Birth of the Living Dead

Director - Rob Kuhns (This Is a Game, Ladies)
Starring - George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead, Martin), Mark Harris (Moyers and Company), and Larry Fessenden (Stake Land, The Strain)
Release Date - 2013
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "1968: Peace, love, and the undead"
Format - Streaming (Netflix)

Rating (out of 5):

     In 2012 I started writing reviews and almost every review I write I am able to work in my love of slasher films. However, one of my favorite films of all time just happens to not be a slasher.  In fact, it is a member of a sub-genre that I have learned to hate in recent years with all the post-Walking Dead pieces of shit.  The zombie films before The Walking Dead had style and most tried to set themselves apart and not fit in the same mold as the others unlike the modern zombie movement we have today.  The first film to take zombies and turn them away from their voodoo back stories and make them flesh eaters was George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead.  This film forever changed the zombie sub-genre and the way the zombie would be seen in future films.  The last few months I have been buying up everything NotLD related to add to my collection.  After receiving a few documentaries about NotLD in the mail I ventured to Netflix for a few movies when I found this documentary here.  It looked fantastic so I had to give it a go.
     This documentary starts out with a little insight on George A. Romero and his film career prior to filming NotLD. It discusses his work with Mr. Rogers and the special with Mr. Rogers where he has his tonsils removed.  It then jumps to the filming of NotLD.  It goes into great detail on how many members of the cast and crew had to take on multiple roles and work long hours to get the film done.  We then finish the film up with a look back at the world in 1968 with the Vietnam Conflict, the race riots, and films of the time.  It then changes gears and shows how progressive and before it's time the film actually was and the cultural impact the film left behind that can be seen even today.

     Documentaries have the power to be informative and give the viewer an inside look at something they know nothing about or expand your knowledge on a topic that you know and love. When it comes to horror and horror films a documentary about the sub-genre has to really deliver or the fans of the genre will turn ravenous.  Well, it looks like the folks behind Birth of the Living Dead knew that and really fucking delivered.  Before I watched this documentary I thought I knew everything there was to know about the career of George A. Romero and the film Night of the Living Dead.  Instead, BotLD gave me more fun facts about the film than I know what to really do with all while giving me a great look at the time period in which the film was made. This is very insightful for those, like myself, that was not around during that time.  The film also flows very well and shows a lot of time and thought placed in the order in which the documentary flows. That is a tremendous help to the viewer so they can properly pull in the knowledge and in the correct order.  Finally, this documentary looks amazing.  The visual effects, editing, and animation is fantastic making it one of the best documentaries I have seen in recent years.  Overall, Birth of the Living Dead is an insightful documentary about one of the most influential horror films of all times that forever shaped the way we see zombies.  Check it out!