“Night of the Living Dead”

For one night only in two weeks, the Plaza Theatre in Miamisburg will screen one of the most influential horror films of all time, with an appearance from a special guest.

As part of the Plaza Theatre’s month of horror, you can see George A. Romero’s 1968 classic “Night of the Living Dead” at 4 and 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 28.

According to the Plaza Theater, John Russo, co-screenwriter with director Romero of the movie, will be in attendance. Following the screenings, theater manager and filmmaker Johnny Catalano will moderate a Q&A session with Russo.

“Night”s impact is impossible to overstate. While the term “zombie” had existed before — in film, as early as 1932’s “White Zombie” with Bela Lugosi — those films were based on the form from Haitian folklore, where the zombies were just reanimated dead turned into slaves to do the bidding of the villain.

“Night” introduced the concept of the slow-moving, brain-dead flesh-eater that can be killed only by a bullet (or hammer) to the head. Besides the Romero-directed sequels, it spawned homages, remakes, TV shows and video games. Theatrically, it was also a pioneer in “midnight movies,” oddball films that developed cult audiences by being screened at late hours.