This is George Romero's ground breaking zombie flick from 1968.
Shot on Black and White film, and filmed on what can only be described as a shoe-string budget this film is singlehandedly responsible for bringing zombies as we know them today (as opposed to the haitian/voodoo zombies in movies like White Zombie that had previously been depicted in movies until then) into the mainstream of modern culture and spawning countless zombie films just like it, some better and many immeasurably worse. It is also the earliest film I can think of that uses explicit gore, levels of gore which now have been rendered "cute" by todays standards but were revolutionary by late 60's standards.Basically the plot revolves around a scenario where the dead are coming back to life and a small group of survivors are trapped in a farmhouse left to defend themselves with whatever weapons they can find, while the undead around them are literally "chomping at the bit" to take a bite out of them.
While much of it now would be considered outdated and the special effects used rather plain this is still quite a watchable film and something that you could use to introduce your kids to the world of horror without traumatizing them. Featuring none of the over the top gore that the following films in the franchise (Day of the Dead, Dawn of the Dead etc....) were renowned for, this can probably be considered one of the safer films for the horror newbie, where I guess hardened gore-fiends might find the pace of this one a bit slow.
Over all its a great watch, and historically important to gain an understanding where the zombie infection first took a hold on mainstream cinema audiences
It is presented below in all its glory on you tube for those that haven't had the pleasure!
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