Learner Resource 3-Viewing Activities-Individual Response-Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Expectations for the Film
I expected this film to be an old style horror film, with a large amount of heavy strings music due to its release around the same time as Alfred Hitchcock's film, Psycho. As it is a black and white film I also expected a large amount of the mise-en-scene to be lit up in different ways to account for the lack of colour which this film has. I did not expect a lot from the plot, however I did expect it to be slower than a modern film due to its release date.

Plot Changes
The plot changes in the beginning of the film when they meet the first zombie, and when Johnny is killed, as it begins with the siblings just going up to visit their father's grave as a family, instead of a zombie film. It then changes again when it is revealed by the radio that it is the living dead who are killing people on the East Coast instead of mass murderers, making the plot change again to one of a horror film instead of a thriller. The last change is when Ben is shot at the end of the film as he is mistaken for one of the zombies, instead of being rescued.

Memorable Moments
The most memorable moment in the film in my opinion is when Judy and Tom get trapped in the truck and get burnt to death, as the effects and the emotional toll on the characters is great, as the zombies then eat their remains, showing how helpless they are against the threat of the undead at this point in time.
Emotions in this Film
This was an emotional film as the viewers felt trapped along with the characters and felt remorse every time one of them died, especially at the end where Ben died simply because they did not believe he was not one of the undead. 
Character Connection
I felt most connected with Ben, as he was with the viewer for the longest and his story was the most relatable, as well as him making the best decisions for the group overall, though everyone else died in the end. 

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