Transitional Films for the New Year at RADIATION-SCARRED REVIEWS

[Saucerman]

To ring in the New Year, I decided to take a look at two films that turned horror cinema on its head.

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968)
"Tempers immediately flare as Harry and Ben clash over the "right" way to survive the onslaught of murderous maniacs. Ben argues that the best chance of survival lies in remaining upstairs, while Harry is adamant that holing up in the cellar is the only way. Harry's insistence on "being right," and even emphasizing "being right" as more important than the survival of the group, causes his already strained relationship with his wife to deteriorate even further."

THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (1951)
"The American Horror Film, prior to 1951, was largely the domain of the Universal Horrors -- FRANKENSTEIN, DRACULA, THE WOLF MAN...all of which (with the notable exception of THE MUMMY) take place in a sort of Art Deco Gothic version of the Victorian Era. Being filmed in the 1930s and 1940s, there is a sense of security in the horrors taking place in the past -- we have survived them and moved past them, leaving the Frankenstein Monster and Count Dracula safely behind us."