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‘I GET CREDIT FOR INVENTING THE ZOMBIE AND I DIDN'T EVEN REALISE I WAS DOING IT'
‘- W»
Can politics and zombies mix? GEORGE A ROMERO talks to Henry Northmore about his latest foray into the world of the undead.
ot many can lay claim to shaping a genre as
succinctly as (icorge .-\ Romero. the
undisputed king oi /omhic moyies. llonoured in horror circles with the same reyercncc as Scorsese and Kuhrick‘s are in theirs. he singlehandily inyented the suh-gcnre. setting its rules in stone and introducing a hleakness. intelligence and political conscience that had ncy er hcen seen in the genre hel‘orc. Nit/ll rill/iv living lhm/ hurst onto the screen in l‘)(i8. and with it he inadvertently sealed his place in moyie history. ‘I neycr called them mmhies.‘ he esplains. "I'hey were ghouls. in tact the original title was Nit/II 0/- the IV/i's/i lirltr'l's. The word "/onihie" ney er eyen popped into my head: in those days
/onthics were those guys in Haiti. I get credit l‘or
inycnting the /omhie and I didn‘t eyen realise I was doing it.‘
Incredihly tall with oycrsi/ed hlack—rimmcd glasses. Romero comes across like a layourite uncle. 'l’herc‘s an cscitcmcnt in his eyes. an ohyious loye ol the ltioyics he has created. Surely a man ol ()5 shouldn't he taking this much joy in eyisceration and arterial spray. as he returns alter a 30 year break l'rom /omhies with /.um/ rill/iv I)(’(l(/. his lirst undead llick since I‘lh’sis /)(l_\' (Ill/IF Ur'rirl.
\Vliat always set Rotncro apart was the socio— political element that L‘ltltlcs so many ()li Ills peers.
.lohn ('arpentcr and Wes (‘raycn may he masters ol
shocks and terror hut when it comes to social commentary \ia loinhic allegorics Romero is the master. '.\'ig/Il. . . was the (ills. /)(lll'll . . . was the 70s, /)uy . . . was the fills and I wanted /.(lll(/. . . to he the
40 THE LIST .
‘)()s. l jtist missed it. we got hung tip in Hollywood deals l‘or lilms that neyer got made. I'm not trying to answer questions. but I low the idea that they were a rcllection ol' what‘s going on when they were made.~
Land of I/I(' I)('(l(/ makes no secret of its commentary on the state ol post-U/Il America. as well as heing a stark look at the eyer increasing diyide hctween rich and poor. '()riginally l.uml. . . was ahout homeland prohlems oi homelessness. AIDS and the yanishing middle classes. I linished it right hel'ore l)/l l. A couple ol years later I took it down and put in some rel'erences to the ‘new normal‘ in America hut most ol it was already there. they‘re jtist tnore poignant now. Like the idea ol an armoured truck going through a little village and mowing everyone down and then wondering why they're pissed oil with us. And the tower. we just made it a taller.‘
Dennis Hopper. a yoi'aciotis pro-Bush supporter. was perhaps a surprise choice as a villain who ohyiously takes his inspiration from the current ITS administration. ‘When I met him he said: “llsually when people want me to play the \‘illain they want me to go hysterical. hut this guy should he played like Donald Ruinsl'eld." So I said: “Dennis. we‘re going to get along.“
Romero‘s still a guerrilla filmmaker at heart: intelligent social commentary and gruesome horror is not the o\yllioron you‘d expect in the hands ol‘ this auteur. It‘s great to hayc him hack.
Land of the Dead is on general release from Fri 23 Sep. See review, page 44.
llil >l<
THE BEST FILM & DVD RELEASES
=l= 4 (Chetyre) Bonkers and brilliant Russian drama incorporating clones, crones and bucolic madness which nods heavily to Sartre, Zola and Tarkovsky. One of the most interesting films of the year. See interview, page 41 and review, page 43. Fi/mhouse, Edinburgh (Fri 23—Thu 29 Sep only).
=i= A History of Violence David Cronenberg‘s latest is an ultra vivid version of John Judge Dredd Wagner’s 1997 graphic novel. One of Cronenberg’s finest to date. See review. page 42. General release (from Fri 30 Sep)
=l¢ Land of the Dead George A Romero's new zombie flick proves there's still life in the old dog. Thoroughly enjoyable. See preview, left and review, page 44. General release (from Fri 23 Sep)
* Blinded Shock, horror a decent Scottish thriller, albeit a gothic one. See interview, page 43. and review page 42. Cinewor/d, Renfrew Street, Glasgow and Edinburgh (from Fri 30 Sep).
=l= Moolaadé The great Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembene’s new film is a joy. In a small village a woman attempts to stop the medieval practice of female circumcision, in the process she starts a conflict that tears her village apart. See review, page 43. Fi/mhouse, Edinburgh (Fri 23— Thu 29 Sep)
=l= The Sun Alexander Sokurov's playful, witty and wise film about the decline and fall of Japan's Emperor Hirohito. See review, page 44. Fi/mhouse, Edinburgh
1|: Night of the Living Dead: Special Collector’s Edition Romero's second hitlist entry this issue comes for this lovely DVD repackaging job done on his first zombie flick. See review, page 88. Contender Home Entertainment (Out 23 Sep).