‘Dead on Arrival’ - Santa Barbara News Press, October 21, 2018
Film society celebrates 'Night of the Living Dead' with Buellton screening and zombie contest
By DAVE MASON, NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
You can't stop hungry zombies.
That's certainly true for most of "Night of the Living Dead," the 1968 black and white classic that inspired the flesh eating genre.
"What's great about these movies is the zombies are horrible characters. They have no motivation other than they want to eat people," Daniel Lahr, founder and executive director of the Central Coast Film Society, told the News-Press in the Parks Plaza Theatre lobby in Buellton.
"There's a general fear of people coming to eat you, and you can't kill them!" Mr. Lahr, 35, said.
Actually, maybe you can. The only way to know for sure is to watch "Night of the Living Dead," which will have a 50th anniversary screening during "Beers and Brains" at 9:45 p.m. Wednesday at the Buellton movie theater.
Besides enjoying a good fright with director George Romero's classic, participants will get a complimentary cup of beer from the concessions stand.
The 21 and older event is co-sponsored by the film society and Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co.
As the evening begins, participants will have a chance to fight zombies in a virtual reality space provided by Solvang business Space VR.
They also can participate in a zombie costume contest, which will start at 10 p.m.Prizes will include "Night of the Living Dead" posters and Space VR gift cards.
"Night of the Living Dead" will be shown at 10:15 p.m.
"The zombie culture, which is really prevalent in today's culture, started with this movie 50 years ago," said Mr. Lahr, a 2001 Santa Ynez Valley Union High School graduate who earned a bachelor's degree in TV and movie directing at Academy of Art University in San Francisco in 2011.
Mr. Lahr, an Arroyo Grande resident who works today as sales and special programs director at the Solvang Conference & Visitors Bureau, said the audience in October 1968 loved the film for its daring depiction of zombies eating the flesh off their victims' bones.
“It was something they had never seen before. It was brand new, and it had shock value," Mr. Lahr said.
He explained the movie was released a month before the Motion Picture Association of America started its ratings system, so there was no "R" rating at the time to give audiences a hint of what they would see.
Mr. Romero, the director, co-wrote the movie's screenplay with John Russo and filmed the low-budget but profitable movie outside Pittsburgh.
The story begins with Barbra (Judith O'Dea) and her brother Johnny (Russell Streiner) visiting a grave in a remote cemetery.
Suddenly they're attacked by zombies!
Barbra escapes them, and Johnny — well, you'll have to watch the movie.
Barbra finds refuge in a farmhouse, where she meets Ben (Duane Jones) and five people hiding in the basement: Harry and Helen Cooper (Karl Hardman and Marilyn Eastman) and their daughter, Karen (Kyra Schon), and a young couple, Tom and Judy (Keith Wayne and Judith Ridley).
For the rest of the movie, the group tries hard to defend itself from the zombies, and Ben, the voice of reason, becomes their leader.
While the zombies in "Night of the Living Dead" are slow, they're relentless, stretching their arms forward as they invade the house for their midnight snacks.
Mr. Lahr said the zombies' gradual but steady pace builds suspense. "You can't stop zombies. They're going to keep coming at you."
He noted "Night of the Living Dead" offers moments of hope for the humans, only to snatch it away from them when escapes take too long to succeed. "Those are classic scenes."
Mr. Lahr conceded the movie has some melodramatic acting among the living, but added, "We believe their fear. We believe they're doing what they're doing because they are afraid."
"You try to picture yourself and ask, 'What would I do in that situation?'" he said.
Mr. Lahr said he enjoys other zombies movies such as the sequel "Dawn of the Dead" (1978), also directed by Mr. Romero; the spoof "Shaun of the Dead" (2004), starring Simon Pegg as the title character; and the film with former U.N. investigator Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) saving humanity, "World War Z" (2013).
"My favorite was probably '28 Days Later' (2002)," Mr. Lahr said.
"I see that one as being very 'Walking Dead'—esque," said Mr. Lahr, referring to the popular AMC zombie series (2010—present).
He said "Night of the Living Dead" is the third screening of the Central Coast Film Society, which incorporated in March, and he's hoping for around 50 viewers as the screenings set the stage for his dream of an eventual Buellton film festival.
So far, the society has shown the documentary "And Man Created Dog" (2010) to 30 people at the Santa Ynez Valley Grange in Los Olivos and the mystery/romantic comedy "Charade" (1963), starring Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant, to 40 to 50 viewers at Parks Plaza Theatre.
The society wanted to add another genre to its screenings: horror, said Mr. Lahr, who worked as assistant visual effects editor on "Spider Man 3" (2007) and the visual effects editor on a horror movie from the same year, "The Mist."
"It's fun to put yourself in these worlds and escape a little bit," Mr. Lahr said. "I think what horror films help us to do is to escape."
email: dmason@newspress.com
IF YOU GO
"Beers and Brains" will celebrate zombies and include a screening of "Night of the Living Dead" at 9:45 p.m. Wednesday at Parks Plaza Theatre, 515 McMurray Road, Buellton.
Participants will have a chance to fight zombies in a virtual reality space provided by Solvang business Space VR.
They also can participate in a zombie costume contest, which will start at 10 p.m. Prizes will include "Night of the Living Dead" posters and Space VR gift cards.
"Night of the Living Dead" will be shown at 10:15 p.m.
The 21 — and — older event is sponsored by Central Coast Film Society and Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co.
Tickets cost $25 for general admission and $20 for society members. They include a cup of beer from the theater's concessions stand.
To purchase, go to www.centralcoastfilmsociety.org.
By DAVE MASON, NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
You can't stop hungry zombies.
That's certainly true for most of "Night of the Living Dead," the 1968 black and white classic that inspired the flesh eating genre.
"What's great about these movies is the zombies are horrible characters. They have no motivation other than they want to eat people," Daniel Lahr, founder and executive director of the Central Coast Film Society, told the News-Press in the Parks Plaza Theatre lobby in Buellton.
"There's a general fear of people coming to eat you, and you can't kill them!" Mr. Lahr, 35, said.
Actually, maybe you can. The only way to know for sure is to watch "Night of the Living Dead," which will have a 50th anniversary screening during "Beers and Brains" at 9:45 p.m. Wednesday at the Buellton movie theater.
Besides enjoying a good fright with director George Romero's classic, participants will get a complimentary cup of beer from the concessions stand.
The 21 and older event is co-sponsored by the film society and Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co.
As the evening begins, participants will have a chance to fight zombies in a virtual reality space provided by Solvang business Space VR.
They also can participate in a zombie costume contest, which will start at 10 p.m.Prizes will include "Night of the Living Dead" posters and Space VR gift cards.
"Night of the Living Dead" will be shown at 10:15 p.m.
"The zombie culture, which is really prevalent in today's culture, started with this movie 50 years ago," said Mr. Lahr, a 2001 Santa Ynez Valley Union High School graduate who earned a bachelor's degree in TV and movie directing at Academy of Art University in San Francisco in 2011.
Mr. Lahr, an Arroyo Grande resident who works today as sales and special programs director at the Solvang Conference & Visitors Bureau, said the audience in October 1968 loved the film for its daring depiction of zombies eating the flesh off their victims' bones.
“It was something they had never seen before. It was brand new, and it had shock value," Mr. Lahr said.
He explained the movie was released a month before the Motion Picture Association of America started its ratings system, so there was no "R" rating at the time to give audiences a hint of what they would see.
Mr. Romero, the director, co-wrote the movie's screenplay with John Russo and filmed the low-budget but profitable movie outside Pittsburgh.
The story begins with Barbra (Judith O'Dea) and her brother Johnny (Russell Streiner) visiting a grave in a remote cemetery.
Suddenly they're attacked by zombies!
Barbra escapes them, and Johnny — well, you'll have to watch the movie.
Barbra finds refuge in a farmhouse, where she meets Ben (Duane Jones) and five people hiding in the basement: Harry and Helen Cooper (Karl Hardman and Marilyn Eastman) and their daughter, Karen (Kyra Schon), and a young couple, Tom and Judy (Keith Wayne and Judith Ridley).
For the rest of the movie, the group tries hard to defend itself from the zombies, and Ben, the voice of reason, becomes their leader.
While the zombies in "Night of the Living Dead" are slow, they're relentless, stretching their arms forward as they invade the house for their midnight snacks.
Mr. Lahr said the zombies' gradual but steady pace builds suspense. "You can't stop zombies. They're going to keep coming at you."
He noted "Night of the Living Dead" offers moments of hope for the humans, only to snatch it away from them when escapes take too long to succeed. "Those are classic scenes."
Mr. Lahr conceded the movie has some melodramatic acting among the living, but added, "We believe their fear. We believe they're doing what they're doing because they are afraid."
"You try to picture yourself and ask, 'What would I do in that situation?'" he said.
Mr. Lahr said he enjoys other zombies movies such as the sequel "Dawn of the Dead" (1978), also directed by Mr. Romero; the spoof "Shaun of the Dead" (2004), starring Simon Pegg as the title character; and the film with former U.N. investigator Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) saving humanity, "World War Z" (2013).
"My favorite was probably '28 Days Later' (2002)," Mr. Lahr said.
"I see that one as being very 'Walking Dead'—esque," said Mr. Lahr, referring to the popular AMC zombie series (2010—present).
He said "Night of the Living Dead" is the third screening of the Central Coast Film Society, which incorporated in March, and he's hoping for around 50 viewers as the screenings set the stage for his dream of an eventual Buellton film festival.
So far, the society has shown the documentary "And Man Created Dog" (2010) to 30 people at the Santa Ynez Valley Grange in Los Olivos and the mystery/romantic comedy "Charade" (1963), starring Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant, to 40 to 50 viewers at Parks Plaza Theatre.
The society wanted to add another genre to its screenings: horror, said Mr. Lahr, who worked as assistant visual effects editor on "Spider Man 3" (2007) and the visual effects editor on a horror movie from the same year, "The Mist."
"It's fun to put yourself in these worlds and escape a little bit," Mr. Lahr said. "I think what horror films help us to do is to escape."
email: dmason@newspress.com
IF YOU GO
"Beers and Brains" will celebrate zombies and include a screening of "Night of the Living Dead" at 9:45 p.m. Wednesday at Parks Plaza Theatre, 515 McMurray Road, Buellton.
Participants will have a chance to fight zombies in a virtual reality space provided by Solvang business Space VR.
They also can participate in a zombie costume contest, which will start at 10 p.m. Prizes will include "Night of the Living Dead" posters and Space VR gift cards.
"Night of the Living Dead" will be shown at 10:15 p.m.
The 21 — and — older event is sponsored by Central Coast Film Society and Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co.
Tickets cost $25 for general admission and $20 for society members. They include a cup of beer from the theater's concessions stand.
To purchase, go to www.centralcoastfilmsociety.org.