Connect with us

News

What George A. Romero Meant to Horror and His Fans

Published

on

Just when you thought 2017 couldn’t suck any harder than it already does, we lose another massive legend. We lost George A. Romero today and I still haven’t processed it. I knew I wanted to write something for him but I found myself just staring at the screen wondering where to even start.

It’s easy for people to say, “He just made movies, why are you so upset?” We’re upset because he didn’t JUST make movies and his movies weren’t JUST movies. This man created a genre, a movement.  He made a community and a fandom. Whether you loved his movies or hated them, his legacy is undeniable.

The reason you think of flesh-eater when you think of a zombie is because of George A. Romero. Before him, zombies were the product of voodoo and magic. A stolen soul used to be a slave. He single handedly changed an entire genre. He’s the reason we have The Walking Dead. He’s the reason for any zombie walk you’ve ever been to and any zombie video games you’ve played. The father of flesh-eaters. He made the brain-eating, shambling, decomposing hordes that we know of as zombies today.

George A. Romero

Georgeo A. Romero and Stephen King. Image courtesy of Pinterest

I first encountered his work when I saw his collaboration with Stephen King for Creepshow as a child. It was one of the reasons I love horror so much. It was scary, goofy and gorgeous. It still gives me the creeps to this day. I then fell in love with Night of the Living Dead. I had old copies, new copies, copies with Elvira commentary. The combination of that movie and Resident Evil made me the zombie fanatic I am today. And the reason Resident Evil has flesh eaters is due to his creation of the entire genre!

I had the pleasure of meeting him almost a decade ago. I traveled to Texas just for the five minute interaction I would get with him. He was one of the nicest people you’d ever meet and always made time for fans. He never hurried them; never made them feel like just a number in line and always had some conversation and a smile when it was their turn to step up.

Many of you have read from us that he was making a new movie called Road of the Dead and the artwork was released less than two weeks ago. The fate of the movie is unknown at this time but I can only hope that Matt Birman continues what he and Romero started and was excited about. Part of me thinks that he knew this would be his last movie and wanted to go out doing what he loved and what he was known for.

George A. Romero

George with his daughter on the set of “Day of the Dead” with Howard Sherman. Image courtesy of OldPicturesArchive

When it was announced that he was making a new movie, so many people (myself included) were so damn excited. It has been so long since Survival of the Dead. Along with the excitement came the people who complained about how “his movies sucked” or how “he should have quit after Day of the Dead.” But if George A. Romero gave the naysayers anything, it was the opportunity to bitch about something at least, and it never bothered him in the slightest.

George A. Romero

Image by Anne Cusack /Los Angeles Times

His movies were important. Night of the Living Dead had a black lead in 1968! I remember listening to him talk about it. He said that he had the finally finished reel of film being transported in the trunk of his car when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot.

He used Dawn of the Dead to mirror the rise of commercialism in society and used The Crazies to talk about the Vietnam War and the distrust of the military during that time. Diary of the Dead zoned in on our dependency on technology. The list goes on…

I can’t even begin to describe how much this man will be missed by so many. He brought us together: to think, to dress up, to debate, to make friends, to be scared and to laugh. He touched so many lives not just as a filmmaker but as a person. From all of us here at iHorror and around the world…we’re going to miss you George A. Romero, so much.

George A. Romero

Image courtesy of Cinema Blend

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Movies

New Windswept Action Trailer for ‘Twisters’ Will Blow You Away

Published

on

The summer movie blockbuster game came in soft with The Fall Guy, but the new trailer for Twisters is bringing back the magic with an intense trailer full of action and suspense. Steven Spielberg’s production company, Amblin, is behind this newest disaster film just like its 1996 predecessor.

This time Daisy Edgar-Jones plays the female lead named Kate Cooper, “a former storm chaser haunted by a devastating encounter with a tornado during her college years who now studies storm patterns on screens safely in New York City. She is lured back to the open plains by her friend, Javi to test a groundbreaking new tracking system. There, she crosses paths with Tyler Owens (Glen Powell), the charming and reckless social-media superstar who thrives on posting his storm-chasing adventures with his raucous crew, the more dangerous the better. As storm season intensifies, terrifying phenomena never seen before are unleashed, and Kate, Tyler and their competing teams find themselves squarely in the paths of multiple storm systems converging over central Oklahoma in the fight of their lives.”

Twisters cast includes Nope’s Brandon Perea, Sasha Lane (American Honey), Daryl McCormack (Peaky Blinders), Kiernan Shipka (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Nik Dodani (Atypical) and Golden Globe winner Maura Tierney (Beautiful Boy).

Twisters is directed by Lee Isaac Chung and hits theaters on July 19.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

News

Travis Kelce Joins Cast on Ryan Murphy’s ‘Grotesquerie’

Published

on

travis-kelce-grotesquerie

Football star Travis Kelce is going Hollywood. At least that is what Dahmer Emmy award-winning star Niecy Nash-Betts announced on her Instagram page yesterday. She posted a video of herself on set of the new Ryan Murphy FX series Grotesquerie.

“This is what happens when WINNERS link up‼️ @killatrav Welcome to Grostequerie[sic]!” she wrote.

Standing just out of frame is Kelce who suddenly steps in to say, “Jumping into new territory with Niecy!” Nash-Betts appears to be in a hospital gown while Kelce is dressed as an orderly.

Not much is known about Grotesquerie, other than in literary terms it means a work filled with both science fiction and extreme horror elements. Think H.P. Lovecraft.

Back in February Murphy released an audio teaser for Grotesquerie on social media. In it, Nash-Betts says in part, “I don’t know when it started, I can’t put my finger on it, but it’s different now. There’s been a shift, like something’s opening up in the world — a kind of hole that descends into a nothingness…”

There hasn’t been an official synopsis released regarding Grotesquerie, but keep checking back to iHorror for further details.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

Movies

’47 Meters Down’ Getting Third Movie Called ‘The Wreck’

Published

on

Deadline is reporting that a new 47 Meters Down installment is heading into production, making the shark series a trilogy. 

“Series creator Johannes Roberts, and screenwriter Ernest Riera, who wrote the first two films, have co-written the third installment: 47 Meters Down: The Wreck.” Patrick Lussier (My Bloody Valentine) will direct.

The first two films were a moderate success, released in 2017 and 2019 respectively. The second film is titled 47 Meters Down: Uncaged

47 Meters Down

The plot for The Wreck is detailed by Deadline. They write that it involves a father and daughter trying to repair their relationship by spending time together scuba diving into a sunken ship, “But soon after their descent, their master diver has an accident leaving them alone and unprotected inside the labyrinth of the wreck. As tensions rise and oxygen dwindles, the pair must use their newfound bond to escape the wreck and the relentless barrage of bloodthirsty great white sharks.”

The filmmakers are hoping to present the pitch to the Cannes market with production starting in the fall. 

47 Meters Down: The Wreck is the perfect continuation of our shark-filled franchise,” said Byron Allen, founder/chairman/CEO of Allen Media Group. “This film will once again have moviegoers terrified and on the edge of their seats.”

Johannes Roberts adds, “We can’t wait for audiences to be trapped underwater with us again. 47 Meters Down: The Wreck is going to be the biggest, most-intense film of this franchise.”

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading