Armed with a bigger budget and a bigger canvas on which to paint, Romero goes all out to show the collapse of society as the apocalypse takes hold. Picking up from Night's radio broadcasts, we find ourselves in a rapidly deteriorating news centre as Fran attempts to keep control in the face of increasing panic. 'Flyboy' Stephen (her boyfriend) and fellow SWAT team members Roger and Peter, take a newsroom helicopter and eventually hole up at a Pittsburgh mall. It's only here that their problems truly begin. Although some argued that Romero unintentionally hit a 'social' nerve with the first film, here there is no doubt at all as he attacks consumerism, race and the role of women in society. Similar to the middle section of Jaws, we almost forget about the shuffling zombies outside as the group play arcade machine, wander supermarket aisles and take money, as worthless as paper, from a bank. Boredom sets in but they are well dressed and eat well. It's only when Tom Savini's biker gang appear that the group have a reason to 'live' again. Although the shopping mall is bigger than the abandoned farmhouse of the first film, it plays more into our modern nightmares. Ironically, going to any shopping mall today feels like you're suddenly an extra in one of these films as you shuffle around picking up glittering items and are directed by the newest offers. The fear that we'll all become brain-dead shufflers is fully realised and Romero looks at this through the bright red hues of his blood and through four great performances from his leads. A true nightmare classic.
