Night Of The Living Dead Was A Foundational Movie For Terry Crews [Comic-Con]

It's long been said that horror and comedy are very closely connected to each other. Often, these two genres make audiences feel some sort of adrenaline rush, whether it's from a funny joke or a scary kill. That is why many comedy actors often do quite well in horror movies and vice versa. The importance of recognizing the similarities between horror and comedy is not lost upon Terry Crews, who will star in the upcoming anthology series "Tales of the Walking Dead." /Film's Jacob Hall attended the show's panel at San Diego Comic-Con, where it was revealed that Crews did a little more than fan out over seeing "The Walking Dead" cast in real life.

"Legitimately, I hugged them all," he recounted, "like 'you're alive! You're here!'"

Crews was a big fan of "The Walking Dead" before being offered the chance to star in its spinoff, but this horror role has been years in the making for him. He took the opportunity to show his appreciation for the movie that made him a horror fan for life. Chances are it probably did the same for you, as well.

"I'm gonna take everybody here back to 1968," he began, "Duane Jones, the star of 'Night of the Living Dead.' First time I ever saw a Black hero who was literally running the show."

There is a lot that you can discuss when it comes to George A. Romero's zombie classic. Even more than 50 years later, the film's metaphors and commentary are still being discussed and welcomed, especially in regards to how the film's colorblind casting resulted in a milestone for Black representation in media. Crews, who was born in 1968, talked about how watching the movie was a revelatory moment for him.

"I've never seen anything like that," he recalled of his first time watching the film, "but then, when I got to the end, and I saw the opportunity for social commentary in that way, I saw the power of what well-crafted horror could do."

And well-crafted it was. "Night of the Living Dead" is often argued as one of, if not the best horror movie ever made, a huge feat given the sheer amount of great movies in the genre, and that's not without merit. The deliberate escalation of tension, the poignant social and class commentary that evolved as the film progressed, and of course, Jones' performance, whose line delivery and mannerisms elevated what could have been a generic guy trying to survive an apocalypse into a complex and tragic hero.

"Tales of the Walking Dead" premieres on AMC+ on August 14, 2022.