21st Century Terrors, Part 8: 2007

The year 2007 is a special one here in the Vault, because it was the year this blog first got off the ground. And boy, did I pick an interesting year to get things started. There was a lot going on in 2007 in the world of fright flicks, and I was definitely fortunate to have some of these films around to write about at the very beginning.

The remake and sequel craze was in full swing by this point, but luckily there was also a lot of fascinating and original material being put out on the market as well. Interestingly enough at the time, a great deal of it was coming from overseas.

In particular, the one movie that will always come to mind for many when 2007 is brought up is Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza's [REC], which many would consider among the most downright terrifying films of the entire decade, if not the most terrifying. From Spain came this unique, mockumentary take on the zombie subgenre, featuring a team of TV reporters and firemen trapped inside a quarantined apartment building during an outbreak of some sort of disease which turns the living into bloodthirsty undead.

Visceral, straightforward and extremely realistic in its presentation, [REC] became an instant sensation. People from all over the world clamored to see this (formerly) little movie that had emerged from Spain, a country many hadn't thought of as much of a horror haven since the heyday of Paul Naschy. It also managed to keep the zombie resurgence going strong roughly half a decade after it first exploded.

Spain also produced a very different kind of horror film that same year in Juan Antonio Bayona's The Orphanage (El Orfanato), a movie that was helped along in its overseas exposure by the blessing of Guillermo del Toro, who was understandably taken with it. A very unorthodox combination of ghost story and psychological thriller, The Orphanage takes its place amongst the likes of The Uninvited, The Haunting and The Changeling as one of the finest motion pictures of its kind.

Meanwhile, from just a few miles to the northeast in France, came Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury's Inside (À l'intérieur), a deeply disturbing and shockingly violent motion picture that became another international sensation and immediate film festival darling. The 2000s gave us quite a few depraved horror films, but Inside has to be very near to the top of the pile in terms of subject matter and the unflinching portrayal of said subject matter.

Following a nine-months-pregnant widow on the eve of her induction, as she fends off a psychopathic intruder bent on stealing the unborn child from her body, the film struck a nerve with even the most jaded horror viewers. As dead serious as the genre gets, Inside delivered extreme tension and extreme violence in equal doses, resulting in one of the most unsettling viewing experiences imaginable, and a movie that literally challenges the definition of entertainment.

And yet, while in most any other year, Inside would win hands down as most disturbing French movie, in 2007 it was a toss-up! There must have been something in the water in France that year, because the French also gave us the equally grim and harrowing Frontière(s). Xavier Gens' story of fugitive thieves held prisoner by demented neo-Nazis is another film that helped propel France to the cutting edge of international horror cinema.

But the Americans certainly weren't sitting on their hands while the Europeans had all the fun, either. Rather, some of the best and brightest filmmakers around were delving deep into the genre. Tim Burton took a crack at the beloved Stephen Sondheim splatter musical Sweeney Todd, putting his go-to star Johnny Depp in the lead, and adding wife Helena Bonham Carter to the mix to produce a typically sumptuous and subversive slice of cinema reminiscent of some of his best work.

Genre junkies Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez joined forces to create Grindhouse, a one-of-a-kind 21st century double feature that paid homage to the sticky-floor movies of old. Though greatly hyped, it did not quite live up to box-office or critical expectations--nevertheless, Rodriguez' contribution to the effort, Planet Terror, is a balls-to-the-wall, over-the-top zombie trash epic that certainly has its fair share of avid supporters. If anything, RR has to at least be recognized for having a great deal of fun with the subgenre, in the grand tradition of Dan O'Bannon. Plus, we also got the infamous line, "I'm gonna eat your brains and gain your knowledge..."

Steve Niles' acclaimed 30 Days of Night vampire graphic novels were adapted by director David Slade in highly bloody fashion--and although the slickly stylized film divided many fans, its unapologetically brutal approach to the bloodsucker mythos was at least an effective alternative to the Twilight-mania just tightening its grip on popular culture. Another film which divided fans was The Mist, in which Frank Darabont, director of The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, turned his attention to his first Stephen King horror story. A monster movie in the tradition of classic 1950s fare, with a modern twist and a gut-punch ending, it may not have pleased all the King fans out there, but it had to be considered better than the other King adaptation of 2007, Mikael Håfström's 1408.

As alluded to previously however, we were also bombarded with more than our fair share of remakes and sequels in 2007. And although remakes and sequels are not necessarily bad by definition, looking at the catalog of releases from that year, one could not be blamed for coming to that conclusion.

With long-time favorites like Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The Hitcher served up in tepid "re-imagined" form, it was a tough year for some long-time horror fans. Most egregious of all would have to be Rob Zombie's Halloween, a film which managed to enrage the legions of fans of John Carpenter's 1978 original, with its post-modern deconstruction of the Michael Myers character, and less-than-creative regurgitation of much of the material of its predecessor. Although the extensive Myers' backstory added depth and was appreciated by some, in the end, the film sometimes unaffectionately termed "Zombieween" came off as a largely unnecessary affair.

On the sequel front, it seemed like every notable film/franchise of the decade was being pumped for all it was worth by the studios desperate for the next fix of genre-derived revenue. There was Saw IV, Hostel 2, and The Hills Have Eyes 2, each of which either killed off, or should've killed off, their respective series.

George Romero followed up 2005's Land of the Dead with Diary of the Dead, a fresh, cinema verite approach to his zombie series which unfortunately came off poorly thanks to being released in the wake of [REC] and, to a lesser extent, Cloverfield. Although this blogger enjoyed the film, most felt it to be the nadir of Romero's revered zombie cycle to date. As far as zombie sequels go, 28 Weeks Later was received a bit better, with some (including yours truly) finding it to be superior to Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later. Once again, it seemed that Uncle George had been beaten at his own game--a game which, in 2007, also gave us such less-than-memorable fare as Resident Evil: Extinction and Flight of the Living Dead.

An erratic year of highs and lows, and perhaps a bit of a comedown from the heady days of the mid-2000s, 2007 was still a very good year to be a horror fan, with lots of quirky, soon-to-be cult classics emerging as well, such as the vagina dentata chestnut Teeth, the Australian giant crocodile picture Rogue, and the cheesy send-up Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer. One could certainly never say that there wasn't a little bit of something for everyone, and all in all, I'd have to say that The Vault of Horror picked a pretty cool time to be born!

Also in 2007:

• Dead Silence
• The Deaths of Ian Stone
• I Know Who Killed Me
• Mother of Tears
• Primeval
• The Signal
• Vacancy

Part 1: 2000
Part 2: 2001
Part 3: 2002
Part 4: 2003
Part 5: 2004
Part 6: 2005
Part 7: 2006

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The Year in Horror: One Blogger Looks Back

Maybe it was because it was my first full year blogging, but I have to say that 2008 was a pretty solid year for scary entertainment. Certainly a lot better than 2007, at least in my experience. And when it comes down to it, this is all about personal experience. It's all subjective, people, and I can only write based upon what I actually experienced over the course of the past 12 months in horror. There are a lot of great flicks and shows that I need to get to, most notably Let the Right One In, which I will watch via vaguely illegal means sometime in the next few days.

That said, I feel it's with good reason that I claim 2008 to have been a highly satisfying year for terror. For one thing, we kicked off the year with Cloverfield, a bona fide mainstream American giant monster movie that opened in the midst of an earth-shattering multimedia marketing campaign. And while it may not have been the life-changing experience many apparently were led to believe it would be, it was an enjoyable flick, and it was a pleasure seeing a kind-of-horror movie grip the imagination of the entire nation like it did.

And speaking of the nation, if 2008 was anything, it was the year that domestic horror took a trip to the woodshed, courtesy of foreign horror. Yes, fans, our fear-loving brethren from across the seas put America to shame this year.

Apart from Let the Right One In, which I haven't even seen yet, you had Juan Antonio Bayona's The Orphanage reaching U.S. shores--a sublime film which rightfully received the blessing of Guillermo del Toro. Frenchmen Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury shocked the holy hell out of us with Inside, the first knockout French gore flick since the days of Jean Rollin. And J-horror took a backseat to K-horror thanks to Black House, a DVD releases from South Korea which it was my pleasure to review some months ago. Of course, there was also the god-awful The Wig from the very same country, but who's keeping score?

But the granddaddy of 'em all was the flick that was, for this blogger's money, the best horror movie of the decade thus far--Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza's [Rec]. Although criminally withheld from U.S. theaters this year so as not to steal the thunder of the American remake Quarantine (no, I haven't seen it), that couldn't stop those curious and industrious enough to get their hands on it and discover that a horror movie can still have the power to terrify even the most jaded veteran fans.

I'm thankful that starting up the VoH has helped me gain access to a greater world of horror out there, beyond the beaten path. Without the Vault, I might never have had the pleasure of catching Ryan Spindell's Kirksdale, a festival-favorite short that yielded some of the highest quality 20 minutes of horror you'd be likely to find all year.

I also had the privilege of catching George Romero's Diary of the Dead during its extremely limited and brief theatrical release. And yes, I am a defender of that film, and I will continue to be as long as I have breath to pontificate. It was a joy to see Romero's zombie saga continue this year, with an installment I found much more fresh, innovative and powerful than 2005's Land of the Dead.

I can't really say the same for Steve Miner's pitiful Day of the Dead direct-to-DVD remake/fiasco. I was really convinced that that would be the lowest I'd sink all year. And then I saw M. Night Shyamalan's latest stop on the painful descent to oblivion, The Happening. I can honestly say I can't recall the last time I saw a movie that bad. For real.

What else? Oh yeah, well, I guess there was another Saw movie that got wheeled out in time for Halloween. Watched it. Not bad. Not great. Slightly better than the last one. Whatever. Next.

On the small screen, I was treated to a third season of Dexter that maintained the same level of excellence that the first and second season set in place. And HBO rolled out True Blood, a very good, if not quite great, vampire series that restored TV horror to a place of respectability after the lameness that was NBC's sad anthology series Fear Itself.

In the realm of fine literature, Marvel Comics went old school with the extremely well-done EC-style Dead of Night miniseries, starring one of my all-time favorite underused characters, the Man-Thing. Dark Horse gave it a go with a new, painted Evil Dead series that, despite attempting to do something interesting with the narrative of the original film, failed to make much of an impression on yours truly.

A year of foreign language triumphs, American kaiju, Romero controversy, M. Night's latest debacle and horror on premium cable. Nothing if not interesting, 2008 was a great year to begin this little Vault of Horror adventure, if I do say so myself...

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Top 20 Romero Zombie Moments

In honor of The Vault of Horror's 1st birthday today, I'm revisiting one of my old favorite stomping grounds--a series that's near and dear to my heart, and probably more responsible than anything else for my being the died-in-the-wool horror fan I am today: George Romero's "Living Dead" films.

So let's cut through all the preliminary b.s., shall we? Join in The Vault's anniversary celebration, sit back and enjoy as I present to you the most memorable moments of all the Living Dead movies.

20. The Doctor Is Out (of His Mind)

Day of the Dead

Sarah's visit to Dr. Logan's grisly lab is one of Day's most unsettling scenes. When one of the good doctor's zombie experiments breaks free of its bonds, she looks on in disgust as the poor devil literally spills his rotting guts all over the lab floor.

19. The Dead Pool

Diary of the Dead

The most maligned of Romero's series nevertheless produced the bizarre and unforgettable image of a horde of ghouls wandering around the bottom of an indoor swimming pool completely filled with water. Right after eating, you'd think they'd be worried about cramps...

18. Down Goes Cooper!

Night of the Living Dead

Perhaps no other character in the history of cinema deserved a few good fist-pounds to the cranium like that ultimate tool, Mr. Cooper. After the cowardly wretch weasels out of letting Ben back into the house, our protagonist lets him have it, causing chocolate syr--er, blood--to flow from his nose.

17. And So It Begins

Diary of the Dead

For decades, fans wondered about what the very start of the zombie uprising was like, and in this year's fifth installment, we finally got to see it. Even more gratifying was the fact that it was a local news crew that was among the first victims.

16. Hell on Earth, Meet Hell on Wheels

Land of the Dead

The awesome Dead Reckoning was the visual centerpiece of Land of the Dead (in fact, it was also the original title). And the first time it really unloads on an unsuspecting village of undead pedestrians is quite a sight to see. Hopefully, the zombie marching band survived. I love those guys.

15. Amish Ass-Kicker

Diary of the Dead

Who knew that Mennonites could be so bad-ass? And a hearing-impaired one, at that. Simply put, Samuel rules. Such a shame he got wasted so soon.

14. I Talked with a Zombie

Day of the Dead

Recalling the epiphanic apes of Kubrick's 2001, Bub's poignant phone call to his Aunt Alicia is the first (and only) time a Romero zombie ever speaks.

13. Insert Lame Head Pun Here

Dawn of the Dead

Prior to 1978, you just didn't see people's skulls exploding in movies. But thanks to Dawn of the Dead, George Romero, and that crazy SWAT guy with the shotgun, cinematic history was made. Orson Welles, eat your heart out.

12. Suffer the Little Children

Dawn of the Dead

Ah yes, the infamous zombie kid massacre. Ken

Foree was quite reluctant to shoot the scene in which he mows down the undead tykes at the gas station, and it's undeniably one of the series most gut-wrenching moments. Worst of all, they were Tom Savini's niece and nephew!

11. Here's Johnny!

Night of the Living Dead

Barbara spends the majority of NOTLD whining for her lost brother Johnny, and in the climactic scene, she finally gets her wish. Too bad he isn't quite the way she remembered him. He's coming to get you, Barbara!

10. Duck, You Bloodsucker!

Dawn of the Dead

For all of Savini's makeup mastery, you knew something was up when this zombie shows up in the helicopter scene with a suspiciously flat head. And sure enough, the former human being walks right into the rotor blades, doing Roger's work for him.

9. Ain't No River Wide Enough...

Land of the Dead

Proving he still had it in him, Romero managed to produce this truly iconic image--one of the series' most indelible--of the flesh-eater army crossing into Fiddler's Green. Obviously, Big Daddy and his gang had seen Lucio Fulci's Zombi 2.

8. Urban Decay

Day of the Dead

Sarah and her crew descend on a seemingly abandoned Florida town in search of possible survivors, only to rile up a veritable zombie Thanksgiving Day parade. Fortunately, they managed to lift out of there before they wound up playing the part of the turkeys.

7. Karen Kills Her Mommy

Night of the Living Dead

A nightmarish scene that works for so many reasons. The ominous lighting. The repulsively realistic sound editing. The nifty nod to Hitchcock's Psycho. One of the moments that literally helped usher in the modern age of horror.

6. Family Food

Dawn of the Dead

Savini's first volley of graphic gore. When audiences first watched Dawn of the Dead, and within the initial ten minutes witnessed a husband explicitly chowing down on his screaming wife, they knew this was not their father's horror movie.

5. First Floor: Ladies' Underwear, Glassware, Undead Cannibals...

Who among us didn't cringe in terror as poor, hapless Flyboy tried his best to scramble out of that elevator, only to have it fill up with J.C. Penney's-browsing zombies? Watching Steven turn to the blue side makes for a very tough scene to get through.

4. The Music of the Night

Night of the Living Dead

Many might disagree with my ranking this moment so high, but the shot in which Barbara ponders the music box has been cited by many--including Romero himself--as one of the best in the movie. Remembered by anyone who sees it, it represents a single oasis of calm in a world gone completely insane.

3. Cold-Blooded Killer

Day of the Dead

You can keep Darth Vader destroying the Emperor--my top jump-up-and-cheer moment is this one right here. Bub becomes the first zombie hero by taking up arms to put down his evil air-breathing oppressor Cap. Rhodes. Who's a pile of walking pus now??

2. Another One for the Fire

Night of the Living Dead

In the ultimate bummer ending, Ben survives a harrowing night battling zombies, only to wake up the next morning and take one in the head from the local good ol' boy militia. Sometimes it just doesn't pay to get out of bed.

And speaking of getting out of bed... here's your number-one Romero Zombie Moment:

1. Roger Rising

Dawn of the Dead

Roger tries not to come back, but not hard enough--giving new meaning to the film's title. This simple, yet awe-inspiring bit of film-making produces the single defining moment and image in George Romero's landmark series.

And there you have it, Vault Dwellers. I hope you've enjoyed the list, just as I hope you've enjoyed the past year of The Vault of Horror. I plan for it to be the first of many.

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Zombie Mayhem on DVD this Week

Long-time Vault-dwellers know how much I love me some zombie movies. And this week brings not one, not two, but three undead gems to home video. It's quite the smorgasbord of cannibalistic goodness, so let me break it down for you:

Diary of the Dead: This fifth chapter in George Romero's epic saga seriously divided the fan base. Although I thought very highly of it, the balance seems to be tipped a little more in favor of the naysayers. Oh well, fans hated Day of the Dead 23 years ago, and now it's regarded as a classic. And I've even noticed opinion becoming more positive toward Land of the Dead in the past three years. Who knows, the future of horror fandom may be kinder to this one as well.

Night of the Living Dead: For years I've been waiting for a mondo, balls-out special edition of Romero's original public domain masterpiece, and now it's finally here--courtesy of Diary of the Dead-producers the Weinsteins. Aside from a reportedly immaculate digital transfer, there are also two commentaries, a 90-minute documentary, an interview with Romero and the final recorded interview with the late Duane Jones.

Grapes of Death: A highly regarded yet somewhat obscure 1978 French flick. I confess I have yet to see it myself, but have heard and read nothing but positive things about it over the years. Adding it to my Netflix queue as we speak.

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Diary: A Near-Return to Form for Uncle George

If you're going into Diary of the Dead expecting something on par with George Romero's seminal Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead, you're setting yourself up for disappointment. If you're going in hoping for a redemption of the series following the decidedly average Land of the Dead, your hopes are well-founded.

Diary is a major improvement over Land in nearly every way. Free of studio constraints, Romero is able once again to infuse his own personal flavor. This is without question a George Romero film. Yet it still manages to feel completely different from all the others--a feat actually accomplished by all five entries in the series. Romero had taken his timeline as far as it could go, and by returning to the beginning, he thankfully shifts gears from the often perplexing Land--in which an overly cynical Romero expected too much sympathy for his zombies, and instead of lamenting over humanity's inability to save itself, seemed to be saying that the world is a better place in the hands of the undead.

By stripping his mythos down, the director also delivers in another area in which Land was alarmingly lacking: scares. This movie is suspenseful as hell, and reminds us why Romero is among the very best at creating an atmosphere of gnawing dread. A scene in a darkened warehouse, as well as the film's climactic moments inside a mansion, are strong examples.

Many critics, and even fans, are pointing to the acting as the movie's major downfall. To those I pose the question: Have you ever actually seen a George Romero movie? As much as we love them, time and nostalgia have sweetened our appraisals of the dramatic performances in them. There isn't a single actor whose work is nearly as bad as anything on display in, say, Day of the Dead, which is filled with often laughably awful dramatics despite its brilliance in other areas. I won't say there are any particular standouts in Diary either, with the possible exception of the world-weary film professor played by Scott Wentworth, who is given some of the best lines in Romero's intelligent, if somewhat overstated script.

It's a testament to the continued effectiveness of G.A.R.'s satirical powers that I found myself actively disagreeing with his social viewpoints throughout much of the movie. I kept feeling that by railing against the modern information age, the 67-year-old auteur comes off as a bit of a reactive curmudgeon, taking on some of the close-minded qualities of characters he might have lampooned 20 or 30 years ago. Yet I'm grateful to him for making such a thoughtful horror movie, one filled with so much detail that it will stand up to the repeated viewings I'll surely subject it to once it comes out on DVD.

There's also a surprising amount of humor on display, balanced perfectly with the grave and weighty tone. We get some snarky digs at modern-day fast-moving zombies that will surely please Romero purists. Plus the brilliant appearance of what can only be described as the greatest and most unlikely zombie-slayer since Father McGruder kicked ass for the Lord in Dead Alive. You'll never look at Historic Williamsburgh the same.

As for you gorehounds out there, you might want to lower your expectations. I was actually pretty surprised and a little disappointed by the amount of restraint shown in this area. There isn't the requisite "zombie banquet" scene, nor is there a single dismemberment in the whole picture. It's even more restrained than the studio-produced Land of the Dead, which is not at all what I expected. Don't get me wrong, I pride myself on being a cerebral horror fan, but when I go to see a George Romero zombie flick I expect to see some lovingly shot organ-munching.

Not that the film isn't without its share of "interesting kills" for those who go in for that sort of thing. In particular, there's an ingenious bit of business in which one of the protagonists bonks a ghoul over the head with a jar of acid, then watches as the chemical slowly eats through the creature's skull and destroys its brain. Good stuff.

There are clever tips of the hat to previous Dead flicks throughout, including a snippet of newscaster dialogue from Night that can be heard in the background at one point. There's also a scene in an apartment complex which directly conjures up the tenement scene in Dawn--and the impact is just as disturbing. This is by far the picture's grimmest moment.

Unfortunately, the homemade video gimmick on which the premise is hung doesn't always hold up. There are times in which it does feel a bit contrived, and the idea that the student filmmakers would add incidental music in post-production--especially to a scene in which one of the characters encounters her own reanimated loved ones--is kind of ludicrous. The movie is also too heavily narrated, with certain things overexplained, thus taking away from some of the visual impact (especially true during a jarring final scene that would've worked ten times better without narration.)

Now let me get the inevitable comparisons out of the way. Night of the Living Dead has always been the most frightening of the bunch to me, and still is. Dawn of the Dead is the best film all-around thanks to its enjoyable combination of horror, emotional resonance, quality filmmaking and commentary. Although Day of the Dead works better than Diary of the Dead as a horror movie, Diary is a higher quality film and a better overall package. And well, you know where I stand with regards to Land of the Dead.

It's a shame that virtually no money or effort was put into marketing this movie. I had to travel from Connecticut to Manhattan to see it, and the theater didn't even have a lobby poster for the flick. If properly pushed, this quality pic would've definitely yielded far better box-office results than it has, as it is a cut above most of the horror fare out there. Unfortunately, as a result of the mishandling, it looks like Uncle George is destined for the direct-to-DVD market from here on in.

Apparently, when there's no more room in theaters, the dead will sit on the video shelf.

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Forget About a Wide Release for Romero

Well, it looks like I'm going to be making that 35-mile trek down to New Rochelle after all. George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead has taken in $225,000 in 42 theaters over it's opening limited-release weekend. That breaks down to a minimally respectable $5,357.14 per-screen average. Not too bad for a small-budget horror film, but keep in mind that's about $300 per screening, which isn't all that great, either. Especially for a movie by a cult favorite director like Romero. The bottom line is that it doesn't appear as though the film will be getting that wide release after all.
So why didn't enough of you get out there to support this flick in the towns in which it was released? I guess one of the reasons may be Land of the Dead's tepid reception in the fan community. There's also the DVD factor--a lot of people out there just aren't motivated enough to see a movie like this in the theater. That leads me to draw the sad conclusion that there may not be enough died-in-the-wool Romero supporters left out there to make a theatrical release worthwhile. I guess everyone's saving up their dough for Saw XXVII. Too bad.
As for me, I'll be hopping in the Solomobile Thursday night for the big trip to Westchester. Wish me luck!

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Sneak a Peek at the Diary of the Dead

Can you feel the excitement in the air, people? Just six days to go until George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead. Yes, I know there's been a lot of zombie content lately here in the Vault, but damn it, this is my website and I'll do what I like!
Ahem...Anyway, IGN has posted some killer new footage of 2008's most anxiously awaited horror film, which only continues to boost my confidence. I particularly like the look of the ghouls in this one. I've always been a fan of having them look as human as possible, as opposed to demonic or monstrous. They are, after all, human corpses, are they not? And thank goodness, no hokey contact lenses. Check it out for yourself, let me know what you think:

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George Romero Talks to Opie & Anthony

Whether you love or hate Opie & Anthony (I fall amongst the former), it is very cool that they gave George A. Romero 45 minutes on a national radio show. Romero sat down with O & A and their comic sidekick Jim Norton to plug Diary of the Dead, plus talk frankly about a whole bunch of other horror-related stuff yesterday on XM Satellite Radio's The Virus (Ch. 202).
If you'd like to take a listen, you can download the show in its entirety here (for a small fee). For the rest of you, here are some interesting highlights:

• For me, the most candid moment came when George was asked what he thought of Max Brooks' written work (World War Z, Zombie Survival Guide). It was obvious Romero didn't want to badmouth the guy, but he basically intimated that he and Brooks have totally different objectives. Brooks, he explained, was more interested in "zombies for zombies' sake", while his films are more about the living people. He seems to feel Brooks takes the material too literally, and I'd have to agree.


• He didn't sound all to happy with Land of Dead. It sounded like he had to make some studio concessions, which is why he's so glad to be back to making independent films. Also, he felt the story got too overblown, which is why he brought it back to an intimate setting again.


• When asked what he thought of modern horror movies like Saw and Hostel, his response was: "I've seen enough of them to know not to see the sequels." Ouch.


• Continuing in the same vein, the director lamented the lack of creativity and insight amongst Hollywood studios which motivates them to greenlight endless horror remakes. He was particularly perturbed by the news of the redo of A Nightmare on Elm Street, a film of which he's very fond.


• Touching on the Resident Evil controversy a bit, Romero explained that the American producers very much liked his script, but it was the German production company that first set the project in motion which rejected it and opted to move further away from the video game.


• Speaking of which, the explosion in popularity for zombies lately can be credited more to the zombie-related video games of recent years than from his films, according to the modest filmmaker.


• Unfortunately he was never asked to elaborate on it, but Romero briefly mentioned that he and Stephen King had spoken in the past about doing an adaptation of King's 1999 novel The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon.


• In response to years of fan speculation, Romero denied that Day of the Dead had anything to do with the AIDS epidemic. Rather, his intention was strictly to focus on the breakdown of society caused by lack of trust and communication.


• In another unexpected and interesting moment, Romero seemed a bit conflicted when asked how he felt about Lucio Fulci's Zombi 2. While he did say he enjoyed Fulci's films, it was clear he still had sour grapes when discussing how Fulci "ripped off" the European title of Dawn of the Dead and made an unofficial sequel without anyone's permission.


• I had never heard this story before: George indicated that his casting of African-American Duane Jones as the lead in Night of the Living Dead was not meant as a statement on race relations, but it was literally while they were on their way to deliver the first finished print of the movie that they heard news on the radio of Martin Luther King's assassination. He and Jones knew then that, intentional or not, his movie would have a powerful racial message. Romero denied that the militia's shooting of Ben at the end of the movie was intended as a racial comment.

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Diary of the Dead Theater Listings Announced

They're promising this is just a partial list with more to come, and I certainly hope so. I realize that George Romero's Diary of the Dead is only getting a limited theatrical release, but there's got to be at least one moviehouse out here in the wiles of Fairfield County, Connecticut that'll be showing it.
Yesterday, the film's official MySpace page released this set of domestic listings, so check below to see if the flick will be coming to a theater near you in three weeks:

NEW YORK CITY
AMC Empire 25
(212) 398-3939

City Cinemas Village East
(212) 529-6998

LOS ANGELES
Landmark Nuart
(310) 281-8223

Mann Chinese (opening 2/22/08)
(323) 464-8111

SAN FRANCISCO
Landmark Lumiere
(415) 267-4893

Landmark Shattuck
(510) 464-5980

PHILADELPHIA
Landmark Ritz - Bourse
(215) 440-1181

AMC Neshaminy
(215)722-4AMC

AMC Cherry Hill
(856) 486-7420

DENVER
Landmark Starz Film Center
(303) 820-3456

BOSTON
AMC Boston Commons
(617) 423-5801

Landmark Kendall Square
(617) 621-1202

DALLAS
AMC Mesquite 30
(972) 724-8000

HOUSTON
AMC Gulf Pointe 30
(281) 319-4AMC

PHOENIX
Harkins Arizona Mills
(480) 820-0387

ATLANTA
Paulson Plaza Theatre
(404) 873-1939

Regal Hollywood 24
(770) 936-8235

SEATTLE
Regal Meridian
(206) 622-2434

AMC Alderwood 16
(425) 921-2985

MIAMI, FL
Brand Dolphin Cinema 19
(305) 591-9380

DETROIT
Center Uptown Palladium
(248) 644-3456

SAN DIEGO
AMC Palm Promenade
(858) 558-2AMC

LAS VEGAS
Cinemark South Point 16
(702) 260-4061

BALTIMORE
Muvico Egyptian 24
(443) 755-8992

PITTSBURGH
AMC Waterfront
(412) 462-6923

CHARLOTTE, NC
ACME Carolina Theatre

Check myspace.com/diaryofthedead for more info.

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I'm proud to announce that beginning with this week, The Vault of Horror will be taking part in the weekly Horror Roundtable over at the aptly named and always insightful Horror Blog. Check it out here.

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The Official Diary of the Dead Trailer Is Here

So is it time yet to rename this site The Vault of Zombie Trailers? I love me some living dead, and how could you not geek out over a new George Romero picture? Anyway, I'm sure you're all gonna love this. It debuted this morning on MySpaceTV. The flick is set to premiere in the U.S. in five weeks, and I can't wait. This is hands-down my most highly anticipated project of the year. Check it out:

It seems to me that the master is getting back to speed. Quite frankly, he showed some ring rust with Land of the Dead. This looks to be much better. With his first three Dead movies, Romero did something that added to the genre, took it in a different direction. And while Land was a good horror flick, it simply didn't do that. This looks like more of a return to form.

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Diary of the Dead: A First Taste...

Maybe I've been out of the loop, but there's some very promising Diary of the Dead footage floating around which I would think would be making a bigger stir than it has. I recently came across it on the I See Dead messageboards, and it got me pretty pumped to see the fifth Romero Dead flick, especially after being slightly disappointed with Land of the Dead. This one's set at the beginning of the zombie outbreak--a la Night of the Living Dead--and looks like it will surpass the last installment. We'll have to wait till February 15 to see it in its entirety, so for now, this footage--shown during an interview with George Romero that aired on Spanish TV--will have to do.

Thanks to Loneranger Zombie of the I See Dead forums for bringing this to my attention!

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Valentine's Day of the Dead

George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead--which has been playing at select film festivals since September--finally has an official U.S. release date. Dimension Films announced yesterday that the fifth Dead movie, which follows the story of a group of student filmmakers on the run at the start of the zombie outbreak, will hit theaters on February 15. That's one day after Valentine's Day for all you single people. So...I guess that makes it a perfect date movie, right....? Doesn't it?

As was reported here last week, the sixth picture in the series (as yet untitled) is now officially underway. Check out the first teaser poster above, courtesy of Aint It Cool News.

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Romero's Dead to Walk Again

With the impending U.S. theatrical release of George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead (reported to be much more of a return to form for Romero following the decidedly average Land of the Dead), Bloody Disgusting is indicating that the king of the zombies is hard at work on a direct follow-up to Diary. That's right, a sixth Dead film is in the works. The movie has no title as of yet, but you can read a synopsis here. Those of you who haven't seen Diary of the Dead yet, beware of spoilers! Wish I knew that before I opened it...

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