Repertory Pick: A Rare Early Cut of a Horror Classic

On Monday evening, courtesy of Criterion, the Prince Charles Cinema in London’s West End will show Night of Anubis, a rare work-print edit of George A. Romero’s 1968 feature debut, Night of the Living Dead, which was made available for the first time as a supplement on our recently released edition of the landmark independent film. The low-budget, Pittsburgh-shot Night of the Living Dead would go on to change the horror genre forever, becoming an unlikely box-office sensation and inspiring generations of filmmakers with its biting social critique and terrifying depiction of flesh-eating ghouls. Night of Anubis—the title, a reference to the ancient-Egyptian god of mummification and the underworld, was eventually changed ahead of the film’s release—finds the blood-chiller in a raw (but mostly finished) early form, with one alternate shot of the ghouls and visible editing splices throughout. The work print, which will be introduced at the screening by novelist, horror expert, and frequent Criterion contributor Kim Newman, offers a fascinating window onto the making of a classic.

from The Criterion Current http://ift.tt/2ugpd1M