White Zombie and films like it often centered on the barbarism of dark-skinned people and exotic, tropical environments, which played to the fears and paranoia of white American viewers. Before Night of the Living Dead, zombies were typically living people transformed into monsters, instead of freshly dead bodies rising to walk again. If you want to know just how much Romero changed the way we view zombie films, try watching this 1932 entry, directed by Victor Halperin and starring Bela Lugosi, which is considered the first feature-length zombie picture. To honor the master, here is a collection of some of his greatest hits, along with films that were either crucial inspirations to the horror legend, or films that were heavily inspired by him. Romero died Sunday, but his films make him immortal. When George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead debuted in 1968, it changed horror forever. Using savage violence as social commentary, this tiny film reinvented the zombie genre and inspired a half a century of imitations, variations, and homages.
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