Horror Icon George A. Romero Passes Away

Fans of the zombie horror genre suffered a major loss today. One of the greatest innovators in cinema, George A. Romero passed away today at the age of 77. Romero was the mind behind ‘Night Of The Living Dead’ and several other ‘Dead’ films. He is widely considered the father of the modern-day zombie, and his movies are often cited as the inspiration for several of today’s most popular directors.

Romero got his first big break with what is arguably his most beloved project ‘Night Of The Living Dead.’ Debuting in 1968, Night Of The Living Dead is one of the crowning jewels of cinema. Combining truly frightening visuals, with a (at the time) never before seen story, Romero instantly made himself a hot commodity. His next three films didn’t fare as well as his first, but he was able to rebound ten years later with the sequel to his first smash hit, ‘Dawn Of The Dead.’ This time, his film became more of a social commentary, and less of a fright fest. The film highlighted the increasing materialization of human society, with the zombie apocalypse taking place mostly inside a Pittsburgh shopping mall. 

His next few entries in the ‘Dead’ series followed the same suit, being commentaries on the current state of society as told through a zombie apocalypse. In 2004, Universal Studios green-lit a remake for ‘Dawn Of The Dead’ directed by Zack Snyder. The remake had both critical praise and extreme detractors, facing criticisms from all angles. Many people disliked the new vision for zombies, while most simply hated to see a new take on the original. Zombies were no longer slow and menacing, they were fast, agile, and much more intelligent than Romero’s. There were talks of a Snyder helmed sequel, but it never saw the light of day.

Romero was supposed to be producing a new zombie series for AMC titled ‘Empire Of The Dead.’ That project was announced back in 2014, but has since stagnated. Romero passed away in his sleep after what was called a “brief, but aggressive” battle with lung cancer.