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There’s no denying that George Romero is the father of the modern zombie. His first film, Night of the Living Dead, set the standard for all future zombie movies.

The movie is a classic and rightly so. Not only did it bring zombies into the public consciousness, but it’s also incredibly subversive. Romero cast an African-American man as the lead in 1968 and didn’t even make an issue of it.

Think about that for a second.

The really interesting part? Ben wasn’t written as black or white. Duane Jones simply gave the best audition. He then went on to improve the character, turning him from a lower-class truck driver to a resourceful, intelligent and strong survivor.

Most of the film’s conflict is between not humans and zombies (never called so here) but between Ben and Harry Cooper, one of the other survivors. Each of the men attempts to talk the others into following their plan, convinced their idea is the one that will keep them alive.

If you’ve never seen the movie, check it out. There are literally dozens of DVDs availableon top of the movie being available on Hulu. Be warned, this isn’t your typical gory horror movie, Night of the Living Dead uses suspense and tension to put you on the edge of your seat.