Earlier this afternoon The Los Angeles Times reported that horror legend and creator of the modern-day zombie George A. Romero passed away from lung cancer. Romero is most famous for his earliest film, Night of the Living Dead. He directed five sequels, including the superb Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead. While his zombie films are his best known, Romero also helmed Martin, The Crazies, and Stephen King’s Creepshow, among others.
What separates Romero from many other horror filmmakers was his commitment to using his films to address social issues. The early Living Dead films featured black protagonists in times when that was rare. It would be hard to watch the end of Night of the Living Dead or the opening raid of Dawn of the Dead without seeing the parallels to our modern day racial struggles.
Romero’s films were funny and scary, certainly among the best zombie films ever made. Without him, there’d be no The Walking Dead, World War Z, or 28 Days Later. There wouldn’t have zombie craze in the late 2000s.
From everyone here at Wicked Horror, we offer our deepest condolences to Romero’s family and friends.
