George A. Romero’s 2017 passing was a real big loss to cinema. I mean, the guy literally invented the modern flesh-eating zombie with his 1967 classic "Night of the Living Dead.”
Romero would go on to direct some strong Zombie flicks, especially 1978’s “Dawn of the Dead” and 1985’s “Day of the Dead.” However, in my opinion, Romero’s best film was not a zombie movie, it was instead this little seen gem from the ‘70s titled “Martin,” check it out if you can find a copy of it.
Regardless, Romero was still making movies well into his 70s, forever obsessed with zombies, while the genre was expanding all around him with numerous riffs on his work, including the ultra-popular “The Walking Dead.”
What was being dubbed as Romero’s “final” Zombie film, titled “Twilight of the Dead,” now has a planned 2025 start date in Puerto Rico. Romero had written the script for “Twilight of the Dead” before he passed away and regarded it as the conclusion to his “Living Dead” saga. The George A. Romero estate is teaming up with financier-producer Roundtable on the “seventh and final instalment” of the seminal ‘Living Dead’ franchise.
Milla Jovovich (“Resident Evil”) and Betty Gabriel (“Get Out”) have been set to star in “Twilight of the Dead.”
Brad Anderson has also signed on to direct the film, his past credits include “The Machinist,” “Session 9,” “The Call” and “Beirut.” He’s from the indie world so his hiring does fit well with the spirit of the ‘Living Dead’ movies.
Here’s the synopsis:
Set on a tropical island, we’re told Twilight Of The Dead will “delve into the dark nature of humanity from the perspective of the last humans on earth who are caught between factions of the undead”. True to the Romero oeuvre, it is being framed by the producers as “thought-provoking sociopolitical commentary wrapped in a genre piece”.
Criterion's December lineup has some great additions to the library, but the title that jumped out at me is Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man," which officially joins the Collection on December 8.