George A. Romero 1940-2017

On this sunny Monday in July I woke up to find that the George A. Romero the Godfather of the Dead had sadly joined his greatest creation in the afterlife. Romero passed away after a “brief but aggressive battle with lung cancer” surrounded by the ones he loved and listening to the score of one of his favorite films, The Quiet Man.

A legendary film maker who took a lifeless joke of a monster and transformed it over three sensational movies into what we recognise today as the modern zombie he used his films to not only scare the living dead out of us but to hold up a blood stained mirror to society. In Night, Dawn and Day of the Dead Romero’s zombies were a satirical social and political metaphor for consumerism and capitalist greed as well as everything wrong with the world at the time they where released.

Without Romero’s awesome zombie trilogy horror today would be very very different and these movies which still shock and scare, inspire and insight, revolt and rebel remain hugely influential with groan filled echoes heard in everything from Shaun of the Dead to the Walking Dead and beyond. Anyone interested in learning more about Romero’s original Night of the Living Dead should get themselves a copy of 2013 Birth of the Living Dead a deeply informative and wonderfully enjoyable documentary on a film whose importance cannot be underestimated or undervalued and a man who gave us the modern vision of zombies.

Although his shambling flesh hungry zombies were his greatest creation the hugely talented director also turned his hand to other genre’s including classic anthology Creepshow and Creepshow 2 both of which he was involved in. Horror fans should also check The Crazies and as well the oddity thats is Knightriders however perhaps his best work came in Martin a film that reinvents the vampire myth the same way he revitalised the living dead.

You can read our reviews of George A. Romero’s work on the links below:

Day of the Dead (1985) Review
http://lovehorror.co.uk/zombies/day-of-the-dead-1985/
Dawn of the Dead (1978) Review
http://lovehorror.co.uk/zombies/dawn-of-the-dead-1978/
Martin (1977) Review
http://lovehorror.co.uk/vampires/martin-1977-review/
Knightriders (1981) Review
http://lovehorror.co.uk/horror-reviews/knightriders-1981-review/
Land of the Dead (2005) Review
http://lovehorror.co.uk/zombies/land-of-the-dead-2005-review/
Creepshow (1982) Review
http://lovehorror.co.uk/monsters/creepshow-1982-review/

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Alex Humphrey

Alex studied film at the University of Kent and went on to work for Universal Pictures in their Post Room gaining an inside look at the movie industry from the very bottom. Constantly writing reviews in everything from local magazines to Hip Hop sites Alex honed his critical skills even spending a brief period as a restaurant critic. Read more

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