Night of the Living Dead took some beating, but Romero did it. This intelligent, seminal thriller cum horror movie is a modern updating of vampire myths, with John Amplas as the disturbed teenager who may or may not be an 84 year old vampire. The combination of Tom Savini's stunning early gore effects (not overdone in this movie like they were in the slightly silly comic-book-style Dawn of the Dead) and the fast-editing and surreal quality that can be seen in many early Romero (especially the under-rated Season of the Witch and the Crazies) lead to a slow-moving, disturbing movie that, more so than any other vampire movie, maintains its believability right up to the killer twist of an ending. Add to this confusing, at times beautiful camera-work, surreal black & white photography during short flash-back sequences that may or may not just be Martin's fantasy, and a perfectly paced soundtrack. Romero said once that he thought this was his greatest film, and he gets no argument from me.
