The Living Dead Museum

After taking some photos of the zombie on the outside of the Monroeville Mall, we ventured inside to The Living Dead Museum.  Walking through the same spaces where Dawn of the Dead was shot was a very neat experience.  I tried to imagine Romero filming in those giant empty spaces.  And tried to picture motorcycles driving through there at some point back in 1977-78.  And of course - the zombies.

The museum is at the far end of the mall, right above Romero Square.  Tickets were reasonably priced and the items within were fantastic.  Loads of historical facts and artifacts relating to Romero's films, and other zombie-centric movies.  And a wall of autographs (and bloody handprints from their signers) - the Maul of Fame.

If you're ever in Pittsburgh, this museum is definitely worth the trip.  

Click here for the Museum's IG.

And click here to see some more photos that Jenna took over at her IG.

Redlettermedia: George Romero Tribute

Watched a great review of Romero's film Martin by the guys at Red Letter Media and there was the coolest little tribute at the end.
I have the video set to go at the tribute.

Click below (some gore and profanity so it's not work-friendly):

Rest In Peace: George A. Romero

One of the few horror icons I actually met in person.  What a legacy he leaves behind.
The weird tag line of Dawn of the Dead was one of the earliest memories I have of something truly scaring me..."When there's no more room in HELL, the dead will walk the EARTH."  Some kids were talking about that in grade school when the film came out, and it really REALLY got under my skin.  

Click below...

George A. Romero Plushie

Birth Of The Living Dead

Can't recommend this documentary more highly.  Figured it'd be similar to past zombie docs (Doc of the Dead), with zombie walks and zombie survival guides and the condescending Max Brooks, but it's none of those things.  Just an incredibly well-made and informative tale of how Romero's Night of the Living Dead came to be.

The trailer below doesn't do it justice, so trust me.
It's currently on Netflix Streaming.

Now Playing: It Begins

A wonderful track by 400 Lonely Things from their Tonight of the Living Dead album.
Couldn't find this track anywhere on youtube, so click below for my 2010 video featuring this awesome cue.

Image by Matt Peppler.

And click here for samples of the album.

Day Of The Dead

We're bein' punished by the Creator. He visited a curse on us. Maybe He didn't want to see us blow ourselves up, put a big hole in the sky. Maybe He just wanted to show us He's still the Boss Man. Maybe He figure, we gettin' too big for our britches, tryin' to figure His shit out. 

Image by Kevin Frost.

 

Night Of The Living Dead: Silent Movie

This is a gas.
The silent version of Romero's classic, with the score from Prince of Darkness as its new soundtrack.

Click below for a favorite part:

Choke On 'Em!

We don't have enough ammunition to shoot them all in the head. The time to have done that would have been in the beginning. No, we let them overrun us. We are in the minority now, something like 400,000 to one by my calculation. 

Day of the Dead,  1985

Image source.

Day Of The Dead

Uncle Creepy's Pictorial Diary Of The Dead

I read this great entry by Dread Central's Uncle Creepy about his being cast as a zombie in the latest film by George A. Romero. Sounds like a pretty amazing experience.
I loved his excitement. So glad he documented his time spent working with Romero.

"Yeah, Steve, it's George. I've got this new thing happening, and I know that there's no possible way that I could cast you as part of the living, so how would you like to come up and be a zombie for me?"

Click below to read about it:

What's Your Inner Zombie Like?

I was watching an interview with Romero a while back and he was discussing Day of the Dead. He mentioned how each of us has our own individual inner zombie. The zombie actors in his earlier films, and I'm assuming he meant the extras, didn't get much coaching by way of the style of their walk or the tilt of their heads or the movement of their arms. He said that they just sort of found their inner zombie by instinct.

Image source.

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Hung out with my brother last night and we talked about our inner zombies. When I dropped him off, he walked up his walk as a zombie. A slow moving, almost dazed, zombie. Like a survivor of some horrible accident who wandered away from the wreck in shock. He yelled back "I'm the same way when I'm drunk."

Reanimated

We watched NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD last night. I always seem to forget what an amazing film it is.

Found this neat project on Dread Central:

"Reanimated is a new way of making Romero’s classic tale come to life; artists are encouraged to create their own animated version of NotLD with the only restrictions being that the animation has to match the film’s original soundtrack, has to be in black and white, and has to
be original artwork."

Click image to watch the cool trailer.