Night of the Living Dead (The Play)

Last night I was able to take the family to Edison, NJ, to see the Backstage Players at Middlesex County College perform thier stage adaptation of Night of the Living Dead. While not perfect, it was definitely an interesting take that stayed pretty true to the original storyline from the movie. I will admit, sitting in a theatre with zombies moving around the rows was an awesome sight. With that in mind, I decided to dust off one of my copies of the movie to watch it with the kids tonight.

While watching it, the parallels between the two were evident, yet, my daughters had differing opinions on which was the better forum to watch it. Two of the decided that the play version with live zombies were much better than the film version, while the other chose the movie. Personally, I felt that the stage version, although good, lacked the depth of the film and came up short (not surprising though considering Night of the Living Dead is one of the most influencial horror films of all time). However, the visal effects to maintain the black and white feel were awesome!

In the end, it was great to see a college and its drama department take on such a project. Many times, we as fans do not get a chance to enjoy our favorite classic films in a different setting from a different perspective. I wish that many more university's or theatres would take on more projects like this, not only is it good entertainment, but it exposes many more fans to the genius that exists within the horror community.