Night of the Living Dead director George A Romero has died

Legendary filmmaker George A. Romero has died, aged 77.

An iconic filmmaker and creator of the modern zombie flick, George A. Romero is responsible for the genre-defining ‘Night of the Living Dead’ – a film which spawned numerous sequels and inspired a generation.

He’s often credited as the father of modern zombie films, and a horror pioneer.

According to his manager Chris Roe, the ‘Night of the Living Dead’ director died in his sleep following a “brief but aggressive battle with lung cancer”.

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“[Romero] leaves behind a loving family, many friends, and a filmmaking legacy that has endured, and will continue to endure, the test of time.”

Of course, it all began back in 1968 with ‘Night of the Living Dead’.

Romero himself both co-wrote and directed the movie, which was made in Pittsburgh on a budget of just $150,000. It was on to make $30 million at the box office, and became a cult hit amongst horror fans, spawning an entire genre of zombie flicks.

Telling the story of a group of people trapped in a farmhouse and become victims to a crowd of zombies, ‘Night of the Living Dead’ was said to be a warning against capitalism… but the early zombie film went on to spawn an entire series.

And inspired many other filmmakers to follow in Romero’s footsteps.

The ‘Living Dead’ series continued to thrive, with ‘Dawn of the Dead’ in 1978, ‘Day of the Dead’ in 1985, ‘Land of the Dead’ in 1990, ‘Diary of the Dead’ in 2007 and ‘George A Romero’s Survival of the Dead’ in 2009.

But he didn’t just invent zombie films, either.

Aside from his iconic zombie-filled franchise, he also directed the likes of ‘The Crazies’ and ‘Knightriders’ as well as making a cameo appearance in ‘The Silence of the Lambs’.

According to reports, Romero was listening to the music of The Quiet Man, one of his favourite films, with his wife, Suzanne Desrocher Romero, and daughter, Tina Romero at the time of his death.

RIP George A. Romero. You’ll sure be missed.

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