Library budget cuts have led to some scares. But not the kind you might think.

Today at 5:30, the Hilton Library is showing Night of the Living Dead as part of their weekly film series. The 1968 low-budget horror classic is a historically important film that still retains the ability to scare without using the over-the-top gore of today’s horror films. That makes it an attractive prospect for library viewing. But so does the fact that it can be shown for free.

“It’s basically in the public domain,” Maplewood young adult librarian Timur Davis said. The film is actually in the public domain, interestingly enough, because its original film distributor failed to put a copyright indication on prints of the film.

Earlier this year, the library’s budget was slashed as part of a town-wide effort to cut costs. The library’s film budget was hit. But the demand for film screenings remained.

Davis said the library has been showing mainly anime films in its Teen Summer Programs, which have been popular. But, Davis said, the teens coming to the library for movies have requested some scarier fare, and that he was interested in showing something different.

“We chose to show it because a lot of kids are asking about scary movies. A lot of new scary movies are pretty out there,” Davis said. He said that previously, the library showed the PG-13 rated Prom Night. NOTLD, he believes is similarly age-appropriate.

“It’s not like Saw IV,” he said.