---
title: "Zombie Pictures: Romero, the Zombie Godfather"
description: A bite-size overview of George Romero's influence on Zombie pictures, movies, shows, comic books and video games.
image: https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/hs-fs/file-305338229-jpg/images/night3.jpg
---
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# Fantasy Art
# Zombie Pictures: Romero, the Zombie Godfather
Posted by [Catherine Taylor](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/fantasy-art/author/catherine-taylor)
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### Today’s Zombie
In the last decade, Zombie pictures, movies and games have entered the mainstream in a big way. ***The Walking Dead*** has not only seen huge success in its comic book form, but also in the tv show adapted from it. Even an actor as well loved as **Brad Pitt** produced and starred in a film adaptation of **Max Brook’s *World War Z***. Yet even as the genre grows, it is important to remember that it owes a huge debt to the **the wonderfully twisted mind of George Romero**.
### *Night of the Living Dead*
Rural Pennsylvania may not seem an obvious place for the genre to arise. It is neither a metropolis full to the brim with potential zombies, nor is it a place known for voodoo magic. Yet thanks to Romero’s seminal ***Night of the Living Dead*** it is undeniably the birthplace of the **modern zombie** film. Before, zombies had a vague definition as undead enemies, but it was Romero who defined them as **shambling corpses relentlessly seeking human flesh.** This film also started the genre’s tendency to comment on the **human condition**. As we watch a motley group of survivors try to make it through a single night, we also witness their struggle even to get along with each other. *Night of the Living Dead* makes the viewer question whether the zombies are the real threat, or **whether the true evil lies in the heart of man.**
‘I always thought of the zombies as being about revolution, **one generation consuming the next**.’
- George A. Romero
### *Dawn of the Dead*
If *Night of the Living Dead* is the birth of the modern zombie, then Romero’s ***Dawn of the Dead*** represents its **coming of age**. *Dawn of the Dead* introduced the idea that the zombie menace went beyond the immediate area with the first **Zombie Apocalypse**. In the modern age it is common to give films a large scale, as **entire cities become wastelands** in the pursuit of suspense.
Yet in the late 70s this was not the case, so ***Dawn of the Dead* broke new ground – while still restraining the action mainly to one location: **the whole of the United States and probably the rest of the world is succumbing to the plague of zombies while the protagonitsts decide to take shelter in a shopping mall – Romero impressively combines the dystopian vision of worldwide demise with the intimate setting afforded by their self-imprisonment. And, of course, who can fail to see the parallels drawn between flesh-eating zombies and **materialistic, advertising-induced zombie shoppers** that populate these palaces of capitalism...
‘A zombie film is not fun without a bunch of stupid people running around and observing how they **fail to handle the situation**.’
- George A. Romero
### Legacy
While these films are entertaining and important in their own right, it is illuminating to recognize the influence they have had on subsequent movies, comic books and video games. ***The Walking Dead*** built on Romero’s ideas and legacy in a big way. *World War Z* creates **a zombie epidemic that affects the entire world**, and tells that world’s story. At this rate we are only going to see more takes on the genre; but no matter how far out these predecessors go, they will always be rooted in a small Pennsylvanian house.
### Links
- Read an interview between Simon Pegg and George Romero [here](http://w02.timeout.com/film/news/631/simon-pegg-interviews-george-a-romero.html)
- Here more about horror and fantasy at our 451 Facebook page [here](https://www.facebook.com/FlameTree451)
- Learn more about Romero's films [here](http://www.homepageofthedead.com/)
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Topics: [movie posters](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/fantasy-art/topic/movie-posters), [Zombies](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/fantasy-art/topic/zombies), [George A Romero](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/fantasy-art/topic/george-a-romero), [Night of the Living Dead](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/fantasy-art/topic/night-of-the-living-dead)
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