Horror films often divide audiences because their themes are unsettling, symbolic, and sometimes intentionally disturbing. Still, some titles are widely recognized as genre-defining, and Collider recently highlighted a ranking of the four most important horror movies ever made. The list included 1973’s The Exorcist, 1960’s Psycho, and 1991’s The Silence of the Lambs, but the top position went to George A. Romero’s 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead.
According to Collider, Night of the Living Dead stands out because it shaped many of the conventions now associated with zombie stories in film and television. The movie’s influence can still be seen in modern horror, especially in the way it helped define the undead as a central figure in popular culture. The film is also highly regarded by critics, with a 95% score on Rotten Tomatoes and an 89 on Metacritic.
Romero, who died in 2017 at age 77, later explained that he did not originally think of the creatures in the film as zombies. In a 2013 interview with Grolsch Global, he said he believed he was creating a new kind of monster: flesh-eating “ghouls” that were meant to feel unlike anything audiences had seen before. He said that was the term he used in the film itself and that he initially viewed the creatures as something entirely original.
The director also noted that he did not fully settle on the zombie label until the sequel, Dawn of the Dead, which was released in 1978. That film helped solidify the mythology of Romero’s undead creatures, including the idea that they were wandering souls rejected by Hell. Romero pointed to the sequel’s famous tagline, “When there’s no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the earth,” as the moment when he embraced the zombie concept more fully.
Even though Romero may not have intended to create the modern zombie as audiences now know it, Night of the Living Dead remains one of the most influential horror movies ever made. Its impact on the genre is still visible decades later, and its legacy continues to shape the way filmmakers tell stories about the undead.
