Genre, Drama, Narrative, Performance]
The physical performance examines the horror genre overall. The members of the group run, hide, and battle with the living monsters while the living monsters pursue, kill, and eat the living people. These are a sharp difference between good and evil in physical performance.
The actors like Duane Jones who cast Ben is an unknown state actor while Judith O’Dea who cast in Barbra is a commercial and stage actress. Besides these two, most of the actors are non-professionals in this film. In this respect, Ben is depicted with a calm and brave performance while Barbra is depicted with dramatic stunts in emotional and physical movements. The whole performance is expected to be more ‘realistic’
The actress ‘body movements and some background music perfectly present the intense scene, the plot’s advancement and the character’s psychological changes. There was no line, but anyone could intuitively feel Barbara’s fear. The actors stars are unknown because of budget issues. But it’s an unknown actor who makes this movie a success. It’s easy for audiences to form fixed mindsets about famous actors, associating them with their most famous roles.
Three other sources:
Newby, Richard. “The Lingering Horror of ‘Night of the Living Dead’” Hollywoodreporter. Retrieved from
Thomas, Kristofer. Scene Dissection: Night of the Living Dead (1968, George A. Romero).
George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead. Retrieved from
https://www.moma.org/calendar/film/565