Paula Hammond - Features EditorIt’s the film that redefined the horror genre … now, thanks to Titan Books, the novelisation of George A. Romero’s zombie classic, Night of the Living Dead, is yours to own, just in time for festive gift giving, complete with a new introduction from everyone’s favourite fanboy, Simon Pegg.
Night of the Living Dead: The Official Novelization was written by John Russo, who co-wrote the iconic screenplay with Romero. While the two were lifelong friends, they did have a professional disagreement over the direction of the franchise, which resulted in them going their separate ways.
Interestingly while Russo went on to write a sequel to Night of the Living Dead (Return of the Living Dead) it was never filmed. The 1985 film of the same name, was written by Dan O’Bannon of Alien fame. Just to add to the confusion, Russo also wrote a 1985 novelization of that film, which takes Russo’s own storyline in a completely different direction, both plot wise and thematically!
Remarcably the novelisation of Night of the Living Dead wasn’t published until 1974 — six years after the film’s release. Now, fifty-seven years later, with the film — and the franchise — as popular as ever, the book has just been reissued in a lush new hardback.
While visiting their father’s grave, Barbara and Johnny see a man slowly approaching them. Grotesque and ghost-pale, the man kills Johnny. Barbara manages to flee to a nearby farmhouse, where six other strangers have gathered to escape an outbreak of the unburied dead returning to life and attacking the living. This ragtag group struggle to fend off the horde of flesh-eating ghouls. Will any of them make it out alive?
Before DVDs and streaming, ‘the book of the film’ was the only way for most fans to revisit a favourite film, and Russo’s novelization follows the plot of the film, pretty much beat for beat. Russo writes a good tale, with some scenes working far better than they did on screen. This is especially true of the downbeat ending, which, even if you know the film, arrives like a genuine gut punch.
Night of the Living Dead: The Novelization is a delightful piece of film memorabilia — a well-crafted ride of a read that does exactly what it says on the tin.
Night of the Living Dead: The Official Novelization by John Russo is available in hardback from Titan Books, from 30th September, priced £14.99.
