The Dark Half
Blu-ray
Director: George A. Romero
Screenwriters: George A. Romero, Paul Hunt, Nick McCarthy
Cast: Timothy Hutton, Amy Madigan, Michael Rooker, Julie Harris
Scream Factory
Rated R | 122 Minutes
Release Date: November 18, 2014

Directed by George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead, Creepshow), 1993’s The Dark Half is based on Stephen King‘s novel of the same name.

In order to talk about Romero’s adaptation of The Dark Half, first we must discuss a little history. In the late ’70s and early ’80s, King published a handful of short novels – Rage (1977), The Long Walk (1979), Roadwork (1981), The Running Man (1982), and Thinner (1984) “” under the pseudonym Richard Bachman.

Shortly after the release of Thinner, Bachman was exposed as King’s pseudonym by a Washington D.C. bookstore clerk who noticed similarities between the two authors. The clerk, Steve Brown, wrote to King with the evidence he’d gathered, and King called him days later to come clean in an exclusive interview. The interview was published in The Washington Post, and King announced Bachman’s death – from “cancer of the pseudonym.”

Monkey Shines
Blu-ray
Director: George A. Romero
Screenwriter: George A. Romero
Cast: Jason Beghe, John Pankow, Kate McNeil, Christine Forrest, Janine Turner, Stanley Tucci
Scream Factory
Rated R | 113 Minutes
Release Date: November 11, 2014

In 1968, Night of the Living Dead became a cult classic and a defining moment for modern horror cinema. Since then, filmmaker George A. Romero has made some truly interesting films with socio-political overtones.

In the ’70s, Romero gave us The Crazies, about a military biological weapon that turns people into homicidal maniacs; Jack’s Wife (also known as Season of the Witch) – a feminist film about housewives practicing witchcraft; Martin, a satirical, transgressive vampire film, and Dawn of the Dead, an apocalyptic horror masterpiece.

Doc of the Dead
Director: Alexandre O. Philippe
Cast: Max Brooks, George A. Romero, Simon Pegg, Robert Kirkman
Red Letter Media
Not Rated | 81 Minutes
Release Date: March 15, 2014

Directed by Alexandre O. Philippe (The People vs. George Lucas), Doc of the Dead delves deep into the evolution of the zombie sub-genre in film and literature.

The film, which features interviews with zombie authors, filmmakers, and scholars like Max Brooks, George A. Romero, and Robert Kirkman, explores the impact and influence of the living dead on pop culture.

With the participation of YouTubers and indie filmmakers, Doc of the Dead also investigates the possibility and aftermath of a real-life zombie outbreak.

Simon Pegg, Tom Savini, Stuart Gordon, Bruce Campbell, and other horror and science-fiction icons provide commentary on our fascination with zombies while recognizing the inherent use of metaphor and social commentary in the sub-genre.