Criterion Collection, out February 19

George A. Romero’s horror classic gets the full Criterion treatment in a two-disc release that presents the movie with a crisp, new print and a host of new special features.

The word ‘seminal’ is bandied about far too often for my liking, but how else would you describe George A. Romero’s first foray into the living dead? Working on so many different levels, from political and social commentary to all-out tense thriller, so much has been written or said about this low budged community movie from Pittsburgh that arguably every horror fan will have already seen it. So the question here is no so much whether it’s worth watching (it is!) but whether it’s worth upgrading your old DVD copy.

For a start, this is a new 4K digital transfer  which was supervised by the late director George A. Romero, co-screenwriter John A. Russo, sound engineer Gary R. Streiner and producer Russell W. Streiner. There’s also a new restoration of the monaural soundtrack, supervised by Romero and Streiner. So already  the film looks and sounds better than you’ll have experienced before. Naturally there’s some grain to the black and white picture, but this really doesn’t look like a 50-year-old film. You only have to look at the included Night of Anubis 16mm workprint to appreciate what restoration has taken place.

In addition to Night of Anubis, Light in the Darkness is a 23-minute piece with directors Frank Darabont, Guillermo del Toro and Robert Rodriguez explaining how it created a new sub-genre and directly influenced their own subsequent works. Some silent B-reel film for a local news channel is the only behind-the-scenes footage that exists for the movie, and you can also enjoy a never-before-seen 16 mm silent dailies reel with new footage and alternate takes.

Two audio commentaries feature Romero, Russo, producer Karl Hardman, actor Judith O’Dea; Tones of Terror takes a look at the use of existing library music to score the movie; and you can work through other archive clips featuring Romero, as well as trailers and radio spots.

Verdict: They’re coming to get you, Barbara! And in the crispest, clearest sounding and looking version yet. The extras are great, but buy this to experience a perfect horror movie in the best possible way. 10/10

Nick Joy