Vale – George A Romero
The director who created an entire genre of horror film, George Romero, has passed away.
There’s little doubting the iconic status of George A Romero. An accomplished and legendary director in Hollywood, Romero is best known for his seminal zombie film Night of The Living Dead (made in 1968!), a film from which spawned an entire subgenre of horror. Until Romero’s debut, a “zombie” was typically a mindless thug or henchman, often wordless and almost always impaired in either speech or manner; with Night Of The Living Dead, Romero turned the phrase “Zombie” into its current meaning – that of an animated walking corpse intent on devouring human flesh. The “Living Dead” brand would go on the spawn countless sequels, clones and imitators, notable in modern times for Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later (which gave us “fast moving (or swarming) zombies”), The Walking Dead, and Edgar Wright’s parody of the genre in Shaun of The Dead.
Romero infused many horror elements into his film, which, aside from the “Dead” franchise, included The Crazies and Creepshow, while alternatively mainstream films such as Knightriders (1981) dotted his filmography. Romero is also known for directing The Dark Half (1993), Martin (1978), and Monkeyshines (1988), but it’s his zombie output that has given him his hugely influential status as the grandfather of modern zombie horror.
A complete rundown of Dead films is available across the internet, but a smattering of them include Day of The Dead (1985), Land of The Dead (2005) and Survival Of The Dead (2009). Romero was also a producer on a number of sequels and remakes (including a terrific 2010 reboot of The Crazies), and is known for his cameo appearances in films (including Silence Of The Lambs).
The legend that is George A Romero passed away on July 16th, aged 77, following a short battle with lung cancer.
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