Tag Archives: George Romero

Diary of the Dead (2007) [Blu-Ray/Digital]: Wal-Mart Exclusive Steelbook

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Later in his career, George Romero never could win with audiences. If he was too campy, he was berated for not being serious enough. When he was too serious, he was berated for “losing his sense of humor.” With “Diary of the Dead,” Romero has a very unique and important statement to make about the media, misinformation, and the dangers of social media. With “Diary of the Dead,” Romero bounces back and forth between cheeky camp and some stern warnings about misinformation and sensationalism during very real times.

With this iteration of the zombie apocalypse, it isn’t so much the death of death that kills us, but the lack of information for the sake of entertainment.

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Creepshow (1982): Collector’s Edition [4K UHD/Blu-Ray]

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“Just tell him to call you Billy!”

The one, two, three punch of George A. Romero, Stephen King, and Tom Savini is one of best, if not the best example of the horror anthology to date. While many have come before it, “Creepshow” really set the bar high in 1982. “Creepshow” (and its sequel) were basically the Boomer generation snapping back at the censors and government that helped bring down EC Comics and destroy what was a pretty excellent institution that was almost obliterated by puritans and the like. Thankfully “Creepshow” celebrates the whole spirit of EC Comics with a series of stories that practice in the formula of EC with themes about karma, revenge, poetic justice, and crime.

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The Five Best Segments of “Creepshow” Season Two

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“Creepshow” hasn’t been a perfect revival, but it’s garnered some great enthusiasm that’s made it a modern reboot that’s worth watching. Filled with some great performances, sick tales, and excellent gore, “Creepshow” has ensured a long stay, especially with the second season stepping up its game. The new release from Shudder and AMC packs all six episodes on to the Blu-Ray along with some great extras and I compiled five of the best segments of the second season you should look out for.

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Beyond Fest’s Black Friday: George A. Romero’s “Dawn of the Dead” with Ken Foree In Person

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Join the American Cinematheque and the Cinemtatic Void for the Ultimate Black Friday mall trip: George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead with Ken Foree in Person.

In celebration of mass consumption and the grotesque gluttony, George A. Romero’s “Dawn of trhe Dead” gets a rare theatrical screening this Black Friday at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica. Joining for both a pre-screening introduction and post screening Q&A will be lead actor Ken Foree to share on-set stories and the importance of Romero’s enduring Magnum Opus.

The sequel to Romero’s landmark “Night of the Living Dead,” “Dawn of the Dead” obliterated genre normas and shattered sensese jupon its release in 1978. A razor sharp social commentary on material society, Romero’s vision is fully realized in the collapsed civilization that he meticulously wrote, directed, and edited. With electric performances from Ken Foree, Gaylen Ross, David Emge and Scott Reiniger, and revolutionary special effects from the master Tom Savini, “Dawn of the Dead” remains an untouched masterpiece at the very peak of genre cinema.

Attendance to all Beyond Fest screenings requires physical proof of vaccinations and guests must follow mandatory mask mandates. Go to americancinematheque.com for details.

Night of the Animated Dead (2021) [Blu-Ray/Digital]

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The last time “Night of the Living Dead” was animated was in 2009’s “Re-Animated” where director Mike Schneider enlisted a slew of animators to offer their own interpretations of various scenes from George A. Romero’s masterpiece. That wasn’t so much a remake, as it felt more like an art installation, or a cinematic experiment that allowed us to view the classic film through various lenses and scopes, giving us unique peek in to the terrifying narrative. “Night of the Animated Dead” has a chance to feel like a unique re-imagining. Instead it picks off the corpse of George A. Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead.” Continue reading →

George A. Romero’s The Amusement Park (1972)

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George A Romero was never one to apply subtly to his cinematic art. He was always interested in transplanting his feelings about deep and still very relevant social issues in to the horror genre. His ideas about the military industrial complex, gross consumerism and class warfare still ring loudly in modern society, and “The Amusement Park” fits right in to that stark tableau. Although not horror in the strictest sense, “The Amusement Park” is very much a Romero brand horror movie. It’s about the ravages of growing old, and how society treats the elderly.

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Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990): Collector’s Edition [Blu-Ray]

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1990’s “Tales from the Darkside: The Movie” has a lot in its corner with me. It’s a childhood favorite, has a ton of sentimental value, and it’s a damn good anthology horror film. It almost feels like the lost “Creepshow” movie that we never got in theaters, which is a shame as the movie is very well produced and directed. It’s creepy, darkly humorous, and has a great pair of wraparound segments that hearkens back to the vicious violence of the Brothers Grimm.

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