The Michigan Daily -Thursday, October 25, 1990 - Page 7 Plight of what's been said s , N 'N',' s %,'e N'e a Night of the Living dead dir. Tom Savini by Jon Rosenthal The recently dead come crawling out of their graves looking for a quick bite of human flesh. They sur- round a deserted farm house and smear their icky undead faces all over the clean window panes. Meanwhile, inside, seven people struggle bravely to keep themselves off the Zombie uienu. Yes, it's George Romero's Night of The Living Dead following the 1990 tradition of - "Why come up- with a new idea when there are Sdth a lot of neat old ones?" The bright and scrapped-together Night of the Living Dead that be- came a cult classic has been remade into an inconsistent and basically unsatisfying movie with the tone of Holiday Inn painting. The film Rails around on the screen like an octopus on bad speed, without ever going anywhere. The movie is half over before the audience even finds out those drunken, bumbling zom- bies don't chase the magnificent seven around because the zombies RECORDS ontinued from page 5 drained of romance. World Clique is dripping with romance. For example, "Power of Love" is wonderfully naive with its mokka-mokka rhythm guitar all over the place; "Good Beat," which boasts the simple mantra, "I just want a good beat," is pleasing with its dragging cymbal rides dnd stubborn pacing. "Try Me On, I'm Very You" is musically excellent; the opening sample is clever while the beat is very big and sloppy. The tinkling piano keys are stupid and sticky, and are resurrected Avon representatives but because they are cannibals. Although the film does not en- gage the viewer's higher brain func- tions, it does hold one's attention cinematically. Both the direction and the acting provide elements that pre- vent Night of the Living Dead from sinking into oblivion and keep the viewers in their seats. Director Tom Savini uses the farm house setting to his advantage and keeps the gore down. For example, the scene in which Sarah, the teen zombie, glee- fully tears her mother's throat out in the closet-like basement only in- volves a slight splash of blood. Tony Todd plays the courageous Ben, battling both decomposing zombies and bad script writing with ease. Patricia Tallman portrays Bar- bara and, though forced to dress like Sigourney Weaver in Aliens, avoids a motherly attitude. The movie raises some interest- ing questions. Why do the zombies find poor Ben so attractive that he has to battle for every step like a football player inches from a touch- down, while Barbara can just waltz through them like they're asking her to dance instead of trying to rend her limb from limb? Why, with zom- bies running willy nilly across the countryside, do the people at the re- lief station have time to hang them from trees and use them for target practice? How can the moon rise twice in one night? We may never know the answers to these and other questions but we do know that zom- bies "lack the capacity to reason. They do not respond to commands or authority." The humor of the original, a key element in horror films because it breaks the tension, is weak in the remake. The instant enmity between Harry Cooper, played by Tom Towles in the remake, and Ben ex- emplifies the failure of the remake where the original succeeded, in both humor and concise characterization. Cooper's line in the original, "You're telling me, we gotta risk our lives just because somebody needs help?" characterizes him bril- liantly and Ben's amazed "Yeah" in response is funny and subtle. In the new film they simply yell at each other. What subtlety exists in the re- make is inappropriate. For example, a sign by the farmhouse door reads "M. Celeste," a reference to Mary Celeste, a schooner found drifting, Jesus Christ watches serenely as dead people return to wreak havoc on these poor people who have had the misfortune of starring in the remake of Night of the Living Dead. abandoned, with breakfast half eaten on the table and no signs of a strug- gle. The crew just vanished. Neat, but what's the point, in relation to the movie? When the rescuers find the house they find people and very definite signs of a struggle. It ends up reiterating the overall problem with the remake - what's the point? NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD descends upon Briarwood and Showcase. at long last, the Horny Horns have been reset in a musical medium that truly does, them well. But wherever I forward or reverse on World Clique, there is a consistent intelligence and attention to aesthetics. The sampling is very inspired; it becomes incomprehensi- ble as to what tracks were played and which were snatched. The current ul- timate party tune, "Groove Is In the Heart," features Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest doing a typically com- prehensive and overpowering rap de- livery and somehow fitting perfectly into the light-hearted jam. And emi- nently funky as always, Bootsy's ut- terance of one word, "Dig," at the beginning of the tune, is a distinctly great moment. World Clique is easily the best contemporary dance album I've heard, most notably because it defies the status quo. In the mind-warping video for "Groove Is In The Heart," Kirby and her deejays dress in outra- geous '70s clothes. It is this kind of attention to house's predecessor, disco, that creates a silly, romantic tone on the album. And this mood, far from the nihilistic, mechanical motorvation of today's dance music, makes World Clique a huge suc- cess. -Forrest Green III Save the LP! . :Daily Arts Newsletters- Newsletters Newsletters Bfrkestobk* FService that brings you to your feet" Sandals, clogs, & shoes for all-weather comfort Repair Service , "663-1644 209 N.4th Ave. (By Kerrytown) Mon-Sat 10-6 t UNION ARTS AND PROGRAMMING PRESENTS HOWARD WHEELER JEWELRY AND TIE DYE SALE LAST TWO DAYS! 1O AM-5PM MICHIGAN UNION MALL A Unique Consulting Firm Hewitt Associates is visiting the University of Michigan Hewitt Associates is an international firm of consultants and actuaries specializing in the design, financing, communication, and administration of employee benefit and compensation programs. We are included in the publications The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America and The Best Companies for Women. 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