The “godfather of the dead,” George Romero, died yesterday morning after a “brief and aggressive battle with lung cancer.” The director was the proprietor of the zombie genre, with Night of the Living Dead as the first zombie film of its kind.
George Romero’s films were more than just flesh-eating monsters, they were a cryptic look on mortality and humanity. His films were bloody and glorious yet so relatable that it made us sure we were due for a zombie apocalypse any day now.
So as a tribute to George Romero, we list down our favorite of his zombie movies, and a few that were inspired by him along the way.
1. Night of the Living Dead
The cult classic that started it all. This 1968 film in black and white focused on a group who take refuge in an abandoned house. Corpses in the backyard come to life and try to devour them. Chaos ensues.
2. Dawn of the Dead
The 1978 original showcases a whole population turning into the living dead. In the US, a small group finds a mall as a safe haven from the hordes of the undead outside. But how long can they stay safe inside from the undead and from each other?
3. Dawn of the Dead remake
A 2004 remake directed by Zack Snyder goes by the same format of the original but with zombies that tread at a faster pace. More jump scares are positioned throughout the movie and feature zombie versions of Burt Reyolds, Jay Leno, and Rosie O’ Donnell.
4. Day of the Dead
The 1985 film was the final of the “Dead Trilogy.” The plot revolves around scores of the undead zeroing in on a bunker filled with soldiers and scientists.
5. Land of the Dead (2005)
George Romero’s come back zombie film after two decades focuses on a post-apocalyptic world where humans live in a walled city to protect them from the masses of the undead. Social classes are still prevalent and some zombies are evolving in terms of intelligence.
6. Diary of the Dead (2007)
George Romero’s reset button on the post-apocalyptic zombie world with a film that documents the initial outbreak at the present. The protagonist is a student who wanted to produce a low-budget fright film but instead documents the start of a zombie outbreak that the media isn’t showing the world.
7. Survival of the Dead (2010)
Arguably George Romero’s weakest link, the film follows a group of marooned soldiers who find shelter on an island with two warring families. The island is overrun by the undead, of course, and the soldiers realize that zombies are the least of their worries.
8. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
The UK’s version of Dawn of the Dead, this hilarious zombie flick features duo Simon Pegg and Nick Frost reclaiming their lives in a land filled with the undead. Directed by Edgar Wright, the film is a colorful peek into the resilience of man in dire times.
9. Juan of the Dead (2011)
Another hilarious adaptation of Dawn of the Dead, this zombie flick is set in Cuba. The protagonist is a deadbeat who is only good at making trouble. When he and his best friend realize that the people around him are no longer their normal selves, they make a profit killing the undead. The film also leaks some underlying issues on communism.
10. Train to Busan (2016)
A proud Asian counterpart, Train to Busan is a harrowing tale set in South Korea about a zombie outbreak. The drama-filled film not only shows the horrors of the undead but also reveals the horrors of humanity as well.
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