George A. Romero, Father Of The Modern Zombie, Dead At 77
George A. Romero, the Hollywood horror director best known for his zombie movies, passed away this weekend. His best-known work, 1968’s Night of the Living Dead, was created with friends on a crowdfunded budget of $114,000. He was inspired by Richard Matheson’s book I Am Legend, and based the storyline on what must have happened at the beginning of the apocalypse instead of after.
Until Romero introduced his iconic take on zombies, there wasn’t a general consensus as to what constituted one. Depictions of zombies ran the gamut from the literal dead to people that were simply hypnotized. Night of the Living Dead defined to the world all the traits we now expect from zombies — the decaying flesh, the shambling walk, the growls for brains.
Despite its permanent mark on pop culture, Living Dead never made Romero rich….due to incompetence on the part of the studio that released the film, it fell into the public domain. But he bounced back with multiple sequels. Some were well-received (1978’s Day of the Dead is a horror classic) while others were panned or outright ignored (such as his most recent films like Survival of the Dead).
Romero had been battling lung cancer for a while and passed in his sleep surrounded by his family. He was 77 and leaves behind a wife and three children.
sidney
July 17, 2017 @ 7:54 pm
I have watched Night Of The Living Dead before and I did not like the film at all.
Shine_Spirit
July 17, 2017 @ 8:01 pm
I took some time to assimilate this news. His death is a great loss to the fans and to the world of cinema as a whole. 😳
I thank him so much for making me like zombie movies (I mean… the real ones ;)).
wallet
July 18, 2017 @ 3:38 am
I am a lover of the zombie apocalypse movies, and George Andrew Romero was one of the best filmmakers of this kind of genre.He had big plans in realizing a new zombie movie, something new and interesting. Now he is dead, petty.
I am sorry for him and his family, God rest his soul in peace!
harijobs
July 18, 2017 @ 4:29 am
I feel sad and sorry and this is a very big loss for the film industry. I love zombie movies and he is a legend. He will always be remembered for all of his great works that he has given for us. Only two days back I watched Night of the living dead upon my father's suggestion and I really liked the movie. May his soul rest in peace. 🙁