Butch's Web Page
Romero Page
Welcome to Butch's Web Page about the Greatest Living Director that you have never heard of:
Mr. George A. Romero!

Begining in 1968, Mr. Romero with his classic, "Night of the Living Dead", has unleashed many nightmares on the public. Other classics such as "Dawn of the Dead", "Creepshow", "Day of the Dead" and "Monkey Shines", Mr. Romero has proved himself to be a genius time and time again.


With the acceptance of "Night" as a all time classic film, it is a shame that more people do not know who Mr. Romero is. "Night" is a classic of suspense that was one of the first films to show what had previously been cut away from. When the illfated couple of Tom and Judy come to their end, most movies would have stopped there. In what would be a signature move for him, Mr. Romero showed the zombies eating the remains of the two. At the time, very few movies would be that graphic in what would be shown. At the same time, other movies started being more graphic, and let's be honest, realistic. For example, Sam Peckinpah's masterpiece "The Wild Bunch", which seems to take place in a different world than the one of John Wayne's westerns. Mr. Romero was mearly readying the world for what would come almost ten years later with his sequel, "Dawn Of The Dead".

During this time, Mr. Romero made what could be seen as a precursor to "Dawn Of The Dead" called "The Crazies" aka "Codename: Trixe". While dealing with a large group of people that can't be reasoned with, in place of the usual zombies, it deals more with staying alive and the fumbling of the military that make one think of "Dawn" and "Day Of The Dead".

"Dawn" is a modern horror classic. It could have only be made when it was and should never be remade. Set in a Monroeville, PA indoor shopping mall, it continues the story of the undead revolt and how humanity deals with it. In this case, a group of four take refuge in the mall. Which is kind of like saying "Psycho" is about a young man with mental problems. While it does give you some small idea about the movie is about, the whole story is barely touched. "Dawn" has a great story, more of Mr. Romero's social commentary and some of the most graphic special effects ever made. Among the effects that still stay in my mind almost twenty years after first seeing the movie are: the shotgun blast to the head, the helicopter zombie and the machette zombie (Lenny Liles). This is my favorite horror movie and proably overall movie of all time. I have literally seen it hundreds of times, maybe thousands. I mean that, you don't know how many times I've watched this movie.

Not long after "Dawn", Mr. Romero came up with his unique take on vampires. Called "Martin", it deals with a young man who may or may not be a 84 year old vampire.


Then came "Knightriders", a unusual blend of knights, chivalry and motorcyles all set in modern day (circa 79). Many have said this movie actuall deals with Mr. Romero's ending of the Laurel production company owned by Richard Rubenstien.

Next would be "Creepshow" and I will go ahead and include "Creepshow 2" in here as well. Cowritten with Steven King and in the traditions of the E.C. Comics that so many filmmakers of my youth grew up on, "Creepshow" is pretty good. "Creepshow 2", however, was only produced by Mr. Romero and directed by long time Romero Cinematographer Micheal Gornick.

Then comes the (so far) final chapter of the "Dead" trilogy, "Day Of The Dead". Released in 1985, it was the only film I actually saw in the theatres during it's release (albeit a drive in, but same thing).

Then came the "Two Evil Eyes" segment based on Edgar Allen Poe's "The Facts Of The Case Of M. Vademare".

Next would be "Monkey Shines", which seems to be one of those films that some hate and some love. I didn't care for it the first time I saw it, but after watching it again, I realized the level of suspense that missed me the first time.

Then came "The Dark Half", possibly the best Stephen King adaptation in my not so humble opinion. Unfortunately, this became the last oasis for Romero fans for close to a decade.

His most recent film, "Bruiser" had a great premise and starts out incredible, but unfortuneately, deginerates during the last 1/3. I was one of the FEW people to actually see the film in a theatre, during a Romero film festival in Chicago where I met the great man.