George Romero Bust Has A Perfect Home At Monroeville Mall

PITTSBURGH, PA - Four months after he died last July, Pittsburgh-based film director George Romero received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In doing so, he joined the ranks of directing legends such as Frank Capra, John Huston, Alfred Hitchcock and James Cameron.

Romero undoubtedly would have been pleased had he been alive for the honor. But the horror movie director probably would have even been more impressed by the tribute that was paid to him Friday, when a bust of his likeness was unveiled at Monroeville Mall.

Sculpted by Verona artist Christian Stavrakis of Verona, the bust strengthens the inextricable link that has existed between Romero and the retail complex for four decades.

Romero’s most famous movie, of course, always will be, “Night of the Living Dead,” which jump-started an American love affair with zombies that survives to this day (see: “The Walking Dead.) In his second-most famous movie, 1978’s “Dawn of the Dead,” Monroeville Mall wasn’t just a film location; it practically was a co-star.

The film concerns a group of zombie apocalypse survivors who take refuge in a mall. The location that turns out to be impossible to secure from the undead, a plot development “The Walking Dead” occasionally has copied (see seasons 1-8 inclusive).

What made ‘Dawn of the Dead’ such a critical success wasn’t just blood and gore. It was the fun Romero poked at America’s crass consumerism.

“The mall, with its cornucopia of merchandise, becomes the mecca for the (survivors) and for the zombies,” Sean Posey wrote in The Hampton Institure, which I read so you don’t have to.

“‘Dawn’ highlights the 'zombiefication' of the American consumer class. Even in death, hordes of former shoppers surround the mall and mindlessly wander its confines...symbolically, the mall becomes a place where community goes to die.”

Pretty sophisticated stuff for a zombie movie, no?

That striking satire probably was lost on young people who saw the film during its initial release (cough, me, cough). But it was the subtext that helped lend life to this zombie classic in the ensuing years afterward.

Romero made horror movies about the undead feasted on the flesh of the living. “Dawn of the Dead” occurred in a setting in which, 40 years later, online shopping is devouring brick-and-mortar retailers - much to their horror.

Amazon moves quicker than shambling zombies, but the end result is the same. Nearly 7,000 stores were shuttered nationwide last year. Toys R Us is going out of business and other retailers (cough, Sears, cough; cough, Kmart, cough) soon could follow.

Romero was a guy said to have enjoyed a good laugh. No doubt he would have chuckled over the irony.

Monroeville Mall is the perfect place for this tribute to the talented director.

Eric Heyl is Patch’s Pittsburgh field editor. Reach him at 412-334-4033 or Eric.Heyl@Patch.com.