Night of the Living Dead is a horror film directed by Tom Savini and starring Tony Todd, Patricia Tallman, and Late Tom Towles. It is a remake of 1968 horror film of the same title.

I haven't seen the 1968 movie so i would review the movie without comparison of it's previous one and would be purely on the performance of the movie.

The plot of the movie is nice and execution is decent, there are some of the great scenes and will surely scare some of the viewers, the screenplay of the movie is great and will keep you engaged through out.

Acting is decent and Tony Todd was the best of them all, Patricia Tallman was also decent but she might irritate few viewers in few of the scenes, Late Towles was also amazing.

The climax of the movie is great, the best pat of the movie is that the movie is scary and humorous in some of the scenes. If you like Zombie Movies or horror movies this is a decent movie to watch.

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1990) *** Tony Todd, Patricia Tallman, Tom Towles, McKee Anderson, William Butler, Katie Finneran, Bill Moseley, Heather Mazur. Make-up wiz Tom Savini's big-screen directorial debut is a a doozy: a remake of the seminal zombie horror classic for a contemporary day audience doesn't disappoint with more than enough tension, terror and violence. Teaming up with frequent collaborator - and the original's creator/director - George A. Romero (who also does a better turn with the screenplay),the film echoes its counterpart nicely yet layers on the dread. While Todd does a comparatively equal (if not better and tougher) job as the Duane Jones hero, Tallman is a bit off for the most part (a bit stiff and then suddenly gung-ho makes an uneasy transition) while Towles is perfectly cast as the obnoxious loud- mouth whose negativity is only second to the slow-moving corpses taking a stranglehold on their holed-up farmhouse sanctuary. The original is the bellwether curve for modern-day horror and this well-produced homage is just as good.

Now, it has to be said that I generally don't condone remakes, unless they are done for a point. Especially in today's world where such classics as PSYCHO and THE HAUNTING are being remade for money and nothing else, it seems a bit greedy and unoriginal that we have to seek inspiration from films 40 years old. Of course, there are a few exceptions where the remakes actually surpass the original film (THE FLY, THE BLOB, and INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS to name but three). NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD doesn't surpass the original, far from it, but it is a pleasing, entertaining film if you don't compare it too harshly with the 1968 classic (or indeed, haven't seen it!).

There are numerous differences between the two films. Romero's original had important social commentary, while the 1990 version lacks that and thus appears to have the moral messages overemphasised. The newer version is also in colour, in order to appeal more to today's audiences. I have no problem with this at all. The look of the film is very good, with the colours adding to the overall glossy feel (which doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing). I did see the film in a widescreen version which may explain the reason I like the look of it so much. Director Tom Savini (famous in the early '80s for his gory special effects work) includes numerous stylistic touches in his film to differentiate it from the original (such as the severed hand shot). It may not be as powerful as the '60s classic but it's quite entertaining. There are a lot of shock scenes involving the zombies, as to be expected, but also by contrast we have generally atmospheric build ups too.

The film benefits from having a relatively unknown cast of more than competent actors. Patricia Tallman plays Barbara firstly as the snivelling wreck we know from the original, but then as a gun-toting killer, more in line with Sigourney Weaver's portrayal of Ripley from ALIENS than anybody else. This is something of a welcome, if clichéd change. Tony Todd, best known to audiences as the frightening hook-handed villain from the CANDYMAN films, is actually excellent in his role of the young drifter and admirably fills the shoes left by Duane Jones. He brings a genuine warmth to his tragic character, who is doing what he believes his right, and we can sympathise with him because of this. Tom Towles is also notable as the manic Harry, and is totally obnoxious. He overacts a lot here and it's great fun to watch the shouting matches between him and Todd.

Surprisingly, although the film is violent it is actually quite tame compared to other zombie offerings (notably DAY OF THE DEAD). In fact there is little gore in the film, which comes as something of a surprise and a bit of a disappointment. I was looking forward to some more of the excess gore we have come to expect from Tom Savini but not this time around. This film is nowhere near as horrific or powerful as Romero's original - which may have you asking what the point is. It is, though, a fleshed-out, entertaining zombie romp, which is nicely filmed, has a good cast, and has enough action scenes in it to keep the boredom from setting in. My only complaint would be the comedic scenes at the beginning of the film, especially as regards the zombies, but these disappear as the film takes a more downbeat tone as it nears the finale. Not to everybody's taste, and criticised by horror fans, some of whom consider it a sacrilege, I find it very watchable and a mildly successful 1990s remake. I would ignore the many detractors of this film and instead give it a go. Who knows, you might even like it...