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What becomes of George Romero?

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Temps de lecture : 11 min

There are a lot of horror master John Carpenter, Wes Craven, Lucio Fulci, Argento and so on. This is one of them which will be discussed today. Many considered the inventor of zombies, but more generally the inventor of the zombie movie. You will understand, this is George A. Romero that we will talk. If you do not know who this gentleman is that you are still a noob in the field of horror because it's a legend.

George Romero began making films at the age of 14 with an 8mm camera, but at age 28 he really began to make a business by founding the company Ten Productions Imagewith friends. They use the company to raise $ 114,000 in order to direct his first feature film:Night of the Living Dead in 1968.

It is said that on this film Romero had some trouble with the American justice during the filming of one scene. It would be equipped with a dummy before getting on the roof to fire him and throw him in the garden under the lens of his camera and the police look dumb founded by the spectacle that will make him undoubtedly a reminder of the law.

Night of the Living Dead finally went to the cinema and brought more than $4 million making it the most profitable independent film in cinema history.

Night of the Living Dead

With this success, George do not remain naturally there. He realized in 1971 There's Always Vanilla, A dramatic comedy. The year 1972 saw a comeback in horror cinema with Season of the Witch, a horrific drama about a housewife who tries curiosity to witchcraft before finally plunging into a murderous psychosis.

Season of the Witch

In 1973 Romero executed The Crazies which tells the story of infecting (nothing to do with zombies) that attack the city of Evans City. A remake will be produced in 2010 bearing the sweet name The Crazies and directed by Breck Eisner.

After four years of absence, the director realizes that remains for me one of the most striking vampire movies I've seen: Martin.
The film tells the story of Martin, a young man of 17 kills and violates the purpose of drinking the blood of his victims dismembered prior. Where the film is strong for the time, is that Romero Via uncle Martin, makes us wonder if it is really a vampire or a psychopath.

Martin

But what makes celebrity Romero is his sharp criticism of America of the time through his zombie films. So it is natural that it is the kind that makes it known with zombie. Head of absolute work of the director, the film denounces the consumer society and is controversial in France following the gore effects of exploding brains, blood spurting and runaway bowels.zombie will even get its remake in 2004 by the great Zack Snyder entitled Dawn of the Dead. Not as critical as the work of Romero this remake remains a key film that relaunched the current craze for the living dead.

zombie

Romero does not wish to be cataloged and therefore makes films of all styles and his next feature film is no exception to this rule. He decided to make the film in 1981 Knightriders, a medieval jousting on GN bottom completely shifted motorcycle and worship. With this film, Romero leaving aside the violence of his previous films to leave only a protester approach.

But the instinct and passion are stronger than everything and Romero returns to the horror realizing in 1982 Creepshow, A series of five sketches messages by Stephen King in which the developer can combine humor and horror. As always, the film will be a success related $21 million on a bet of 8,000,000.

Creepshow

In 1985 The Day of the Dead third part of the saga of zombies Romero out to the movies. Still as critical action, it is lesser when compared to Zombie, but the film remains a critical and commercial success. For his next film, it will remain in the field of horror realizing Monkey Shines. A film that tells the story of a paraplegic man who will take interest in life when he will be offered a monkey named Ella who, unfortunately, will eventually become violent towards those who approach his master.

In 1990, Romero will partner with his friend Dario Argento to achieve each one of the segments of the film Two Evil Eyes which combines humor and horror and both derived from two stories from the master Edgar Allan Poe.

Two years later, he realizes what will be his first commercial failure: The share of Darkness. Adapted from the novel Stephen King the same name, the film tells the story of a writer who is now linked to a series of murders. But he knows he is not to blame, but someone trying to make him wear the hat. The film was made with a budget of 15 million, but in 10 reported that what makes a commercial failure despite good reviews and the three awards received.

The share of Darkness

The Break Romero!

This failure a little depressed Romero who will return to the cinema after 8 years. Bruiser tells the story of a man waking up one morning without a face, having lost its identity and will embark on a revenge against all those who have hit her to humiliated. The film will not experience the expected success and Romero to plunge again in a silence of five years before returning to basics with Land of the Dead.

In 2005 therefore, George Romero out what will be the fourth installment of the saga of the Zombies: Land of the Dead. In this film, the director developed its zombies by giving them an intelligence, certainly primary, but makes them more dangerous.
With a budget of 15 million, the film brought back about 47 making it a commercial success Romero waiting for over ten years.

Land of the Dead

This success will give wings to Romero which will launch in its fifth installment of his saga: Diary of the Dead. Riding the wave of found footage, it signs the still critical exacerbated the company, but especially television. Shot on a budget of $2.5 million, the film brought in $5.3M which makes it a little commercial success, but enough to announce the sixth installment of his saga.

The year 2009 will see on their screens Survival of the Dead, Sixth in the saga of the Zombies Romero which tells the story of a lost humanity amid the zombies while on an island, a war between two families starts. While the budget was $4 million, the film brought $725,000 on US soil making it a dismal failure for Romero.

In 2010, the director fate Solitary Isle, a horror film that is still not released in France and tells the story of a group of people on an expedition to an island and find themselves facing the dark forces.
He also had to go out the same year Diamond Dead, a musical horror on rock'n'roll background in the line of Rocky Horror Show. But the enthusiasm of fans for serious zombie films such as Dawn of the Dead and more recently The Walking Dead contributed to what fans abandon the film to see canceled.

And now ?

Since 2010 it is flat calm to the director. The only time you hear his name, that's tributes in some video games like Call of Duty Black Ops.
If it seems that he left the cinema, Romero none the less in love with her and zombies created the comics Empire of the Dead, available in two volumes currently only in the US.
Aged 74 years on 4 February, I do not think the master will resume soon his camera to make us dream, but one does not exclude the other. Harrison Ford will resume his role Han Solo and perhaps that of Indiana Jones. It's less physical for Romero. So maybe we have our chances.

George A. Romero


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