The late George Andrew Romero was an American-Canadian filmmaker, writer, editor, and actor. He dabbled in several genres but was most fondly known for his horror movies, particularly those focusing on an imagined zombie apocalypse.
His entertainment career began in the 1960s, and he worked until the 2010s, so his catalog of work is impressive. Sadly, he passed away in 2017 following a short battle with an aggressive form of lung cancer.
Fans will forever remember Romero for entertaining them in their millions; his directorial work shines brightest. In this piece, we’ll rank all 16 movies the great man directed, starting with the best and working down.
1 – Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Night of the Living Dead is an independent horror movie about seven people stranded in a rural Pennsylvania farmhouse under assault from hordes of the undead who have mysteriously risen from their graves.
Frequently identified as the first modern zombie flick, Romero directed, photographed, and edited Night of the Living Dead. It stars the now iconic Judith O’Dea, Duane Jones, and Marilyn Eastman, who are all fantastic in it. It’s a film considered a brilliant piece of art and is well-written, tightly edited, surprisingly realistic regarding its gore, and genuinely creepy. It’s a must-see for any horror fan. “They’re coming to get you, Barbara” is among the most memorable movie lines ever spoken.
Romero wrote and produced the 1990 Night of the Living Dead remake, but Tom Savini directed it. While it was a decent movie, it pales compared to the original.
2 – The Amusement Park (1975)
The Amusement Park is a psychological horror movie about an elderly gentleman who heads for an amusement park for what he hopes will be a fun day but finds himself in a hellacious nightmare.
It was initially commissioned as an educational film about elder abuse but ultimately didn’t receive a release. The Amusement Park was on the lost list until 2017, when Romero received a 16mm print and had it restored, revealing an excellent movie to the world. It’s a chilling film depicting the genuine horror experienced by some older people in modern society. It’s mesmerizing with intriguing and disturbing visuals and will legitimately shake you. It’s tough to watch, but you won’t be able to look away. The star, Lincoln Maazel, is a gem.
3 – Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Dawn of the Dead is a horror movie following survivors of a viral zombie outbreak who take refuge inside a large suburban shopping mall and barricade themselves from the undead hordes while the world goes to hell.
It’s a brilliantly entertaining film with clever social commentary. Dawn of the Dead makes a fun mockery of how society has become so materialistic while providing all the gore and terror a horror fan could wish to witness. Its setting offers so much opportunity for creativity, and David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott Reiniger, and Gaylen Ross perform superbly.
Zack Snyder directed, and James Gunn wrote a 2004 Dawn of the Dead remake. It was as good as the original, but Romero had nothing to do with it.
4 – Martin (1977)
Martin is a psychological slasher horror movie about a troubled young man, the eponymous Martin Mathias, who believes he’s a vampire and behaves accordingly.
Romero’s take on vampire lore is downbeat, dark, and depressing, as it should be. Still, it also contains some subtle satirical humor regarding the literary vampire, and Martin is subsequently a brilliant watch. It’s a thoughtful film among Romero’s most arty, and John Amplas is a revelation in the lead role. This one has lots of suspense, and the final act is superb.
5 – Day of the Dead (1985)
Day of the Dead is a horror movie about a group of zombie apocalypse survivors in Florida sheltering in an underground bunker, where scientists attempt to find a solution, and everyone tries to determine the outcome of humanity’s conflict with the undead hordes.
With its theme of how a lack of communication can cause chaos and confusion, Day of the Dead is another intelligent satire from Romero. It’s less scary than Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead, and the story is weaker, but it’s still hugely entertaining and offers a particularly scathing view of society. The core cast of Lori Cardille, Terry Alexander, Joe Pilato, Jarlath Conroy, and Richard Liberty are all terrific.
Two remakes have been made, in 2008 and 2017. Neither film had any input from Romero, and, in these cases, you can tell because they’re both terrible.
6 – Knightriders (1981)
Knightriders is an action drama about a Renaissance fair troupe’s struggles to keep its family-like dynamic afloat as local authorities pressure them, talent agents show interest in them, and their “King” displays delusions of grandeur.
It’s a very personal film for Romero, and another intelligent one, that reveals his Utopian ideals. Everything from the editing, cinematography, and soundtrack to the writing, directing, and acting is solid. Ed Harris and Tom Savini lead the cast, with good support from Gary Lahti, Amy Ingersoll, Patricia Tallman, and Christine Forrest. Knightriders is a little too long, but it’s well worth watching.
7 – Land of the Dead (2005)
Land of the Dead is a horror movie about a zombie assault in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where a feudal-like system governs the population. The film follows a group of survivors who fled to downtown Pittsburgh’s Golden Triangle area, protected on two sides by rivers and on the other by an electric barricade known as “the Throat.”
It undoubtedly delivers when it comes to action and gore, but Land of the Dead doesn’t feel as fresh as Romero’s earlier zombie offerings and has fewer new ideas. However, it’s playful, fun, and an intriguing social commentary with clever metaphors relating to modern life. The cast is the highlight, with Simon Baker, Dennis Hopper, Asia Argento, Robert Joy, John Leguizamo, and Eugene Clark all starring.
8 – Creepshow (1982)
Creepshow is a comedy horror anthology movie based on a screenplay by Stephen King. It consists of five short stories, two of which got adapted from King’s short stories: “Father’s Day,” “The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill” (based on King’s short story “Weeds”), “Something to Tide You Over,” “The Crate” and “They’re Creeping Up on You!”
The nature of anthologies means Creepshow is a little uneven, but it’s a funny, intentionally tacky movie with lots of color and entertainment. It might not be as good or scary as horror fans would expect a team-up between Romero and King to be, and some of the stories are derivative, but it’s far from terrible. Some game cast members include Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Fritz Weaver, and Leslie Nielsen.
A sequel, Creepshow 2, was released in 1987, directed by Michael Gornick. It was vastly inferior to Creepshow, but Romero did write the screenplay for it.
9 – The Crazies (1973)
The Crazies is a sci-fi horror movie about the residents of a small American town who accidentally become afflicted by a military biological weapon, causing them to either die or become hysterical and homicidally insane.
As is often the case with Romero’s films, there’s a subtext to this one of the social and ecological variety. The core cast of Lane Carroll, W.G. McMillan, Harold Wayne Jones, Lloyd Hollar, Lynn Lowry, and Richard Liberty perform relatively pedestrianly, it takes too long to get going, and the sound is of a quality that sometimes makes it hard to follow. However, there are some thrills and suspense in The Crazies.
A remake hit theaters in 2010, which some believe was better than the original. Breck Eisner directed it, but Romero served as executive producer on it.
10 – Bruiser (2000)
Bruiser is a French horror thriller about a man who awakens to find a blank white mask where his face used to be, following years of being walked all over and cheated on.
It has a solid core cast of Jason Flemyng, Peter Stormare, Leslie Hope, and Tom Atkins, who do just fine. Bruiser is a bleak, violent, dark film without significant scares or suspense. Most of the attempts at humor fall flat as well. However, watching this film is strangely fascinating; the actors do their best, and Romero’s positive influence is undoubtedly evident.
11 – Season of the Witch (1973)
Season of the Witch is a drama movie about a suburban housewife in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who gets involved in the practice of witchcraft after she meets a local witch at a Tarot reading.
It features a largely unknown cast, including Jan White, Raymond Laine, Joedda McClain, Bill Thunhurst, and Ann Muffly, and most of them do okay, with some notable exceptions. However, Season of the Witch looks cheap and feels seedy like adult films did in the 1970s. It showcases Romero’s quirky directional talent, but the editing is jarring, and there’s too much talking going on, making it easy to lose interest.
12 – Diary of the Dead (2007)
Diary of the Dead is a found-footage horror movie about a group of young film studies students who, while filming a horror movie of their own, end up using their camera to document a real-life zombie virus outbreak.
The message in this one about recording culture is clear, but it lacks scares and therefore doesn’t succeed as a horror film. It stars Michelle Morgan, Josh Close, Shawn Roberts, Amy Lalonde, Joe Dinicol, and Scott Wentworth, and it feels as amateur as its plot would suggest. Granted, that’s the point, but this film should be better. Romero includes some inventive kills, but Diary of the Dead is one of the poorer found-footage horrors of recent years.
13 – The Dark Half (1993)
The Dark Half is a horror movie based on Stephen King’s 1989 novel. It’s about a writer whose fictional alter-ego wants to take over his life, no matter the cost.
It’s got an excellent cast that includes Timothy Hutton, Amy Madigan, Julie Harris, Michael Rooker, and Robert Joy. Hutton performs particularly well and sheds his nice guy image with a dark turn. However, it doesn’t stop The Dark Half from only being a mediocre film. Its main problems are that it fails to explain why the evil alter-ego exists and lacks scares. Its strengths lie in its intriguing ideas and nature as a psychological study.
14 – Monkey Shines (1988)
Monkey Shines is a psychological horror movie based on Michael Stewart’s 1983 British novel. It’s about a young athlete who becomes a paralyzed quadriplegic and develops a strong bond with “Ella,” an intelligent service monkey who turns murderous after getting an injection with an experimental serum containing human brain tissue.
It has some genuinely fear-inducing moments, and while it is thought-provoking, it tries too hard to be philosophical and doesn’t quite succeed. Ella has earned comparisons to the eponymous King Kong, but the 1933 monster movie is far superior to this one. The dialogue is also far too expository sometimes, and too many loose ends are left dangling. Starring Jason Beghe, John Pankow, Kate McNeil, and Joyce Van Patten, Monkey Shines will satisfy most horror fans, but it’s average overall.
15 – Survival of the Dead (2009)
Survival of the Dead is a horror movie that follows a group of AWOL National Guardsmen who briefly appeared in Romero’s previous film, 2007’s Diary of the Dead, navigating a post-apocalyptic world of zombies.
The occasional hint of Romero’s genius pops up in this movie, but it was his last one and strongly suggests he was running out of new ideas. It’s by far his weakest zombie flick and feels generally uninspired. The cast includes Alan van Sprang, Kenneth Welsh, and Kathleen Munroe; nobody shines. Survival of the Dead is a dull movie in terms of its story and visuals.
16 – There’s Always Vanilla (1971)
There’s Always Vanilla is a rom-com about a young man who returns to his home city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he moves in with an older woman with whom he comes to rely on for financial and emotional support.
By his admission, this was Romero’s worst film and showed that he should unequivocally avoid making romantic comedies. It’s a mess and stars little-known (and little-talent) actors Raymond Laine, Judith Ridley, and Roger McGovern. There’s Always Vanilla is as bland as the flavor in its title and lacks the romance and humor its genre demands. It’s one to avoid.
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