Greetings, Boils & Ghouls...
...and welcome to 'Day Three' of "Awesome Horror Streams for Hallowe'en Screams on Roku" where I will be bringing you my top picks of the fright flicks in the carefully curated catalogue of macabre movies from the 'Shudder UK' horror streaming service - any of which can then be streamed to your television via the magic of Roku player - so, dim down the lights... and prepare for some frights! :-O
If you read my hallowe'en blogathon preview - FOUND HERE - which I published on Saturday, then you will know that I plan to post one Hallowe'en / Horror related article every day, throughout the month of October, each featuring one horror movie from the current 'Shudder UK' content library. With recommendations for thirty-one of the best fright flicks I can find, by the end of the month, this means you should have plenty of great choices for your macabre movie viewing as we count down the days to Hallowe'en... as well as ensuring some top-notch cinematic scares come October 31st! ;-)
For my third instalment, in this series of posts, I'm going to suggest a film which premiered in the month of October back in 1968 and, in terms of zombie movies, has since become widely regarded as "the one, the original, that started it all" for, without this movie, there may never even have been a popular television series called "The Walking Dead" or spoofs such as "Sean Of The Dead" or many of the other zombie flicks which have been made since this particular horror classic was first created.
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Directed by George A. Romero, and starring Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea, Karl Hardman, Marilyn Eastman, Kyra Schon, Judith Ridley plus Keith Wayne (amongst others), it tells the story of a group of people who become trapped in a rural farmhouse in Pennsylvania whilst under attack from a horde of "living dead" monsters. For those of you that have yet to see this "cult classic", here's a brief taster of the film courtesy of the original theatrical trailer for the movie:-
If you'd like to know more there's a full list of the cast & credits on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) listing for "Night Of The Living Dead", FOUND HERE, which also includes a full storyline / plot summary as well as box office stats, technical specs & much more. For die-hard fans, there are even more tidbits of information to be had from the Wikipedia Page for "Night Of The Living Dead", VIA THIS LINK, which may help to fuel your appetite for (yet) another screening. Although, if you're as much of a fan as I am, you probably won't take too much persuading to watch it again !!
Anyway, thanks (largely) to an error made by the distributor of the film, "Night Of The Living Dead" entered the "public domain" far earlier than first (if ever) anticipated. This means there are several Roku channels available through which you will be able to watch it. That said, because of the theme for this month-long blogathon being to suggest thirty-one great Hallowe'en/Horror themed movies from the 'Shudder UK' streaming service, I'm going to recommend you watch it on their channel! :-)
If you haven't already added it to your channel selection, you will find "Shudder" listed among the "Film & TV" channels in the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store. You can easily add it to your Roku player(s) by navigating to the built-in 'Channel Store' (accessed via "Streaming Channels" from the home screen on your Roku device) and scrolling through the options until you see the channel icon (pictured above). It's completely FREE-TO-ADD so, once you've located it in the list of channels, just click the "OK" button on your Roku remote to select it and then click "OK" again where it says 'Add channel' to install it on your Roku player(s). Having done that, it's simply a case of launching the channel via the 'Go to channel' option and navigating the on-screen menu to log-in (if you already have an account, but haven't yet done so) or start your free trial (if you are new to the service) and, once you see 'Shudder TV' playing on the screen, just push the "DOWN" arrow on your Roku remote to get to the main menu... from where you can "Search" for the film, "Night of the Living Dead", then press "OK" to select and 'Play' this classic zombie movie which, for the record, runs to 1h 36mins.
N.B. Whilst the film was originally shot / released in monochrome... I appreciate that there may be some of you out there who "don't do black & white" so, just for your benefit, you will find there's a colourised version - FOUND HERE - which can be streamed on your Roku via the 'YouTube' app.
Meanwhile, for that full cinema experience, here's a few of the other cinema posters that movie-goers in 1968 would have encountered depending on their particular location around the world:-
%2B-%2BOriginal%2BUSA%2BCinema%2BPoster.jpg)
%2B-%2BOriginal%2BItalian%2BCinema%2BPoster.jpg)
For further insight into this movie, I thoroughly recommend you watch "Birth of the Living Dead" which is a 2014 documentary (RUN TIME: 1hr 16mins) telling the story of how George A. Romero gathered together an unlikely team (incl. Pittsburgh policemen, iron workers, housewives & the owner of a local roller rink) and managed to pull-off what was (probably) the greatest "guerilla shoot" to-date. At the time of writing, you can rent it from 'Amazon Video', VIA THIS LINK, for only £0.99 (yes, just 99 pence!) and I would not hesitate in urging fans of "Night of the Living Dead" to rent it.
Finally, to round-off this third instalment of my month-long blogathon on 'Day Three' of the annual 'Countdown To Halloween', comes another FRIGHTENINGLY FUN FILM FACT for you... among the cast of characters for "Night of the Living Dead" was a WIIC-TV, Channel 11 news reporter, played by Bill Cardille [aka 'Chilly Billy Cardilly']. Now, aside from WIIC-TV being an actual Pittsburgh TV Station, Bill Cardille (himself) was also well-known locally as a Pittsburgh TV man with his own horror movie show, "Chiller Theater", which aired Saturday nights in the 60's & 70's !!
If you read my hallowe'en blogathon preview - FOUND HERE - which I published on Saturday, then you will know that I plan to post one Hallowe'en / Horror related article every day, throughout the month of October, each featuring one horror movie from the current 'Shudder UK' content library. With recommendations for thirty-one of the best fright flicks I can find, by the end of the month, this means you should have plenty of great choices for your macabre movie viewing as we count down the days to Hallowe'en... as well as ensuring some top-notch cinematic scares come October 31st! ;-)
For my third instalment, in this series of posts, I'm going to suggest a film which premiered in the month of October back in 1968 and, in terms of zombie movies, has since become widely regarded as "the one, the original, that started it all" for, without this movie, there may never even have been a popular television series called "The Walking Dead" or spoofs such as "Sean Of The Dead" or many of the other zombie flicks which have been made since this particular horror classic was first created.
BRITISH QUAD CINEMA POSTER.....................IMAGE SOURCE: Wrong Side Of The Art
Directed by George A. Romero, and starring Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea, Karl Hardman, Marilyn Eastman, Kyra Schon, Judith Ridley plus Keith Wayne (amongst others), it tells the story of a group of people who become trapped in a rural farmhouse in Pennsylvania whilst under attack from a horde of "living dead" monsters. For those of you that have yet to see this "cult classic", here's a brief taster of the film courtesy of the original theatrical trailer for the movie:-
If you'd like to know more there's a full list of the cast & credits on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) listing for "Night Of The Living Dead", FOUND HERE, which also includes a full storyline / plot summary as well as box office stats, technical specs & much more. For die-hard fans, there are even more tidbits of information to be had from the Wikipedia Page for "Night Of The Living Dead", VIA THIS LINK, which may help to fuel your appetite for (yet) another screening. Although, if you're as much of a fan as I am, you probably won't take too much persuading to watch it again !!
Anyway, thanks (largely) to an error made by the distributor of the film, "Night Of The Living Dead" entered the "public domain" far earlier than first (if ever) anticipated. This means there are several Roku channels available through which you will be able to watch it. That said, because of the theme for this month-long blogathon being to suggest thirty-one great Hallowe'en/Horror themed movies from the 'Shudder UK' streaming service, I'm going to recommend you watch it on their channel! :-)
If you haven't already added it to your channel selection, you will find "Shudder" listed among the "Film & TV" channels in the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store. You can easily add it to your Roku player(s) by navigating to the built-in 'Channel Store' (accessed via "Streaming Channels" from the home screen on your Roku device) and scrolling through the options until you see the channel icon (pictured above). It's completely FREE-TO-ADD so, once you've located it in the list of channels, just click the "OK" button on your Roku remote to select it and then click "OK" again where it says 'Add channel' to install it on your Roku player(s). Having done that, it's simply a case of launching the channel via the 'Go to channel' option and navigating the on-screen menu to log-in (if you already have an account, but haven't yet done so) or start your free trial (if you are new to the service) and, once you see 'Shudder TV' playing on the screen, just push the "DOWN" arrow on your Roku remote to get to the main menu... from where you can "Search" for the film, "Night of the Living Dead", then press "OK" to select and 'Play' this classic zombie movie which, for the record, runs to 1h 36mins.
LINK TO WATCH 'Night of the Living Dead' (1968) ONLINE VIA THE 'SHUDDER' WEBSITE
Fortunately for readers outside the UK, this sixties zombie classic also happens to be available via 'Shudder' in the U.S. and Canada... however, there are other resources at your disposal (most notably via subscription to 'Amazon Video' or 'MUBI', and ad-supported on 'Vudu', although they're US-only) but all Roku users can stream this film for free via many other Roku channels regardless of region - just use the 'Search' feature on your Roku, and type in "Night of the Living Dead" to find it! ;-) :-)
N.B. Whilst the film was originally shot / released in monochrome... I appreciate that there may be some of you out there who "don't do black & white" so, just for your benefit, you will find there's a colourised version - FOUND HERE - which can be streamed on your Roku via the 'YouTube' app.
Meanwhile, for that full cinema experience, here's a few of the other cinema posters that movie-goers in 1968 would have encountered depending on their particular location around the world:-
AUSTRALIAN ONE SHEET CINEMA POSTER............IMAGE SOURCE: Cine Masterpieces
USA ONE SHEET CINEMA POSTER.....................IMAGE SOURCE: Wrong Side Of The Art
ITALIAN ONE SHEET CINEMA POSTER...............IMAGE SOURCE: Wrong Side Of The Art
For further insight into this movie, I thoroughly recommend you watch "Birth of the Living Dead" which is a 2014 documentary (RUN TIME: 1hr 16mins) telling the story of how George A. Romero gathered together an unlikely team (incl. Pittsburgh policemen, iron workers, housewives & the owner of a local roller rink) and managed to pull-off what was (probably) the greatest "guerilla shoot" to-date. At the time of writing, you can rent it from 'Amazon Video', VIA THIS LINK, for only £0.99 (yes, just 99 pence!) and I would not hesitate in urging fans of "Night of the Living Dead" to rent it.
Finally, to round-off this third instalment of my month-long blogathon on 'Day Three' of the annual 'Countdown To Halloween', comes another FRIGHTENINGLY FUN FILM FACT for you... among the cast of characters for "Night of the Living Dead" was a WIIC-TV, Channel 11 news reporter, played by Bill Cardille [aka 'Chilly Billy Cardilly']. Now, aside from WIIC-TV being an actual Pittsburgh TV Station, Bill Cardille (himself) was also well-known locally as a Pittsburgh TV man with his own horror movie show, "Chiller Theater", which aired Saturday nights in the 60's & 70's !!