George Romero, Grandfather of the Zombie

Today’s the day folks! The man who started it all, aptly titled the ‘Grandfather of the Zombie,’ George A. Romero turns 70 years old.

He’s best known for kicking off the zombie craze with his 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead. In those 96 minutes of glorious black and white, Romero took the audience to a place they had never been before.

For me, my introduction to the movie was an old VHS bootleg I picked up in my hometown’s spring festival. I was browsing through a stack of tapes when the guy at that table stopped me, picked out the Night tape and said “This is what you’re looking for.”  I brought that tape home and watched in awe as the dead came back to life and proceeded to eat people.  I was hooked! Shortly after I watched Dawn of the Dead at a friends house and I’ve been a Romero follower ever since.  His “Dead” series has been through quite a few twists and turns. Some groundbreaking and some disappointing, but it’s always a fun ride walking into one of his movies.

The next installment for the series is due out later this year and will be called “Survival of the Dead.” In the meantime, I think a viewing of Night is in order to honor Mr. Romero. Tonight I’ll be watching the 1969 classic – Millennium Edition of course (never the 30th anniversary re-edited nonsense) – followed by 1990 Tom Savini remake.

Happy Birthday and keep the zombie flicks coming…