NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD NEVER DIES

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Who would have thought that zombies would be part of popular culture and the zombie itself such an iconic presence in the film industry? It’s a market that people have time and time again have put their spin on the zombie movement and there are no signs of it slowing down.  For those who are not in the know and there are still many of them is to go to the source of where it all began.  Do we ever think why The Walking Dead is so successful or why Anna and The Apocalypse is a zombie musical or why The Dead Don’t Die attracts Hollywood’s stars?

If you don’t know the name George A. Romero then it is time you go back to the film that incepted the zombie movement in film.  Night of the Living Dead was made back in 1968 by the legend himself and his crew who made it on next to no money and without any Hollywood stars.  Shot in black and white, Night of the Living Dead still gives audiences the shivers today.  It had a lot to do with the way George A. Romero filmed it and was a film that was done in the right place at the right time.

You will be able to see how this timeless classic evolved in director Ryan Mains’ documentary Raising the Dead:  Re-examining Night of the Living Dead on Hollywood Suite on May 29th at 9 PM.   You will also be able to pick up on things that you have not been able to do before as the best zombie analysts and some of the film crew shed light on how Night of the Living Dead has made a global impact.  FERNTV spoke to director Ryan Mains of why he wanted to focus on Night of the Living Dead and to figure out what were some of his favourite zombie films.

FERNTV:  Tell us about the exact trigger that you made want to do this documentary? 

Ryan:  Raising the Dead: Re-Examining Night of the Living Dead came out of a VR project we did, Night of the Living Dead VR (https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/2875283785833437/?locale=en_US), where we recreated the farmhouse so people could experience the set for themselves. Like an earlier VR project we did, Ferris Room VR, I wanted to add a documentary aspect to enrich the experience. So, we started to interview cast and crew, film critics and scholars and the documentary was born. Honestly, I’m exceptionally lucky to work at a company like Hollywood Suite. They have constantly given me and our team the freedom to find topics like Night of the Living Dead and go with it.

FERNTV:  Aside from the cast and crew, there may have been many people who would have loved to speak on their analysis of the film Night of the Living Dead and George Romero’s work but how did you narrow it down to the people you chose for your documentary?

Ryan:   It was important to me to have a mix of film critics and scholars and then people I would consider to be superfans. We have people that can look at the film objectively and analyze it, and those who love the film. I didn’t want to make a film where everyone we interview is an obsessive fan so that we showcase diverse opinions and ideas.

FERNTV:  How does the film Night of the Living Dead is even more relevant in these unprecedented times of COVID-19?

Ryan:   Fortunately, or unfortunately, the timing of the release of Raising the Dead couldn’t be more perfect. We filmed last summer, and like the rest of the world if you told me that we’d be amid a global pandemic right now, I would have told you that you were crazy. But here we are… thankfully we’re not turning into zombies though.

FERNTV:  What was something that you discovered about the film Night of the Living Dead that you did not know before you made this film? 

Ryan:  Although it was unfortunate at the time, losing its copyright status and falling into the public domain has led to the sustained interest and popularity of the film today. It’s kinda amazing to think of the huge audience that was able to be opened up to this film because of that.

FERNTV:  In your documentary, you discuss the ghoulish type of zombies that appeared in past films well before Night of the Living Dead.  Why is it that filmmakers have not concentrated on the ghoulish voodoo Haitian type of zombies that you see in films like Serpent and the Rainbow and The Believers and why hasn’t that flourished the way it should or has it?

Ryan:  The idea of a virus or contagion invading your body and turning it into something else, really is a hysteria-inducing concept, and seems to connect with audiences. It feels realistic, which is terrifying.

FERNTV:  There seems to be a new genre of documentaries where directors like yourself and Alexandre O. Philippe are analyzing films from the past?  Can you comment on this rise of documentaries? 

Ryan:  The films we grow up with inform who we are today, and there are certain films like Psycho, which Philippe’s 78/52 is based on, and Night of the Living Dead, that have made such an impact on people and have ideas or technical innovations that can be discussed and dissected in a documentary. Night of the Living Dead is as relevant today – may be more relevant – than it was in 1968. That’s an incredible accomplishment and reason enough to make a film about it.

Similarly, my last film, Ferris’s Room, was about an artist’s relationship to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.   Seeing people walk through Sarah Keenlyside’s recreation of Ferris Bueller’s bedroom was like watching people making a pilgrimage. Certain films speak to a generation. At Hollywood Suite we aim to complement the movies we play on our channels with an in-depth analysis of those films. Ferris’s Room, our series A Year in Film, and now Raising the Dead are all a part of that. You can expect much more of this in the future.

FERNTV:  If George Romero saw your film today, what do you think he would say?

Ryan:  Hopefully he would like it, and think we’ve explored some ideas about the film that other documentaries on Night of the Living Dead haven’t. I would have loved to have met him.

FERNTV:  What are three favourite zombie movies and why?

Ryan:  I love Night of the Living Dead for jump-starting it all. I love the original Dawn of the Dead as well as Zach Snyder’s remake. They’re kind of completely different movies but both great. And third I’m going to pick Frank Darabont’s pilot episode “Days Gone By” for The Walking Dead. He is a master filmmaker, and I would have loved to see what he would have done with the series if he had stayed on.

Raising The Dead: Re-examining Night Of The Living Dead