I really do love the way he is wandering in the background of the scene for a while, in a very unhurried way, and even wanders over to Johnny and Barbra, and then when he is close enough, suddenly goes "Eeeeyugh!" and flips into zombie mode.
As to why he chased Barbra, oh, I think he was just greedy. His haircut kind of had that "greedy bastard" look to it.
I think Romero said in an interview, "We wanted his hair to convey the idea that he was greedy in life, and that he would continue being greedy as a zombie, sort of a remembered behavior thing. Some kind of memory, instinct..greed was an important thing in his life. The first zombie is the kind of guy who would come to Thanksgiving dinner and want to eat the whole turkey and then the ham too. And then he might steal your silverware for good measure..."
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trist962
8 years ago
I'd never before heard of Romero's comments about the "greediness"....interesting. A couple of other ideas about "Cemetery Zombie": Just what was "he" doing there? 1) Was he an actual body that was supposed to be buried but the workmen decided to take a dinner break & left to come back & finish later? Then he reanimates while in the casket & breaks out & climbs out of the grave? (His suit looked to bear dirt marks). 2) Maybe he was homeless or a drifter, etc & "lived" in the woods near the cemetery. Then he dies from pneumonia or exposure & is drawn to Barbra's & Johnnie's voices?
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AryaStargaryen (4)
4 years ago
There's a deleted scene in the 25th anniversary edition of the film where it's presumed he was executed for killing a little girl, his funeral is shown with just the priest and the girls parents then next scene two gravediggers are starting to bury him when he reanimates and tries to attack them. He manages to get out of the coffin and they freak out and run away, thus leaving him to wander the cemetery until Barbara and Johnny appear.
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