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Of all the zombie films ever created upon this twisted Earth, the classic works of George A. Romero stand atop the grisly heap of busted brainpans, savaged human entrails, and mangled corpses. His trilogy of mind-bending zombie horror: NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, DAWN OF THE DEAD, and DAY OF THE DEAD simply contains some of the most prolific horror epics ever created. Romero's ground-breaking work influenced countless film makers the world over with these three films: from the tidal wave of Italian zombie movies of the late 70s and 80s (led by the incredible work of LUCIO FULCI) to the neo-splatter classic DEAD ALIVE (by New Zealander PETER JACKSON) to the domestic favorites like the RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD series or THE DEAD NEXT DOOR. George A. Romero is the Father of the Modern Zombie Movement in every sense of the word. Now fall to your knees and pay homage to your Daddy!
Romero's vision of the dead rising from their graves to feast upon the flesh of the living in an unspeakable Zombie Holocaust COMPLETELY changed the way that America (and indeed, the world) viewed zombies. Before the infectiously badass NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD was released in 1968, zombies were inseperable from their traditional Voodoo roots. Zombies in film were almost always the products of sinister voodoo priests, wicked curses, or other such forms of spellcraft. Romero's foray into the realm of the undead completely seperated the zombie from its religious roots and brought it into its own entirely. Thanks to Romero's work, we were exposed to a completely new "Zombie Mythos". Romero helped develop the conventions of modern zombiedom that so many moviemakers take for granted these days. He defined the zombies as cannibals who constantly sought human flesh to devour. He refined the concept of zombies as long dead corpses (in varying stages of physical decomposition) with little or no individual will or intelligence. He created the notion that the zombie dies once its brain is destroyed (the infamous "zombie headshot") and that someone bitten or otherwise greivously wounded by a zombie will, in turn, become a zombie themselves.
What further cemented Romero's DEAD trilogy into its position of supremacy was the whole "Apocalyptic" angle he took to the dead rising. Romero turned his zombies into a force of nature: the impetus for the blood soaked end of all mankind. This was his vision: the way it would all end...with the dead refusing to go silently into the great beyond, but rather ****ing up all of civilization as we know it. Romero created an incredible horror splinter genre this way: the notion of the "Zombie War". The Zombie War, or "Zombie Holocaust Concept" as it is sometimes called by retarded, glue sniffing street mimes put a spin onto the entire trilogy that allowed for classic "siege" situations to arise where small bands of humans must stave off massive onslaughts of hungry undead. Whether the last stands took place in an old farmhouse, a shopping mall, or in an underground military complex: they were all memorable battlegrounds where humanity met its grisly end at the hands of the zombie hordes. His films also developed the unmistakable air of lawlessness and chaos that accompanied the collapse of humanity. With civilization being ravaged by the rise of the dead- everything was suddenly possible. Looting and murder, rape and pillage were all possible now that there were no more laws to restrict or punish you. Gangs of murderous thugs could now roam the earth and prey upon human and zombie indiscriminately. You could walk into a gun store or supermarket and simply steal whatever the hell you wanted: money didn't mean **** any more (zombie holocaust has a way of ****ing up economies). Basically, you were on your own. The law of the jungle was in effect and it was up to you to save your own ***.
With these little nuggets of background information in your possession now- you should be primed and ready to experience the eternal classics that Father Romero hath wrought. These movies are ABSOLUTE REQUIREMENTS for ANY horror fan. For those of you who have forsaken these fine flicks and passed them over- you should hang your head in eternal shame. For those of you who have not heard of these flicks in more than just passing reference: now is your time to learn about each of these LORDS OF THE GENRE. Now.... with all of this formality horse **** dispensed with- pull up a chair: you've got ringside seat for THE END OF THE WORLD!
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