Characters / Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Barbra / Barbara / Barb

Played by: Judith O'Dea (1968), Patricia Tallman (1990), Brianna Brown (2006)

• Action Girl: In both the Savini and 3D versions.
• Adaptation Name Change: The 1968 film spells her name as "Barbra" in the credits, while the 1990 remake spells it as "Barbara". Similarly, the 2006 film names her "Barb".
• Adaptational Badass: In the 1990 remake, she recovers from her trauma more quickly and has a gun in her hands for a good portion of the film.
• All There in the Manual: Her family name is Blair according to the script, thereby also making it an example of an Alliterative Name.
• Damsel in Distress: In the original. While she does succeed in running away from most of the zombies, when things calm down she goes slightly catatonic.
• Decoy Protagonist: The original film opens up from her perspective—driving to the cemetery with Johnny, being attacked and separated, fleeing and finding the house. Then Ben shows up and she turns into The Load.
• Dumb Blonde: Downplayed. She isn’t a stupid person by any means, but Barbra spends most of her time in the first film being catatonic and hysterical after watching her brother get killed. But it's averted in other versions.
• Final Girl: In both Savini and 3D version.
• Go Mad from the Apocalypse: The Trope Codifier, having been driven to a near-catatonic state after just barely escaping a zombie while her brother Johnny wasn't so lucky.
• Heroic BSoD: In the 1968 version she goes blank following the death of her brother before her eyes and having to flee from the zombie that killed him. She eventually starts to recover... just in time to (presumably) get killed.
• Heroic Sacrifice: in the original, to save Helen.
• The Load: Only in the original. Barbra does very little to help anyone in the house and is even treated like an object when Ben and Cooper are arguing about the basement.
• Only Sane Woman: In Savini and 3D version.
• Red Herring: In the original, Barbra is near-catatonic and then spacey. She feels warm, says so and takes her jacket off. She flinches at the fire when Mrs. Cooper lights her cigarette. Despite all this, she doesn't turn into a zombie before getting dragged out of the house.

• Screaming Woman: In the original, screaming is about all Barbra really does aside from spacing out.
• Senseless Sacrifice: Manages to save Helen Cooper from the zombies, only to be killed by her own zombified brother and several others. Not to mention, Helen gets stabbed to death by her zombified daughter not five minutes after the fact when she flees to the basement, making it even more pointless.
• Sole Survivor: In the Savini version. Subverted in the 3D version; she's the last person left alive, but zombies are approaching and she doesn't have a weapon or any place to escape to.
• Took a Level in Badass:
  • At the end of the original, Barbra saves Mrs. Cooper from the Zombies that grabbed at her. At the cost of her own life. Makes it all the more tragic/horrific when it amounts to nothing moments later.
  • In the remake, in pointed contrast with her original incarnation.
• Uncertain Doom: The 1968 original implies that she is Devoured by the Horde but never actually shows her die or even suffer a bite. Several unofficial sequels/spin-offs have thus written in some explanation for her surviving.
• Unresolved Sexual Tension: With Ben in 3D version.

Ben

"They know we're in here now..."

"If you’re stupid enough to go die in that trap, that's your business. However I am not stupid enough to follow you. It is tough for the kid that her old man is so stupid. Now, get the hell down in the cellar. You can be the boss down there, I'm boss up here."

Played by: Duane Jones (1968), Tony Todd (1990), Joshua DesRoches (2006)

Dubbed by: Med Hondo (European French, 1968 and 1990)

• And Then John Was a Zombie: The 1990 version has him succumb to his wounds and turn while holed up in the basement.
• Anti-Hero: Despite saving Barbra at the beginning, Ben's other actions show him to be not as heroic as his first impression gave. Though he is still the closest character to being The Hero by far.
• Badass in a Nice Suit: Ben is the toughest zombie-fighter in the movie, and wears a collared shirt in the original film and a black suit and tie in the 1990 remake.
• Badass Normal: Downplayed. The most capable zombie fighter in the movies, tearing his way through a good number of them with relative ease, but realistically is unable to handle the horde of zombies when it gathers.
• Berserk Button: Cooper being an insufferable ass. Most noticeably when he starts antagonizing the traumatized Barbara:
  Ben: I don't wanna hear any more from you, Mister! If you stay up here, you take orders from ME! And that includes leaving the girl alone!
• Big Damn Heroes: Arriving suddenly and saving Barbra from zombies near the beginning of the film.
• Black Dude Dies First: Averted in every film as he dies last in both original and Savini version. Ben is white in the 3D version.
• Death by Irony: In the original film, he survives the night only to be killed by the sheriff's posse after they mistake him for a ghoul.
• Death Glare: Delivers a scathing, livid one to Cooper, who was planning on leaving him to die at the hands of the zombie horde.
• Genre Savvy: Played with. He doesn't outright know that the zombies are created through bites, it's early on in the outbreak, but he has a bad feeling about it when he hears that the Coopers' daughter Karen was bitten, and ultimately turns out to be right in the worst way.
  Ben: Who knows what kind of disease those things carry?
• Get a Hold of Yourself, Woman!: At one point Barbra wigs out and tries to go out the front door to "get Johnny". When he stops her from getting herself killed, she slaps his face, and he responds by punching hers. Subverted in that it actually sends her even further into shock and stupor.
• Good Is Not Soft: As even tempered, heroic and friendly as he mostly is overall, he does not suffer Cooper's abrasiveness in the slightest, including beating the shit out of him for trying to leave him for dead, and later outright gunning him down for attempting to steal his rifle and once more leave him to die at the hands of the zombie horde.
• Heroic BSoD: Looks visibly grossed out and perturbed in the wake of the failed escape attempt, watching the zombie horde eating the roasted corpses of Tom and Judy through the window.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Delivers an epic and much deserved one to Cooper, after the latter tries to leave him for dead. He holds back the beatdown just long enough for the two to work together to barricade the door again against the zombies.
  Ben: I OUGHT DRAG YOU OUT THERE AND FEED YOU TO THOSE THINGS!
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome: His story about fighting off zombies when they started rising and ultimately running several down with a truck, fighting them at Beekman's Diner, is worthy of an '80s action star. Too bad it was clearly far beyond the film's budget to actually show.
• One-Man Army: A downplayed more realistic example. Using either melee weapons or a rifle, Ben tears through a number of the zombies when he has to, at least until the entire horde swarms the house, forcing him to retreat.
• Only One Name: We never learn his last name.
• Only Sane Man: He's noticeably more level-headed and proactive than the other survivors (especially in the 1968 original).
• Protect This House: Was determined to do this with the farmhouse, only for everyone besides himself to be killed due to their nearsightedness or disobedience with his plans. The zombies soon bust in and he has to flee down to the basement (which he earlier called a deathtrap).
• Sole Survivor: The only one of the survivors in the original film to last the night. Not that he lives much longer than the following dawn.
• Tragic Mistake: Ben — and most of the other survivors — believe that their best shot lies with barricading the house, and that to go into the cellar would be a death sentence, having no way of escaping. Harry Cooper, our unsympathetic antagonist, insists that they should flee to the basement and barricade the basement door. Ben wins the argument, but Cooper was right. After everyone else is killed he does, Ben does in fact flee to the basement, where he survives the zombies.
• Unresolved Sexual Tension: With Barbara in 3D version.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Ben is quite stern with Harry and Tom for staying in the basement while they heard him and Barbara fighting the zombies.
• Would Hit a Girl: Downplayed. When Barbara starts to lose it and wants Ben to help her find the obviously dead Johnny, ignoring his attempts to calm her and point out how dangerous it was to just go outside, she tries to run outside and he prevents her from getting herself killed. When she smacks him across the face for stopping her, he belts her one in the jaw, knocking her out cold and laying her down to rest on the couch, so he can continue to barricade the house uninterrupted.

Harry Cooper / Henry

Played by: Karl Hardman (1968), Tom Towles (1990), Greg Travis (2006)

• Adaptation Name Change: Renamed to Henry in the 3D version.
• Adaptational Heroism: in the 3D version, instead of being a jerk, he becomes a helpful person and Ben's friend.
• Alas, Poor Villain: Despite being mainly an asshole victim, it's still possible to feel sorry for Cooper after Ben shoots him for trying to take the gun. His last scene before his death is him going to his daughter and collapsing in front of her.
• And Then John Was a Zombie: In the original. He dies in the cellar after being gunned down by Ben, before rising again once Ben has barricaded himself down there, forcing him to put Cooper down a second time.
• Asshole Victim: In the original and Savini versions. Cooper is demanding and confrontational at best and a treacherous coward at worst.
• Bald of Evil: More Jerkass than full-blown evil, but still.
• Big Bad: The primary human antagonist, and partially responsible for everybody getting killed due to his obstructive tendencies.
• Dies Differently in Adaptation: He's shot by Ben in the original. In both the 1990 and 3D remakes, his death is different.
  • In the 1990 remake, he is shot by Barbara after she returns to the house.
  • In the 3D remake, he and Helen are bitten and commit suicide.
• Inferiority Superiority Complex: His interactions with his wife show shades of this in the '68 original, though it's not explored very thoroughly.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He is an asshole who deeply cares for his wife and daughter.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Cooper is correct in stating that barricading inside the basement was the best plan as Ben was only able to survive the night after hiding in the basement. It's also deconstructed in that while his idea was the correct one, his abrasive and cowardly nature prevents everyone else from recognizing his point. He also doesn't take into account his Zombie Infectee daughter who would have been down in the basement with everyone, and would have undoubtedly set off a powder keg among the survivors when she rose as a zombie.
• Nice Guy: In the 3D version.
• Only Sane Man: While Ben is arguably the most level-headed, Cooper's insistence on the cellar being the only safe place was proven correct once the undead started to attack in earnest.
• Papa Wolf: While Cooper is a jerk, he's motivated by trying to protect his injured daughter.
• Properly Paranoid: His grumpy and abrasive personality aside, he is proved correct in that Ben's plan to board up the upper areas of the house and successfully protect the house was a folly.
• Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: Twice. First he refuses to open the door for Ben when the horde of zombies is on his heels, almost getting him killed. Ben is forced to kick in the door and barricade it again, before righteously beating the hell out of Cooper for his attempted treachery. The second betrayal later proves fatal for Cooper, when his cowardly attempt to steal Ben's gun and betray him, leave him to die at the hands of the zombies, backfires once and for all with Ben gunning him down.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: While Cooper was an unlikable asshole in the original, he was still willing to help the others out after some grumbling, even if his fear and anger got the better of him towards the end, and he came across more as a scared, angry man out of his wits with fear and confusion. In the remake, he is an utterly loathsome and useless slimeball.
• Took a Level in Kindness: In the 3D version, Cooper is more of a friendly good-hearted farmer.
• Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: In all versions.
• Ungrateful Bastard: Mocks Ben's efforts to barricade up the house, even though it was helping protect him and his family as well, regardless of his plan to hide down in the basement, serving as another defensive layer between them and the zombies.

Helen Cooper / Hellie

Played by: Marilyn Eastman (1968), McKee Anderson (1990), Johanna Black (2006)

• Adaptation Name Change: She's called "Hellie" in the 3D version.
• And Then John Was a Zombie: Rises again as a zombie down in the cellar after being stabbed to death by Karen, forcing Ben, who is down there by now, to put her down.
• Better to Die than Be Killed: In the 3D version, she kills herself instead of being zombie chow.
• Dies Differently in Adaptation: In the original, she's stabbed to death by her zombified daughter. In the remakes, her method of death changes.
  • In the 1990 remake, she's eaten by her daughter rather than stabbed.
  • In the 3D remake, she and Harry are bitten and commits suicide.

• Driven to Suicide: In the 3D version.
• Mama Bear: Helen is willing to leave the safety of the cellar to look for anything that might help her daughter, and frequently stands up to her domineering husband when she feels that his strategies are endangering their child.
• Team Mom: In the original and Savini versions.
• Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: In all versions.

Tom

Played by: Keith Wayne (1968), William Butler (1990), Max Williams (2006)

• The All-American Boy: Tom is a handsome, idealistic, sociable, twenty-something Caucasian man in the 1960s who risks his life trying to save his girlfriend Judy from a burning truck.
• Asshole Victim: In the 3D version.
• Big Guy: In the Savini version.
• The Lancer: Tom is the member of the group who is most persuaded by Ben's arguments and does the most to help him.
• Only One Name: Averted in the 1990 film, where he's given the surname Bitner.
• Out of Focus: In the 3D version, he doesn't have much screen time as previous versions.
• Politically Incorrect Hero: Downplayed. Tom never shows any signs of racism toward Ben, but he ignores the women in the group while talking about how the men have to make decisions (although this might be explained by Barbara and Judy being frightened and withdrawn, and Helen being busy with her daughter).
• Staking the Loved One: In the 1990 film, Tom is unable to put down his zombified uncle and cousin when he's in a position to.
• Too Dumb to Live: Tom and Judy climb into a flaming truck and attempt to drive it away from the fuel pump. It ends about as well as you would expect.
• Tragic Mistake: After the lock for the gasoline pump is shot off by Ben, Tom grabs the fuel nozzle and clumsily sprays it all over the place while attempting to refuel the truck. In the process, he sprays the gasoline all over Ben's nearby lit torch. The flames climb over the truck, blowing it up, killing Tom and Judy and dooming the escape attempt.
• Wrong Genre Savvy: Tom agrees with Ben that hiding in the cellar is a bad idea, pointing out how they might need windows to escape or alert rescuers. He compares the situation to a recent flood, where staying put was the wrong idea. Unfortunately, in this case, staying in the cellar is ultimately the right move.

Judy / Judy Rose

Played by: Judith Ridley (1968), Katie Finneran (1990), Cristin Michele (2006)

• Broken Bird: In both versions, Judy is frightened and withdrawn due to the threat of the zombies and gets into a Troubled Fetal Position or two.
• Cowardly Lion: In the remake, Judy is a Screaming Woman, but she does try to help press against the doors as the zombies break through them, and volunteers to drive a truck through the horde.
• Daddy's Girl: In the remake, Judy says that her father taught her to drive trucks from a young age.
• Damsel in Distress: Zig-Zagged. In Savini version, she takes over Barbra's original role as the Screaming Woman instead of being calm and reasonable simply because she's a woman. However, she reacts realistically to what's going on and becomes a little more proactive (going outside to get the gas pump keys, insisting that she drive the truck).
• Dumb Blonde: She turns into this in the 3D version. She also wasn't that smart in the original, she dies and takes Tom with her because she got her jacket caught on the car door and didn't try to open it first.
• Ms. Fanservice: In the 3D version.
• Only One Name: Averted in in the 1990 film, where she's called Judy Rose and given the surname Larson.
• Only Sane Woman: Judy initially agrees with Harry that they should stay in the basement, which turns out to be the right move.
• Out of Focus: In 3D version she, like Tom, doesn't have as much screen time as in other versions.
• Screaming Woman: In Savini's version.
• Satellite Character: Judy hardly interacts with anyone else but each Tom in the original and 3d versions.
• Tomboyish Ponytail: Zigzagged in the remake, both in terms of her personality and the hairstyle. Judy is a Screaming Woman, but has a rural wardrobe and dialect. Her long hair is mostly let let down, but a small section of it is tied into a ponytail.
• Too Dumb to Live: Getting her jacket caught in the door, instead of being ready to jump out of the truck she knew was on fire, or not diving out the second it went up. As well as leaving the house to try to help Tom and Ben in the first place at the last second, costing both her and Tom their lives.
• Took a Level in Badass: Judy Rose was heading this way too in the Savini version. She spent most of the film as a Screaming Woman before eventually getting a hold of herself, calling out Ben and Cooper for their stupid arguing and offering to drive the truck to the gas pump (as opposed to the original where she just wandered outside and had to come along).

Karen / Sarah

Played by: Kyra Schon (1968), Heather Mazur ("Sarah"—1990), Alynia Phillips (2006)

• Ascended Extra: In 3D version, she gets more screentime than her other versions.
• Adaptation Name Change: She's renamed Sarah in the 1990 remake.
• Self-Made Orphan: Zombie Karen eats her father, then kills and (presumably) eats her mother.

Johnny

"They're coming to get you, Barbara!"

Played by: Russell Streiner (1968), Bill Moseley (1990), Ken Ward (2006)

• All There in the Manual: His family name is Blair in the script, but never mentioned in the films themselves.
• And Then John Was a Zombie: During the ghouls' climactic attack on the house, Barbra encounters her long-since-turned brother, who then drags her outside to presumably be Devoured by the Horde.

• Big Brother Instinct: He does stop kidding around and tries to fight off the zombie when it attacks Barbra.
• Dirty Coward: In 3D version, he leaves his sister in the cemetery and escapes.
• The Gadfly: Makes fun of his sister for being afraid in the cemetery and appears to be a bit of a jokester. It's not until Barbra gets attacked that he stops joking around.
• Iconic Item: Driving gloves.
• Jerkass: Complains a lot about having to make a three-hour trip just to visit his own father's grave and makes fun of his sister's discomfort to amuse himself. That said, the above tropes show he does care about her safety, at least.

Sheriff Conan McClelland

Played by: George Kosana (1968), Russell Streiner (1990)

• Ambiguously Evil: The sheriff and his men shoot Ben, an uninfected African-American man, but it might have been an honest misunderstanding due to his haggard appearance and being at a distance in the shadows.
• Badass Bandolier: His Iconic Item.
• Deadpan Snarker: Treats deadly zombies like they're just minor annoyances.
• Eyepatch of Power: In the remake, Conan has an eyepatch, while still leading a mob of gruff zombie hunters.
• A Father to His Men: McClelland leads his men in the fight against the zombies and is fairly encouraging toward them.
• Hope Bringer: Seeing McClelland leading a Posse against the zombies on TV gives the main characters cause to be hopeful although ironically when he does show up, his men shoot the last survivor by mistake.
• Remake Cameo: Russell Streiner, Johnny in the original film, plays him in the Savini version.
• The Sheriff: Obviously views himself as a heroic one.

Cemetery Zombie

Played by: Bill Hinzman (1968, 1998), Greg Funk (1990)

• Adaptational Villainy: In the 1968 original, he's just a random zombie who Barbra and Johnny happen to encounter at the cemetery. The 30th Anniversary Edition goes much more into his backstory, revealing that he was a child killer.
• Adaptational Ugliness: In the original movie, he looks like a pale and somewhat disheveled but otherwise ordinary man in ragged clothes. In the 1990 remake, his face has been significantly deformed, his eyes have turned white, and his clothes are even more ragged than the original.
• Creator Cameo: In addition to playing the role of this zombie in both versions, Bill Hinzman was the camera operator on the 1968 original, and cinematographer for the 30th Anniversary Edition.
• Decomposite Character: In the 3D version his role is split out between several of Barbra's newly-zombified relatives, most notably her mother.
• It Can Think: Compared to most zombies seen in the series he's much more physically and mentally adept, managing to chase Barbra at a decent speed, and using a rock to smash open the window of her car.
• No Name Given: Even his added backstory for the 30th Anniversary Edition doesn't give him any actual name.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Though he only plays a prominent role in the first scene, his killing Johnny sends Barbra into a Heroic BSoD that lasts for the rest of the plot, and indirectly leads to her own (implied) death.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: After he kills Johnny, he appears in the background of a few other scenes but doesn't really do much else. Until the end, when he shows up as one of the zombies that breaches the barricade and enters the house. He's also seen in the end credits, after he has been disposed of by the posse and his body is laid beside Ben's in the burn pile.
  • In the 30th Anniversary Edition, we see him being shot dead in the cemetery, though not until after he bites Rev. Hicks.
• Would Hurt a Child: The 30th Anniversary Edition reveals him to be a convicted child killer who was sentenced to death.

Rev. Hicks

Played by: Scott Vladimir Licina (1998)

• Creator Cameo: His actor also composed the soundtrack to the 30th Anniversary Edition.
• Canon Foreigner: Has only ever appeared in the 30th anniversary edition.
• Good Ol' Boy: His accent and mannerisms indicate that he's supposed to be a Southern Baptist priest.
• Hollywood Exorcism: Attempts one of these on the cemetery zombie. It fails, and he ends up being bitten on the face.
• Plot Armor: He somehow survives being bitten by the cemetery zombie, though is left severely ill and delirious for a week.
• Sinister Minister: Not so much at first — although several reviewers noted his resemblance to Anton LaVay, the founder of the Church of Satan — but during the Flash Forward ending sequence added to the 30th Anniversary Edition, he goes on rant about how the dead are possessed by demons, and can only be truly vanquished via crucifixion.

Owen

Played by: Adam Chambers (2006)

• Canon Foreigner: He only appeared in 3D version.
• Expy: Of Barbra from the original. He's helpless and lies on the couch for whole movie. Well he was bitten by zombies.

Gerald Tovar Jr.

Played by: Sid Haig (2006), Andrew Divoff (2012)

• Big Bad: In 3D version.
• Canon Foreigner: Similar to Owen, he never exists in any previous Living Dead film until 3D.
• Doomed by Canon: If anyone watched the 3D prequel movie Re-Animation, they already know what's going happen to him in the 3D version.

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