somewhere. I mean I would but being a fat guy, I’d feel like people were judging me. I needed some other activity to justify the trip and it was then that I realized I had never checked out the Living Dead Museum in Evans City, just a bit north of Pittsburgh. For those not in the know Evans City is where Night of the Living Dead and The Crazies were shot. This explains why the museum is located there and why it is a destination for Romero nerds like me. I had been in Evans City a few years ago but the place was closed so I missed out on it. It was time to rectify that!

I was up and out of the house by ten. It was a beautiful day which made for a nice drive. I took the interstate out to Pennsylvania but when I got off of that it was nice country roads. Everything was very green, and the birds were chirping. Immediately I was put into a great mood. One that stuck around after I got to the Living Dead Museum. It is five bucks to wander thru what is admittedly a small place. But they have a wonderful documentary playing on a loop that can add some time to your visit. There are also some props as well as a cool timeline of zombie movies that runs along the walls. I’m not going to go into all of the exhibits but will say that I’m glad to have finally checked it out. Plus, they have a few cool things related to The Crazies that I was happy to see.

The historical marker

After the requisite stop at the gift shop where I picked up a couple of cool t-shirts and the novelization of Dawn of the Dead it was time to check out the historical markers. They are tucked over behind the police station near the library in a small patch of ground. There are actually a few that briefly mention the making of the movies and George Romero’s importance as a filmmaker. While mostly Night of the Living Dead, but they do have one for The Crazies. Again, that made me smile.

My own attempt at capturing the shot!

My final stop was to go to the cemetery where the opening scenes of Night of the Living Dead were shot. I’ve heard mixed messages about how the locals take it, but I found that if you are respectful no one will bother you. In the past I’ve briefly just driven past but this time I wanted to dig a little deeper. Well I suppose that sounds bad. Basically, I wanted to find some exact spots where they shot the movie so to that end I spent a bit more time wandering around. Eventually I found the chapel and the headstone where Johnny and Barbara leave the flowers. I took a few pictures and enjoyed the peaceful silence. As I’ve already mentioned it was a beautiful day out and I couldn’t have had better weather for the visit.

UFO time!!!!

On a lark I Googled what to do near me and it suggested I check out a nearby town named Mars. I supposed because of its name the town decided to put a statue of a flying saucer downtown on the square. When I heard that I knew it was a must see for me. Just a short run down the road from Evans City it was worth the drive. This is one of those quirky little towns that is fun to visit, and a lot of the local businesses seem to have adopted the theme and run with it. I recommend stopping in for some coffee at the shop next to the saucer.

It was time for some food! Using my trusty Garmin, I found the closest Primanti Brothers and set off for a great lunch. For those unaware of the awesomeness of this place they have great pizza and even better sandwiches. They are known for piling them up with the normal toppings as well as tossing the fries and cole slaw on as well. If you haven’t had one of these and find yourself in Pittsburgh do yourself a favor and try it. I’ve been slowly working my way thru the menu and this time I got a Pitts-Burger, which was awesome. You know it just isn’t a road trip report without me mentioning food.

Damn I love Primantis

The last stop was at a small comic shop that my good friend Tim Gross of Gross Movie Reviews is always talking about. In addition to movies I spend my time reading comics and playing cards so a shop like Geekadrome is right up my alley. Though I didn’t think things out too clearly when I decided to head down because it took me from the north side of Pittsburgh to the south, which meant driving thru the city. Traffic is a pain in the ass, especially with the construction going on. Though I have a funny story about that.

Warning football talk is coming. I was stuck in traffic… in a tunnel… without movie for five minutes. While sitting the fella in the minivan next to me must have seen my Ohio plates and asked me if I was a Browns fan. I know that I never talk about this stuff here on the site but I’m a Steelers fan, a huge Steelers fan! He could tell from the look I gave him that I was not a fan and we ended up talking Steelers football. Specifically, how the loss of Brown and Bell might be addition by subtraction. I mean they are already causing their new teams some headaches. When we entered the tunnel, we were both pessimistic towards the upcoming season, but by the time we left it I think we were both feeling pretty good about it.

After braving the traffic, I arrived at Geekadrome and chatted with the owner for a few minutes. Bought some Magic Cards and some comics books. I hadn’t seen the Army of Darkness/Bubba Ho-Tep crossover comic before but had to pick a few issues up. Still haven’t read it yet but I’m hoping for good stuff. If you happen to be in Pittsburgh, I highly recommend checking out the store. While a bit smaller he has packed if full of goodies. I know that I’ll be back the next time I’m in town.

Since I was on the south side of Pittsburgh and didn’t want to deal with the traffic again, I headed home a different way and promptly hit another bit of construction/traffic! Though it wasn’t too bad, and I eventually got on some clear roads. This route takes me thru some small towns, including the one I grew up in, so it was a fun drive. Made me feel a bit nostalgic to see the old stomping grounds. I did arrive home about eight thirty at night having spent a bit over ten hours on my road trip. I unloaded my loot and called it a day. A very good day at that.

© Copyright 2019 John Shatzer