`They`re coming to get you, Barbra!`Fifty years ago, filmmaker George Romero debuted Night of the Living Dead, a groundbreaking horror film that led to dozens of imitators. The monsters in these films weren`t called `zombies`--Romero referred to them as `ghouls`--but they created the zombie archetype that`s been used in the half century since. They reanimate. They shamble. And the only way to permanently kill them is to destroy their brains and burn them.Romero would go on to create other acclaimed films in his `Dead` franchise, such as Dawn of the Dead (1978), Day of the Dead (1985), and Land of the Dead (2005). But Night of the Living Dead remains the scariest; even its black and white graininess adds a documentary feel to the whole thing.The film has been interpreted as an allegory for various historical events, from the Vietnam War to the Civil Rights Movement. There was a sense, due to its realism, that this film meant to do more than make its audience jump. And that gave other horror filmmakers an inspiration to strive for more--to frame their narratives as social satire rather than pure pulp.Today, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Night of the Living Dead, we scoured old interviews and articles to find 10 obscure facts about the film. How many of these are you aware of? Let us know in the comments. 10. Romero began filming without the money to finish the movie. The budget for the movie was $114K, and Romero didn`t even have that when the movie started shooting. Romero started with $6K; ten investors, including Romero, each chipped in $600. George Kosana, who played the sheriff (the one with the ammo belt at the end of the film), was one of those people. The plan was to shoot until the money ran out, interest outside investors on the strength of that footage, and then use that money to shoot some more.The plan worked, although it was stop-and-go; the shoot took nine months. even though they only filmed for 30 days. Romero also confined his shootin ...
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