Stephen King's favorite horror film is 1968 low-budget classic.
The author behind some of the scariest books in publishing history says a groundbreaking horror film shaped his love for the genre. Its stark black-and-white imagery and relentless tension continue to haunt him decades later.
King's favorite scary film is Night of the Living Dead. The film’s unrelenting suspense and social undertones have left a permanent mark on the master of horror.
In a 2024 essay for Variety, King revealed his love for this iconic piece of cinematic history. He praised its raw energy, unsettling undertones, and lasting influence on the horror genre.
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King wrote, "The 'scariest' varies according to the viewer’s age. As a kid of 16, the scariest movie was The Haunting (directed by Robert Wise). As an adult, it was The Blair Witch Project, with that building sense of doom and those truly horrible last 35 seconds. But overall, I’d have to say Night of the Living Dead, George A. Romero’s low-budget masterpiece."
He continued, "In the end, no one survives. This movie has lost its elemental power over the years — has become almost a Midnite Madness joke, like Rocky Horror — but I still remember the helpless terror I felt when I first saw it."
King concluded, "And now that I think of it, there’s a real similarity to Blair Witch, both with minimal or no music, both cast with unknown actors who seem barely capable of summer stock in Paducahville, both with low-tech special effects. They work not in spite of those things, but because of them."
What is 'Night of the Living Dead' about?
Night of the Living Dead follows a group of strangers trapped in a rural Pennsylvania farmhouse after the dead rise to feed on the living. As chaos spreads outside, tensions boil inside, and survivors quickly learn not only to fear the zombies, but one another.
George A. Romero’s 1968 classic redefined horror and turned a survival story into a haunting look at human nature and society. According to Collider, the movie leaves a blueprint for other horror films to follow. It was one of the first to reimagine a classic zombie film, "as mindless, cannibalistic reanimated corpses, introducing the concept of the zombie apocalypse."
Pictorial Parade/Getty ImagesNight of the Living Dead is not just a story of zombies vs. survivors. It's also a tale of what happens when general distrust of one another becomes the main plot point outside of the human feeding frenzy outside the door.
The film starred Judith O'Dea (Barbara), Russell Streiner (Johnny), Duane Jones (Ben), Karl Hardman (Harry Cooper), Keith Wayne (Tom), Judith Ridley (Judy), Marilyn Eastman (Helen Cooper), and Kyra Schon (Karen).
Stephen King has drawn inspiration from Night of the Living Dead and countless other horror films throughout his career. Over the decades, he has written more than 80 books and 200 short stories, many of which have been adapted for both film and television.
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