George A. Romero zombie series

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

My number one all time favorite horror and zombie horror movie. MUST be seen first before seeing any of the other ones, and it MUST be seen in white and black. A group of people from different backgrounds all end up at a remote farmhouse boarding themselves up to survive against zombies. These zombies are the dead that have become reanimated and they are slow moving because they were once decomposing corpses. This film has been the topic of several documentaries - it is a metaphor for life in the 60s and the civil right movement. The main character, Ben, is an African-American. All in all, I say: SEE IT in fact - come on over and we'll watch it together.

Romero sold his rights to his franchise to special effects wiz - Tom Savini - who remade the original around the time I worked at the movie theatre. I got to watch this a dozen times; it is in color, but the same time period as the original. This one is more about human nature and less political I love it, but not as much as the original. All in all, I say: SEE IT.

The second in the dead series. This one was a fan favorite at the time because it took place somewhere that had become all the rage - malls. This one is also political; it looks at American culture and the culture of the mall. It was made 10 years after the original. IMDb writes, "Following an ever-growing epidemic of zombies that have risen from the dead, two Philadelphia SWAT team members, a traffic reporter, and his television-executive girlfriend seek refuge in a secluded shopping mall." All in all, I say: SEE IT and then see the remake. Please, see the dead series in order.

Again, the remake is not about politics, but human nature. This is my second favorite zombie movie. Only one problem - fast zombies in this - I don't usually like the fast variety. Snyder (300) directs this, so the editing and cinematography are good.  Savini has a cameo in this. Polley (Go) is a nurse, Rhames (Pulp Fiction) is a cop, Phifer (8 Mile) is a man whose wife is about to give birth,  Burrell (Modern Family) is a rich snob, Weber (U-571) is a man who has lost everyone. They are at mall until circumstances drive them to head for a boat marina.All in all, I say: SEE IT.

Next decade, so we went 60s, 70s, and now we are in the 80s. Military! Again, there is apolitical message that speaks to the climate at the time. IMDb writes, "A small group of military officers and scientists dwell in an underground bunker as the world above is overrun by zombies." This one has more gore than the others. It is not one of my favorites. When I rewatch these, I usually skip this one. All in all, I say: SKIP IT.

IMDb writes, "When a small Colorado town is overrun by the flesh hungry dead a small group of survivors try to escape in a last ditch effort to stay alive." I admit I have only seen the remake once and it didn't match up at all to the original, so I have never seen it since. All in all, I say: SKIP IT

This didn't come out till 2005 (yes, he skipped the 90s - I guess because the remakes were so popular). In the 21st century we are isolated. This movie speaks to that isolation. IMDb writes, "The living dead have taken over the world, and the last humans live in a walled city to protect themselves as they come to grips with the situation." Leguizamo (Ice Age), Argento (XXX), and Baker (The Mentalist) star in this. Also, the zombies are getting smarter and adapting. Spoiler - they don't need to breath, so water is not an obstacle. All in all, I say: SKIP IT. I had high hopes, but it fell short. No remake on this one.

IMDb writes, "A group of young film students run into real-life zombies while filming a horror movie of their own." Sprang (Reign) comes in at the end and this leads to the next chapter. This one made me dizzy with all the hand held camera stuff. The characters weren't very interesting either. All in all, I say: SKIP IT

The last in the series is Survival of the Dead and I already reviewed that.