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George A. Romero is a name firmly on the radar of any horror movie fan, mostly for his transformation of the genre through the late ‘60s and ‘70s and in particular his development of the zombie, which earned him the nickname 'Grandfather of the Zombies'. Brought up on classic monster movies and EC comics (paid homage to in his 1982 film Creepshow), his films possess the same nature of visually graphic details combined with moral elements.
The director's first foray into the world of zombies was with Night of the Living Dead (1968); this proved to be a cult classic and one of the most influential independent movies ever made. With this movie, Romero brought to the mainstream audience a level of violence and gore not normally acceptable and its popularity helped to create the beginnings of the modern horror film. It was also the first of the notorious Living Dead trilogy, which continued the themes of Night of the Living Dead. While Dawn of the Dead (1978) was met with equal praise, helping to cement Romero's reputation, Day of the Dead (1985) is often considered the least influential of the three despite introducing the idea that through scientific research zombies can be trained (it presents Bub, the first 'friendly' zombie).
However, after a 20 year absence from the zombie genre, Romero returned to reawaken the Living Dead trilogy with Land of the Dead (2005). He followed this with Diary of the Dead (2008) and Survival of the Dead earlier this year. These films continue the same themes but with new CGI effects, making them worthy add-ons to the series. Diary of the Dead even provides one of Romero's best zombie killings: a defibrillator to the head. Although Romero is most recognisable for his influence on the zombie genre he also helped to reinvent the vampire in his movie Martin (1978). Here he strips back the mysticism of the vampire legend in favour of a 17 year-old boy who drugs his victims to drink their blood, providing an interesting character study along the way.
What sets Romero's films apart from many modern horrors is the social commentary behind the obvious violence. In an interview with Barnes&Noble.com, Romero claimed “I've always felt real horror was next door to us...that the scariest monsters are our neighbours”. Romero's stumbling zombies often appear harmless next to the deliberate violence of the humans. He picked up on the fear, spread by the Vietnam War, of the horrors mankind could inflict upon each other and therefore whilst his films appear to be an assault against mankind, he is often pointing the finger directly at us. The influence of the Vietnam War is made explicit in the The Crazies (1973), where a local priest sets himself on fire, presenting a clear anti-war image. Another obvious use of social commentary in his films is his satirical attack on American consumerism in Dawn of the Dead (1978), where his survivors take shelter in a shopping mall infested with zombies who have been subconsciously drawn there.
The lasting legacy of Romero's films can be proved by the amount of modern remakes such as The Crazies (which was released earlier this year) and spoofs such as Shaun of the Dead (2004). Romero has even created an “App of the Dead” for iPhones, which enables users to “zombify” photos of themselves. Although Romero has already created a lasting notoriety for himself, he continues to plug his zombie vision ensuring that his legacy will live on long after his death, much like the characters in his films!
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