The George A. Romero collection

The George A. Romero collection (A review)

Before I begin this review of what is a legendary horror series, by a true living legend, I should mention I'm a bit bias in my review. I'm a HUGE fan of every George Romero zombie film and endeavor imaginable and have been since I was a small kid and watched the original Night of the Living Dead. Just so we're straight, the films I'll be discussing are;

Night of the Living Dead
Dawn of the Dead
Day of the Dead
Land of the Dead
Diary of the Dead

I'm not even touching upon the entire genre that George Romero spawned, or the numerous remakes of his works, only the Romero originals. Though I tend to love all Zombie films (Less made by Uwe), herein you'll only find my reviews of the movies that George Romero created, after creating and redefining the genre.

First up on the list is Night of the Living Dead, the movie that startled it all:) Released in 1968, Night of the Living Dead turned the horror world on its ear. The film was co-written by John Russo and George A. Romero and directed by Romero, who then was making his feature film directorial debut. Creating history and a whole new (Post apocalyptic zombie film) genre on a $114,000 independent budget couldn't have been easy and took true genius to accomplish.

Night of the Living Dead was touted as too explicit and violent upon its release in 68', and the films social commentary on the Vietnam war was considered "subversive." The library of congress registered the film as "historically, culturally or aesthetically important" in 1999 and internationally the film grossed some $30 million dollars. The film featured a small band of survivors in a rural Pennsylvania town, fighting off a zombie infestation. The main hero Ben (Duane Jones) was one of the first black heroes in a predominantly white movie and Heroine Barbra (Judith O'Dea) played the role of the hysterical woman (For the time) sublimely.

Harry Cooper (Karl Hardman) played the role of the slimy antagonist to the letter and the atmosphere the characters created gave that air of overwhelming dread. A 100% GENUINE classic, that still holds up well...far beyond its time.

Next on the list is Dawn of the Dead, the tremendous follow up to the cult classic Night of the Living Dead. Dawn of the Dead is absolute proof that sequels can be as good as the original or even better. Dawn of the Dead pits several survivors in a mall, fighting for their lives against the zombie hordes, as well as other humans! More gore, more awesome music, more social commentary, more fun and buckets of visceral entertainment are all what make Dawn of the Dead one of the best films in the entire zombie film genre.

Dawn of the Dead redefines and revolutionized the zombie horror genre and set a new standard for horror and gore films the world over. The actors were shear PERFECTION and played their roles to the letter, as did their zombie costars. Released in 1978, Dawn of the Dead has been and is still regarded as one of Romero's finest pieces and overall one of the best horror movies of all time. Upon it's release in 1978, Dawn of the Dead grossed over $55 million dollars, wildly unimaginable for a horror film of its time.

Third in the collection is Day of the dead, a film that gets mixed reviews throughout even the Romero Fan base.Day of the Dead is one of those love it or hate it films, which only the most die hard fan (Like myself) could or would defend. The film pit another band of survivors inside of a secret military base, where awful experiments are being conducted on zombies. Though the plot is solid and the acting is well done, the parts of Bub and the mad scientist were played a bit too over the top.

While Day of the Dead is still filled with gore and social commentary, it seems to be more worried about making the viewer feel compassion for Bub. Yes, compassion for the living dead! Don't get me wrong, this is still a decent zombie film and totally fits in with Romero's others, but this is by far the least favorite of mine (and many others) in the series.

Land of the dead is the first truly big George A. Romero Zombie film, with the full backing of Hollywood. Not only an amazing film, Land of the Dead also moved George Romero out of the Indy film circuit, and into the mainstream eye. Land of the Dead not only had Hollywood money, but also Hollywood powerhouse actors John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper, Simon Baker and Asia Argento. Land of the Dead marked a return to the genre and a massive one at that for George Romero. Simon Pegg of Shaun of the Dead acclaim, even makes a cameo in Land of the Dead.

Land of the Dead takes place in the future, after the events of the other living dead classics. In one of the last remaining cities occupied on earth, Zombies lurk just across a river and most of the human populace are considered lesser citizens. Worse still, the zombies seem to be evolving under the control of a central figure known as, "Big daddy."

This is truly a Zombie masterpiece and any genuine Zombie fan would agree that Land of the Dead was a phenomenal use of old and new techniques blended to create the special effects. Chock full of gore, TONS of social commentary and commentary on the Bush administration, this is the exact movie that George A. Romero should have made!!!

Diary of the Dead is the newest installment to Romero's Zombie lineup, and is a complete retelling of the first days of the zombie apocalypse. Though it deviates a bit from other Romero Zombie films, Diary of the Dead is an amazingly horrific thrill ride, sure to appease the harshest Zombie critic. Think the "Blare zombie project" or "CloverZombie" and you've got the right idea of this motion picture.

Diary of the Dead is absolutely magnificent and the "handheld" camera work was masterfully executed. This is a crisp and refreshing "rejigging" of the Zombie franchise that George Romero created and continues to reinvent and keep new.

Diary of the Dead features some University of Pittsburgh film students, filming a horror movie. On one day while filming they hear reports about an actual zombie outbreak. While trying to get home, the young students and their awesome (yet alcoholic) professor encounter the first batch of Zombies. Soon enough all hell breaks loose and is all captured on camera by several of the survivors. This is not only a retelling, but a fresh approach to independently produced horror in general. I hope the next fifty (please if there is any god out there listening let George Romero live that long) more zombie films by George Romero, are done exactly like this one!

Diary of the Dead brings tons of social commentary, oodles of that gore we've come to expect, an awesome story, excellent actors and a great new and fresh retelling of the Romero Zombie mythos. Diary of the Dead has only rekindled my love of all things Zombie and all things Romero!

Of course no review of the Romero Zombie films would be complete without talking about the incredible work of special effects grand high master of all godly SE artists, Tom Savini. Mr. Savini's incredible work has always been far ahead of its time and when you think of visceral gore special effects, Tom Savini SHOULD be the first name to mind! The only film in this series that Tom Savini didn't work on was the original Night of the Living Dead, because he was serving in Vietnam at the time. Tom himself said that the horrors he'd witnessed in Vietnam, the reality of it, directly translates to his special effects realism and expertise.

Tom Savini is a living legend who is as revered in the horror community, as George Romero himself (And rightfully so).

The George A. Romero Zombie films are the pinnacle of horror, are my all time favorite movies and are an incredible piece of American filmmaking. Now I just need a bumper sticker that says, "I'd rather be hunting zombies" and I'm set!