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George Romero: Are Zombie Films Really Dead?

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I’ve always been a huge fan of George Romero. And if you’re a fan of any sort of zombie films, you should be, too. The director changed the face of the zombie forever with his 1968 indie flick Night of the Living Dead. Everything since has just been more or less been trying to recreate the magic of that black and white masterpiece.

The impact of the film is still being felt today. The popularity of films such as World War Z and television shows like The Walking Dead are proof enough. But despite their popularity, George Romero has been finding some difficulty getting his own ideas out to the public. Is he a victim of his own creation?

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the director makes it very clear that he has, in fact, been pushed out. To quote:

Hollywood Reporter: Do you have thoughts on the future of the Dead franchise?

Romero: I’ve sort of dropped out of it. The Dead are everywhere these days. I think really Brad Pitt killed it. The Walking Dead and Brad Pitt just sort of killed it all. The remake of Dawn of the Dead made money. I think pretty big money. Then Zombieland made money, and then all of a sudden, along comes Brad Pitt and he spends $400 million or whatever the hell to do World War Z. [World War Z author] Max Brooks is a friend of mine, and I thought the film was not at all representative what the book was and the zombies were, I don’t know, ants crawling over the wall in Israel. Army ants. You might as well make The Naked Jungle. As far as I’m concerned, I’m content to wait until sort of zombies die off. My films, I’ve tried to put a message into them. It’s not about the gore, it’s not about the horror element that are in them. It’s more about the message, for me. That’s what it is, and I’m using this platform to be able to show my feelings of what I think.

This certainly is concerning, and the sadness behind these words is overwhelming. Romero’s films are some of the best that the horror genre has to offer. Regardless, it seems as if the passage of time has started to bury the filmmaker’s influence in favor of a more modernized, bubblegum-type zombie.

Zombies really are everywhere. Like the movies, they’ve been slowly closing in on pop culture until that final moment when we are completely overrun. Plants Vs. Zombies. Pride + Prejudice + Zombies. iZombie. The list goes on.

Romero has a point – mostly. It appears that if the image of the zombie has become so iconic that the idea of the undead being a vessel for a metaphor has become old news. Dawn of the Dead was a cynical outlook on consumerism. The creatures here flocked to shopping malls and trudged around mindlessly, much like the media had been commanding them to do throughout most of their lives. With each film, George Romero had been making a statement. These were personal films, ones with meaning and depth. And while I certainly did enjoy Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse, it was mindless fun at best.

I do agree with the Night of the Living Dead creator for the most part. I understand what he is saying about feeling like he has been abandoned by all of these people who have taken influence from him, knowingly or not. However, I think there’s also something that needs to be said about this.

The difference between The Walking Dead and almost every other zombie-themed movie, book, or game, is that the strongest part about it is the human element. For all of the Walkers that can be found in TWD, it’s proven – especially by Negan – that even in a world infested with flesh eaters, the real monsters are still the people. It has always worked best when there is a strong element of human drama. When major characters die, the ratings skyrocket. Which is fine. That’s what happens with a good drama.

The Walking Dead understands human tragedy so much that I’ve heard many people call it a “Soap Opera with zombie cameos – which, in my book, is fine. It’s crossed more than one boundary and upset its fair share of people. Yet, the reason it remains so popular is because of the cast. Maybe the show isn’t making a political statement like Romero, but there is undoubtedly more to the show than just Walkers.

Again, it’s important to note that the show is the exception and not the rule. Zombies elsewhere have taken on a silly, comical appeal. More often than not, the undead rising from the graves are depicted in horror comedies. The more outrageous, and the more you can satirize the idea of a zombie, the better a movie seems to do. It’s an incredibly strange and unexpected trend.

I think that Romero still has it in him to make a good film. I truly do. He’s a smart, likable guy. We just need people to keep his name alive and to keep reminding everyone where The Walking Dead and World War Z came from in the first place. Despite the overabundance of zombies in this day and age, it seems pretty lonely without George A. Romero.

Demand his movies. Wear your Night of the Living Dead shirts. Help keep zombie films…human.

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Brad Dourif Says He’s Retiring Except For One Important Role

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Brad Dourif has been doing movies for nearly 50 years. Now it seems he is walking away from the industry at 74 to enjoy his golden years. Except, there is a caveat.

Recently, digital entertainment publication JoBlo’s Tyler Nichols talked to some of the Chucky television series cast members. During the interview, Dourif made an announcement.

“Dourif said that he’s retired from acting,” says Nichols. “The only reason he came back for the show was because of his daughter Fiona and he considers Chucky creator Don Mancini to be family. But for non-Chucky stuff, he considers himself retired.”

Dourif has voiced the possessed doll since 1988 (minus the 2019 reboot). The original movie “Child’s Play” has become such a cult classic it’s at the top of some people’s best chillers of all time. Chucky himself is ingrained in pop culture history much like Frankenstein or Jason Voorhees.

While Dourif may be known for his famous voiceover, he is also an Oscar-nominated actor for his part in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Another famous horror role is The Gemini Killer in William Peter Blatty’s Exorcist III. And who can forget Betazoid Lon Suder in Star Trek: Voyager?

The good news is that Don Mancini is already pitching a concept for season four of Chucky which might also include a feature-length movie with a series tie-in. So, Although Dourif says he is retiring from the industry, ironically he is Chucky’s friend till the end.

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Editorial

7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch

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The Scream franchise is such an iconic series, that many budding filmmakers take inspiration from it and make their own sequels or, at least, build upon the original universe created by screenwriter Kevin Williamson. YouTube is the perfect medium to showcase these talents (and budgets) with fan-made homages with their own personal twists.

The great thing about Ghostface is that he can appear anywhere, in any town, he just needs the signature mask, knife, and unhinged motive. Thanks to Fair Use laws it’s possible to expand upon Wes Craven’s creation by simply getting a group of young adults together and killing them off one by one. Oh, and don’t forget the twist. You’ll notice that Roger Jackson’s famous Ghostface voice is uncanny valley, but you get the gist.

We have gathered five fan films/shorts related to Scream that we thought were pretty good. Although they can’t possibly match the beats of a $33 million blockbuster, they get by on what they have. But who needs money? If you’re talented and motivated anything is possible as proven by these filmmakers who are well on their way to the big leagues.

Take a look at the below films and let us know what you think. And while you’re at it, leave these young filmmakers a thumbs up, or leave them a comment to encourage them to create more films. Besides, where else are you going to see Ghostface vs. a Katana all set to a hip-hop soundtrack?

Scream Live (2023)

Scream Live

Ghostface (2021)

Ghostface

Ghost Face (2023)

Ghost Face

Don’t Scream (2022)

Don’t Scream

Scream: A Fan Film (2023)

Scream: A Fan Film

The Scream (2023)

The Scream

A Scream Fan Film (2023)

A Scream Fan Film
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Movies

Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

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Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

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