MUCH BETTER than the Original! I'm a 90s kid and Night of the Living Dead (1990) was the first horror film I ever saw. I was about 6-years-old and it traumatized me. I'm 24 now and I absolutely love it. In my opinion, it has so many qualities that makes it better than George Romero's 1968 original. Don't get me wrong; I still think the original is a classic and very eerie. However, growing up with the remake and then watching both really swayed me towards the remake.
The opening of the film alone (a full moon rising against the night sky with that creepy soundtrack in the background, is promising enough that this is going to be a creepy experience.
Barbara (Patricia Tallman) and Johnny's (Bill Mosley) relationship as brother and sister is explored in much more depth. The cemetery attack scene in this version is much more suspenseful and thrilling, and the cemetery zombie is much more terrifying. The scene when Barbara is trapped and cornered in her car is a lot more scary and intense. Patricia Tallman is the perfect Scream Queen during the film's first 20 minutes and her acting is natural and brilliant.
Her relationship with Ben (Tony Todd) is a lot stronger and deeper compared to the original, and both Tallman and Todd share great chemistry onscreen. Todd's performance as Ben is very strong, determined, reliable, with a little bit of eeriness as well. Unlike the original, Barbara's character doesn't simply sit on the living room couch in a catatonic state the whole time; she's actually willing to partake in helping and making herself useful. She truly wants to survive.
The zombies in this version are much more menacing, creepy, and they have their own unique characteristics that sets them apart (the cemetery zombie, the autopsy zombie, the Uncle Rege zombie, the shirtless anorexic zombie, babydoll zombie, Mr. Mcgruder zombie, twisted legs zombie, etc), while they all seemed to "blend in" in the original. The makeup and artistic effects are very realistic, too.
Tom Savini injects his own and original plot elements into the film that truly separates it from the original, makes it somewhat of a reimagining, all while staying faithful to a classic. He adds new scenes, intensifies scenes from the original, expands and adds new dialogue, and switches some things around - sometimes for the better. What he does most, I've noticed, is emphasizes death to the audience. He effectively delivers that macabre and morbid "death" feeling throughout the film.
One thing I really prefer in the remake over the original is the soundtrack. Paul McCollough creates a very eerie, haunting, and downright terrifying track. The "gurgling", "beaming", and padding sound effects that play throughout the film add to the creepiness and that zombie-like feeling. It's very fitting and creates a very surreal atmosphere.
What I love most about the remake, however, is Barbara's reimagined character. She completely transforms herself from a mousy, screaming, terrified girl to a brave, strong, gun-wielding warrior with an unwavering will to live. She's determined, focused, and nothing will stand in her way from surviving and reaching help. No other actress could've pulled this performance off other than Patricia Tallman!
Overall, this is a very strong and reimagined remake that placates the 90s era perfectly - while at the same time keeping homage to the original and not going off track. The scares are great, the zombies are terrifying, the acting is intense, the atmosphere is very claustrophobic and dooming, there's some emotional aspects added, lots of thrilling and suspenseful scenes, the soundtrack is chilling and perfect, Savini makes this film his own and avoids making it a similar, unimaginative remake like many others (i.e. Psycho, The Omen). He gives it a new life, its own taste, while adding elements that make it better than the 1968 original. That's my sincere opinion, and I don't say that about a lot of remakes. Night of the Living Dead (1990) is truly a masterpiece that goes in its own, terrifying direction.
I can't say enough positive about it. I had the honor of meeting Patricia Tallman in 2016 and I told her how much I loved her version over the original, and she was real taken back and very honored. She's a very sweet, loving, friendly woman and is very active with her fans. After seeing her groundbreaking performance as Barbara, she'll forever have a fan from me.
FIVE STAR film!