When they say "Romero movies" they mean zombies, when you hear the word "zombies", you always remember Romero movies. For over 40 years, these two concepts have coexisted in such an inextricable bundle.
Horror Coup
George Romero became interested in filming films in his teens. At the age of 14, he created copyright projects. But the first significant authorial work of the future maestro of the horror genre is the full-length film “The Night of the Living Dead”. The film made a real revolution in the horror genre, defining a kind of subgenre - a movie about zombies. Despite the fact that the picture was shot in black and white, it became one of the most cited and brazenly robbed plagiarists of all stripes, a cult classic of the genre.
Fantastic movie zombie movie
28-year-old George Romero made his debut full-length in four roles: co-author of the script, director, episodic actor (Washington reporter) and cameraman. This seemingly unpretentious, almost amateurish shooting technique, as if accidentally appearing on the screens, the tape of a beginner filmmaker is inherent in all the main signs of a true film style. Some film critics perceived the project as a warning of dystopia, as something like a low-budget horror film Don Siegel's “Invasion of Body Snatchers”. But George Romero himself considers the source of his inspiration at the time of the creation of "The Night ..." the absurd-mystical film of Herc Harvey's "Carnival of Souls".
Filmography before "Dawn ..."
For some time, the director did not manage to break into the industry of high-budget films. After the global success of “The Night of the Living Dead” and thanks to the impressive amount of box office receipts, he removes the dramatic picture “Like Flies to Honey” (1971). Two years later, two horror films go out immediately, one after another: Hungry Wives and Crazy. After a movie appears about a maniac who seriously considers himself a vampire - “Martin” (1977).
1978 was marked by the release of a new horror film about zombies under the eloquent title "Dawn of the Dead", which, like "Night ...", is a huge success. George Romero owes the success of this project to Tom Savini - actor, make-up artist, stuntman and director. The budget of the tape at the time of filming was $ 1,500,000, and the box office exceeded $ 55,000,000. Among other things, Savini's makeup was awarded the prestigious Saturn Film Award. "Dawn ..." paved the way for the director to high-budget film projects.
Significant Horror Director George Romero
The films that followed the second film about zombies in one way or another belonged to the horror genre: “Knights on Wheels”, three parts of “Kaleidoscope of Horrors”, “Monkey Killer”, “Two Evil Looks”. In addition to these pictures, the director shot in 1985 the third zombie tape - “Day of the Dead” (in the domestic box office “Day of the Dead”). Unlike previous works, George Romero made a movie that most closely matches the blurry definition of "arthouse." The third project about the walking dead also did not have an impressive budget ($ 3,500,000), so the script had to be changed several times. After this picture, interest in the work of the living legend of the film industry noticeably subsided, and Zak Snyder, who made a remake of "Dawn of the Dead", revived it.
Rised like a zombie
The new film "Land of the Dead" (2005, in the national box office "Land of the Dead") was advertised as a triumphant return to the film industry, George Romero, a director who has a cult status since the release of his celebrated debut. This picture was supposed to be the final tetralogy about zombies. Horror starred in a very short time, but George Romero lived up to the expectation of thousands of fans of his work. It was really a victorious return of the genius of directing to the mainstream scene. The film was a resounding success, and in 2007 one more work of Romero's “Diaries of the Dead” was released, which cannot be called the fifth episode of the franchise. The director, who presented the world with zombies, begins a new cycle.
One of the great living directors of horror films, instead of an immense catastrophe film, presents a real social study to the audience, but zombies, of course, are attached. In 2009, another project of the director “Survival of the Dead” was released. It looks quite worthy, the only thing that upsets is the hopelessness and sadness with which the atmosphere of the film is oversaturated. I would like the following works of Romeo to show what will be the result after all the "after".