Damn, there a planned tribute...thanks alot DeNiro :p
Actually, at least I wouldn't have to talk about Romero's MONKEY SHINES(yuck) so in actual reverse, I thank ya DeNiro
Indeed, the DEAD films are basically the holy grail...or at least the public symbolism of it....for the zombie genre. NIGHT is a super-ultra-influential horror film when it rose from the grave in the 1960's. Not to mention that it had a black hero and the role is rather that it didn't *have* to be played by a black actor, and it doesn't reek of tokenism that many well-meaning filmmakers/producers have done in later years.
What also worked for the DEAD films I felt is that Romero never had any real money to work with. The highest budget he ever had was for DAY OF THE DEAD and it was only like $3 million(cut down from the original $6-7 million when Romero refused to cut down the gore to R-rated levels). Because of this, Romero and his crew basically made NIGHT to be a "guerilla-style" horror film that rocked.
Now DAWN OF THE DEAD...that is my favorite film of the series. A horror/action piece that highlights something I only learned the other day....Romero doesn't care for zombie movies. WHAT?!?!?!? No no, he likes them, but he isn't a hardcore fan of it. I mean thats like the Pope saying he isn't a strong catholic
No really, this is understandable in that its one thing to make an action or war or zombie movie, its the small details that could make or break the substantial long-term interest of a flick.
Anyway, I bring that up because this is why the remake of DAWN isn't as good as the original. I mean no slamming the remake, since I found to actually *like* it, despite my initial negative feelings when I learned of it. However, it does lack any social criticisms that Romero injected in his DEAD films that most movie-makers wouldn't think to do(unless they are painfully obvious). NIGHT shows the fact that the small group of living humans, despite the shitty stranding situation outside the abandoned farmhouse, couldn't work together to save themselves which probably is Romero's cynical opinion of manking working things outside of emotions and ego. DAWN of course has the whole slamming of commercialism and of course this line:
Francine Parker: What are they doing? Why do they come here?
Stephen: Some kind of instinct. Memory, of what they used to do. This was an important place in their lives.
And this bit of dialogue occurs when they are on top of the mall's roof looking down on the zombies inside.
Now DAY......the film member of the trilogy that usually gets the beatings by fans....I quite liked. The only thing that I remembered that could be counted as a comment by Romero perhaps is that the small band of living humans left in that bunker are almost devoid of such emotions or normal quirks that make us who we are, save for anger and fustration from the cabin fever of being stuck in some hell-hole for months that they can't escape. I mean you have a scientist in "Frankenstein" that while good-meaning, hes quite a quack. Even the heroine herself isn't exactly "out there" if you get my meaning. Really, you know who the only real human in the movie is? BUB the zombie. Think about it....though DAY OF THE DEAD has a really crappy music score. Urgh
Of course I'm ignoring the great zombie gore F/X, especially DAY OF THE DEAD. FX/make-up artist Tom Savini's masterstroke!
Of course someone told me that the upcoming sequel to the financially-successful DAWN OF THE DEAD remake will be based, idea-wise, from the original bigger-budget alocated DAY OF THE DEAD script that Romero had penned before he had to scale it down due to a reduced-budget, but who knows.
Neverless, I am excited that the DAWN remake has allowed Romero to make his 4th DEAD movie finally with a decent great budget....and the idea that Dennis Hopper starring in a Romero DEAD movie smells of goodness to me(or maybe its just my unwashed socks).
