With a blend of horror, science fiction and elements of a thriller, zombie movies usually portray mindless drones or reanimated corpses that bring terror to communities. One of the most infamous franchises of zombie movies got its start in the 1960s ”“ a brainchild of George A Romero. In this article, you will encounter a handful of early movies that highlight the zombie.
‘White Zombie” (1932)
Bela Lugosi starred in this early zombie film that influenced movies in the future with its music and plot. The movie ran 69 minutes and focused on a young man that asks for the help of a witch doctor so that he could lure the woman of his dreams away from her fiancé. Unfortunately, things do not go as planned and she is turned into a zombie slave. Lugosi played the role of ‘Murder’ Legendre. In this film, you learned that shooting a zombie in the chest was not a good way to kill or slow down the beings.
It cost $50,000 to make the movie, where it is said that Lugosi regretted only taking his role for a measly $800 since the film turned out to be a success at the box office.
‘Night of the Living Dead’ (1968)
One of the most popular zombie flicks (which has sparked plenty of remakes) is ‘Night of the Living Dead’ ”“ a gem attributed to George A. Romero. His independent black-and-white masterpiece centers on a tale regarding the mystery of the recently dead becoming reanimated. In the film, we meet Ben and Barbra (who join forces with five others) in an attempt to survive the night in a rural Pennsylvania farmhouse while zombies roam about town. The zombies are bloodthirsty and looking for new victims.
It took an estimated $114,000 to produce a movie with special effects and make-up that portrayed the living dead. Across the world, the movie brought in $30,000,000. Interestingly, some of the props used were not what you would have thought. The blood simulated in the film was actually Bosco chocolate syrup. For instance, when zombies are shown eating the bodies in the burnt-out truck scene, they were really eating roast ham covered in chocolate sauce.
‘Plague of the Zombies’ (1966)
The United States were not the only people to produce zombie flicks and in the world of British cinema, ‘Plague of the Zombies’ serves as an early example of the genre. Set in the English countryside, the film focuses on a mysterious epidemic sweeping through a small village in Cornwall that is causes death in the community. The local doctor does not know what to do and seeks help from a professor, who travel to the region. They experience a host of unfortunate events. Dead people appear to be living. The professor thinks that black magic is involved and the movie follows his mission to find the truth.