Birth of the Living Dead ***½ (NR) Here’s a must-see documentary for zombie buffs - a light-hearted, detailed and informative look at how George Romero started a raging genre of plodding creatures on a shoestring budget in the 1960s. Morphing from a Pittsburgh-based advertising agency that specialized in TV commercials into a cult hero for fans of the occult spawned decades of icky delights for generations of viewers, and an interesting tale in its own right.
Romero had to scramble for every aspect of his seminal Night of the Living Dead, from screenplay to sets, props, cast and distribution. What looks now like an amateur’s idea of a horror film was actually a mix of off-the-cuff and planned components, getting by with a lot of help from his friends. Interview clips with Romero and many others fill in the backstory for the beginnings of this subspecies of gorefests that should remain undead for decades to come. Bonus features include more interview footage with the master, and scenes from some of the zombie walks that give his fans the chance to convene in costume to honor their master, as others have long been doing for The Rocky Horror Picture Show...but quieter. (1/7/14)