He was the innovator of the zombie genre. There wouldn't be the hit series The Walking Dead without him. He's George Romero, and he'll be in Danbury this Saturday.

Anyone who's ever watched a zombie horror movie is watching the work inspired by this legendary director. George Romero's 1968 cult classic Night of the Living Dead has become the standard that all zombie films are measured against.  It's a film so important, that almost 50 years after its release, it's still one of the internet's most downloaded movies. It's a yearly tradition in my house, too. It's just not Halloween unless I've watched that film at least once.

The film was shot on a shoe-string budget in a small town in Pennsylvania. Most of the crew on the film also doubled as zombies. The special effects director was one of the lead characters, but despite all this, the film went on to define what a zombie film is and would be to this day.

You can see and meet George Romero and other sci fi celebrities at Connecticut Horrorfest. It's happening Saturday from 11 AM - 8 PM at the Matrix Conference Center in Danbury, just off exit 2 of I-84.

Here's a classic scene from the original "Night of the Living Dead":

 

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