day 9, 10, ahh....forget it!

How do people blog *every single day*?  I just don't get it.  As long as I give you something at least slightly amusing, it will all be good, right?

Anyhoo, last week I said I would talk about the "...of the Dead" legacy.  I'm not sure if you know just how deep it goes.

First, there was "Night of the Living Dead", George Romero's gift to the horror world, in 1968.  This was followed by:

1978  Dawn Of The Dead
1985  Day Of The Dead
2005  Land Of The Dead
2007  Diary Of The Dead
2010  Survival Of The Dead

Now, before you look at me funny, these are all from the original "Night of the Living Dead" zombie strain.  In between and all around are all the other "...of the Dead" movies, including remakes.

The remakes (basically trying to clone the original DNA) were:

1990  Night of the Living Dead
2004  Dawn of the Dead  (a personal favorite)
2008  Day of the Dead

And wandering around the family tree like a marriage to someone from the wrong side of the tracks were the "Return of the Living Dead" movies.

1985  Return of the Living Dead
1988  Return of the Living Dead Part II 
1993  Return of the Living Dead Part III
2005  Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis
2005  Return of the Living Dead: Rave to the Grave

These even had their own inbreeding, in the form of:

1998  Return of the Living Dead 30th Anniversary Edition

and it's bastard child (pun intended):

2001  Children Of The Living Dead

There were movies that tried to steal the identity of the "...of the Dead"  movies.  They may have "...of the Dead" in the title, but absolutely have no connection at all.  They are:

1979  Zombi 2 (Zombi was the name the movie "Dawn of the Dead" was advertised under in Italy.  Zombi 2 was filming at the same time as DotD, and eventually became it's own entity.)
2005  Day of the Dead 2: Contagium
2006  Night of the Living Dead 3D
2007  Flight of the Living Dead

Then, of course, are the homages to these movies in the form of:

2004  Shaun of the Dead (griiiiin)
2006  Fido
2008  Dance of the Dead
2009  Zone of the Dead
2011  Juan of the Dead

Naturally, every great mind needs to be picked at and analyzed, so the following documentaries came out, dissecting George and all things zombie:

1985  Document of the Dead
2003  Fans of the Dead
2008  One for the Fire: The Legacy of "Night of the Living Dead"
2009  Autopsy of the Living Dead
2011  Cinemall (a film about The Monroeville Mall, used in the "Dawn of the Dead" remake)

I won't even go into all the books, magazine and comics based on George's zombies.  We'd never get any sleep again.

So, there you go, the family tree and all the broken, unnecessary and embarrassing branches of George Romero's "...of the Dead" legacy.  Before you ask, the answer is yes: I have seen every single one of these movies, even the really crappy ones *cough all the "Return..." ones, cough cough*.  If you have seen them all, go back and watch them again.  If there are some you missed, go out there and fill that void in your soul.  You need it...you want it....you know it...

Also, before I go, there is a campaign to try and get Romero his very own star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.  If you love him, donate at least $5 to make this zombie lover's dream come true by going here.

Next post will be "The Anatomy of a Zombie", about what makes a zombie a zombie and what movies abuse the name.  You know I hate that crap lol.

Until next time...

Peace, Love and (the netflix queue is wall to wall Romero) Zombies \IiiI