Night Of The Living Dead DVD Retrospective

[JohnIan101]

PART IV: BOOKS - A4 P2

Tom and Judy.



The couple had been dating for four years since both were juniors in high school. This was their Sunday date; lunch, a movie at the local theater and making-out at Ridley Hill - if she was in the mood and a swim at the lake. Judy is saving herself for marriage, no amount of speaking from Tom will change her mind.

Tom works at the nearby garage as a mechanic. We do not know if this is the same gas station next to the diner or it could be in town.

They are in Judy's car, but she rarely drove it - Tom does. He's trying to save his money, not for a wedding ring, but a used, red Mustang. *smiles* Thinking it will impress her... perhaps into her pants.

Not feeling a kissing session, the two head for the lake. It was starting to get late, but still had enough daylight for the short trip and swim.

Tom has the radio on, no music - static and silence. Both witness a group of young people already at the lake, pulling someone out of the water. Then a voice happens, NOT the radio newsman, but the station's disc jockey.

If you're just tuning in, it is vital that you pay close attention. According to reports from all over the county, and some are now coming in from the entire tri-state area, we are experiencing an epidemic of unexplained mass murder. What we first dismissed as hysteria can no longer be denied. We have confirmed the accuracy of many of these reports with local police and sheriff departments; the murders are real, and they're taking place as we speak.

That's when the radio goes dead again. Tom considers it a prank, but Judy is taking seriously. But their attention is now on the shore, a man had been dragged from the water. A woman is trying to resuscitate him. They get out and walk among the watchers.

The unconscious man is large and Tom wonder if anything was actually happening, the woman could be pushing on pure fat, not making a difference.

The woman screams at the man, demanding Gerald to wake up. "Breathe!" A kid present relates what saw; the man Gerald Levin was in the lake screaming in the water. Saying the thought the adult was having a bad cramp, then Gerald sunk under the surface.

Tom asks the group if anyone had gone for help. The answer is yes; pointing at the road to the lake. The thing is, Tom did not see any cars pass them by. But he might have been more occupied with the radio broadcast to have noticed. It is he that sees a wound on Levin's left calf, like a dog had taken a bite. Then Gerald started moving.

The group applaud the woman including Judy. Then the man started hugging his wife. She tries to pull him off her, then lets out a muffled scream. Gerald Levin had bitten off her lips. The shocking sight became worse. Levin then takes another bite, now from her thigh, a greater scream.

The teens and kids are horrified and scatter. Leaving Tom and Judy to witness the maul. It's Judy who sees the creature. A woman staggers out of the lake, bloated. The blue looking girl is coming after the couple. They run for Judy's car. But didn't get far. Another agitator in a filthy hospital gown was near the car. No way around him, it won't leave, something has caught his attention on the auto.

They then run from the lake as fast as they can. Some time later, pausing in a field - Tom remembers the old farmhouse. The owner, an elderly woman probably has a telephone. They could call for help. But then they see another person with the same kind of lanky moment in the distance. No time to think.

We don't have a choice, honey. We gotta go. Right now.

Both run toward their fates.

- - -

The Coopers.

Why were the Coopers still together when they did not love each other?



Harry's parents had gotten divorced when he was a teen. The same thing happened to Helen when she was in elementary. Both had hurt childhoods from the loss. They opted not to do the same to Karen; to go their own way once she graduated from high school. A mutual agreement.

The family was coming home from a fail attempted to gain favor from Harry's boss.

He's in sales. His company's annual sales convention, a weekend affair. This year the amenities were not picked up the company. They had to spend their own money for attendance and food, not a lot but more than they had expected. Harry hinted that she and Karen should come along - to present a strong, successful family impression to his more conservative associates.

It failed for him, no bonuses, no new clients and no promotion. The long trip home is where it started - Harry blamed Helen for being "too snooty and too cold"...

she'd had the audacity to look better than his boss' wife.

How did they get into this mess?

Harry got an idea of getting home sooner by checking out early from the hotel and taking a short cut - bad idea; he was lost.

Helen had left him alone for some time. Not even asking to stop at "Beekman's" to ask for directions. Her husband had taken this trip for years (alone) and assumed he knew what he was doing. Another bad idea.

After some time, Harry had to turns the car around, this was mid-afternoon. He was fully lost. They'll have to spend a night in some motel because of his stubbornness.

It is on the road where they witnessed a car cash, two small cars has collided. A minor fender-bender, no real damage. But what caught their attention was the amount of people who had surrounded the compact cars, at least two dozen folks; far too many to have been in the cars.

Harry had honked his horn to get them off the road, they were blocking his way home. It wasn't working, they were occupied. No choice, he came to a full stop and honk again for a longer duration, still ignored him. Pissed off, Harry gets out to give them a piece of his mind.

"All right, all right", he declared, just short of shouting. "There's been a little accident, what a sight, we're all impressed. Now could some of you please move, your asses out of the way?"

Nothing, they were too engrossed with their own particulars. Harry could not see why - at first, but rather could hear it. As if the folks were engaged in gum-chewing contest. So angry he had failed to notice the group's dishevel appearance.

Some had rural farmer's outfits, others in hospital attire - staff and patients, bloody. Helen was the first to make the connection that something was amiss.

But at this point Harry was too ticked off to have noticed the blood, dirty and tattered clothing. He walked up to one, a woman and forcefully grabbed her arm - "Look, idiot, why don't you and your buddies..." didn't get to finish his insult, the sight snapped him to this reality.

Like seeing a pie eating contest, but not pies - the woman's face was bloody from the nose down. She opened her mouth, bits of flesh fell out. She now had a new target - Harry Cooper. She reached to him to grab to hold. And with her actions, all of the others had stopped what they were doing to focus on the middle age man.

He ran back to the car with the group in slow pursuit. Harry threw the car in reverse with the foot the pedal. High speed, but had not considered looking behind. The car had hit something, hard. Helen thought they had had hit someone. She was correct.

Two men in dirty, doctor's surgical scrubs. They were missing parts of their anatomy - not from the car impact.

One was missing his arm from the elbow down.

The other was missing part of his cheek and one of his eyes.

None showed pain, but tried to get back on their feet. They tried to reach for the Coopers in the car.

Scared, Harry puts the car into drive to go around the car crash ahead of them, but now the group wasn't in one place, they were spread out on the road. But in doing so, the car had gone off the paved road into the shoulder which caused the car to loose needed traction. The strange people were now slamming into the passenger's side, what started as four quickly turned into a dozen. All trying to get inside.

One of the things had reached into the wheel well and lost their arm as the car still tried to move forward. All the force and lost traction caused the car to turn over.

Harry in the mess had not put on his seat belt when he tired to flee. The turnover cause him to hit his head on the roof. That's why he has that bump/bruise. Helen and Karen both were still locked in their seats, upside down.

The car was still moving sliding down a slop, away from those maniacs. The windshield had cracked. When the car finally stopped, it was some distance away from the mob which was moving toward them, but stumbling and tripping over each other.

Harry helps Helen out and both try to get Karen unbuckled who is "wailing at the top of her lungs" and crying. After some moments, they got their daughter free and pushed her out on Helen's side.

"You go, Helen", he said in a moment of uncharacteristic chivalry. "Go, hurry!" Helen crawled out - grabbing her purse out of habit, the silly woman! - then reach back in to help Harry.

There was no time.

The scream happened so quickly - Karen's.