Romero’s sequel to Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, received almost the same criticism as the first but “this kind of publicity proved to be more boon than bane” (George A(ndrew) Romero). It gained popularity due to the outrage it caused. The movie was a certified hit and many agree that it is a brilliant sequel.
Romero’s first two films cost an estimated $700,000 to make, a very low budget, and grossed about $97,000,000 worldwide. He had no idea the impact they would make, especially with the amount of money he and his friends saved up to make the first film. Dawn of the Dead further contributed to the zombie phenomenon, “He has redefined the genre film like nobody could. After DAWN OF THE DEAD, the horror film will never be the same” (Yakir).
And when society goes bad, horror films start getting good, and the 1970s marked a return to the big budget, respectable horror film, addressing genuine psychological fears of that time. They replaced the old Gothic style(Dracula and Frankenstein) in horror films with a huge increase in the production of gory, graphic horror films. They were about paranoia, and the fear that the morality change of the 1960s had created a culture of monsters, the successors of the shuffling zombies in Night of The Living Dead.
Works Cited
"George A(ndrew) Romero." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 22 Apr. 2011.
Yakir, Dan. "Morning Becomes Romero." Film Comment. May/June 1979: 60-65. SIRS Renaissance. Web. 29 Apr 2011.
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