Hello, and welcome to Week 2 of Fandom Horrorfest 2020! This week, I’ll be focusing on horror directors and the contributions they’ve made to our favorite genre. While I could’ve gone the direction of just talking about the more popular horror masters, I figured 1) you could get that kind of list literally anywhere on the internet, and 2) why not include some more diverse creators, because diversity, much like horror, is kickass! So please enjoy week 2, and I hope it encourages you to look into some movies and creators that you hadn’t thought about before!
George A. Romero
When we talk about historical giants of horror directors, it’s nearly impossible to not talk about Romero. Known primarily for revolutionizing/recreating the horror genre with his monumental Night of the Living Dead, Romero is a director whose influence has actually touched many different areas of the industry. With a career spanning nearly 50 years, the late director established himself as a true master of horror and gave us many movies to enjoy and be terrified by.
A true master of the philosophical side of horror movies, Romero focused his narratives on something much greater than how to make a zombie scary. Rather, more often than not Romero asked questions about the nature of humanity, the behavior of people confronted by death and forced to respond to it. These themes can be seen in many of his movies: the band of survivors attacking each other just as much as the zombie horde besieging them in the Living Dead franchise, the government called in to “deal with” the infected populace of a small town in The Crazies, the disruptive family dynamic of Martin, the abuse and revenge present in Season of the Witch. Romero was very much a believer in horror introspection, and that introspection, as we’ve seen this month, is a tradition upheld by just about every horror director that has followed him. Romero’s legacy is a dynamic one, and we should be just as grateful to him for his inquisitiveness in film as we are for establishing the pillars of zombie movies we all know and love. If you’re a student of horror, I can think of few subjects more worth your time studying than Romero’s own filmography.
So that’s today’s homework: go watch his filmography. Just kidding; though you should check out everything the man’s done, one day for Romero’s work is a little overambitious. Currently, The Crazies is available on Amazon Prime, as is most of his Living Dead franchise. However, if you’re in for something a little less popular, I do believe Season of the Witch and Martin are worth the watch. Trigger warning for Martin: sexual violence.
