Happy Birthday to the Late George A. Romero (1940-2017)

There are so many names attached to horror movies for various reasons. However, there is one name that stands above them all. The Father of the zombie movie, George A. Romero, paid his dues and more in his life. He created the very idea of that terrifying zombie horde lingering around waiting to strike. Romero made the monsters seem real. Before this we were looking at zombies in a different light, still sticking to its Voodoo roots.

George A. Romero broke a barrier to how we look at the zombie mind.

Father of the zombie genre

A History Lesson

Born in the Bronx, George’s life quickly became one of film. It has been said that he would regularly travel to Manhattan to rent film reels at a young age. He graduated from Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, and from there, history was made. After working on commercials and even filming for Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, he went on to form Image Ten Productions with friends, including John A. Russo, who became a co-writer on several projects. Then; in 1968, George A. Romero made history with his breakout film Night of the Living Dead.

From there; George became the Father of the modern zombie. Movies were popping off left and right using the same type of premise in one way or another. Everyone in this industry has to have at least one George A. Romero memory. When I was a kid, everything the man touched turned to gold. We were given one of the greatest horror films anyone has ever known, then, things disappeared for a while and George worked on movies such as Martin (1977) and Season of the Witch (1972) to hold us over. It didn’t have to be a zombie movie, the man was good at whatever he did.

His movies were not only influential film-wise, they all had social commentary in the background of what was going on. We were given subtle hints as to how brainwashed our society was and where the “us against them” mentality kicked in.

George A. Romero and Steven King

A New Era

After years of waiting, in 2005, we were gifted more zombies with the return of the zombie king in Land of the Dead (2005) followed by Diary of the Dead (2007) and Survival of the Dead (2009). We never thought the good times would end and over the years we were just expecting more, never recognizing the very idea that this can’t just go on forever.

On July 16th, 2017, we were slapped with reality. The Father of the living dead died after a brief battle with lung cancer.  We were left with nothing. The void wouldn’t be filled this time. Little did we know, however; there was still more hidden away. In 2021; Shudder and the George A. Romero Foundation released a long-lost film of Romero’s entitled The Amusement Park. In my personal opinion, it was the perfect goodbye and I could sleep easier knowing we were left full.

In Memoriam

I had a lot of very odd heroes at a very young age, and they were all monsters. However; I learned about the person behind the film. I saw the passion and just how friendly George presented himself to others. This could be the reason he was allowed to rip apart an entire mall during their closing hours. George A. Romero did whatever he could to make his visions, he created a very strong circle of friends such as Steven King and Tom Savini. He will always have a very special place in my childhood heart that carried over 41 years with the same passion as I did back then.

The greatest gift we have gotten, however, is the announcement of Twilight of the Dead, George A. Romero’s final movie. While the movie is in production, I will gladly sit back and wait for the moment to relive one more George A. Romero zombie film.

About Craig Lucas

I hail from rural PA where there isn't much to do except fixate on something. Horror was, and still is my fixation. I have 35 years of horror experience under my belt, I love the horror community and it loves me.

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