The world of entertainment just lost another “father”. George A. Romero, known as  the “Father of Zombie Film” passed away at the age of 77 after a short bout with lung cancer. Tributes far and wide have been given, with horror-thriller directors mentioning him that he was their inspiration. Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Write wrote, “It’s fair to say that without George A. Romero, I would not have the career I have now.”

If you are an avid fan of zombie films, then you will know that Romero is the most influential pioneer of this horror film genre, starting with the Night of the Living Dead, released in 1968 and is considered to be the origin of the zombie as known in popular culture these days. All zombie movies since then, the influence of George Romero is there, including the massive popular TV series, The Walking Dead.

It is not also in film and TV that his influence is felt, video games, horror books, and even in airsoft it can be seen. It cannot be denied that airsoft events with zombie or post-apocalyptic themes are based on the zombies that Romero has created for his films. Thus, it is appropriate that we in airsoft pay tribute to this man who has indirectly, helped spiced-up airsoft events.

When I first watched my first zombie movie made by Romero, the Dawn of the Dead with my brother, it was one of the most shocking movies I ever watched. But from there, I have been following zombie movies, as compared to other horror movies, and now zombies have proven to be a proven formula in making a movie.

In these days where a good number of the population are fearing an post-apocalyptic world that gave rise to the prepper movement, the zombie movies have a big influence that we see these anti-zombie weapons and bunkers being marketed by companies. In the firearms and airsoft industries, we see the same, and zombie targets are popular at ranges or themed-events.

For Romero, zombies are used as characters for satire or political statements, but laments it is lacking in The Waking Dead or World War Z in a story at Uproxx, a heads-up for budding filmmakers wanting to follow in his footsteps.

According MSN.com, Romero died while listening to the score of The Quiet Man,  romantic comedy-drama film directed by John Ford released in 1952 starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara. At his side were his wife, Suzanne Desrocher Romero, and daughter, Tina Romero.

Top photo: George A. Romero speaking at the 2016 Mad Monster Arizona (Photo by Gage Skidmore, Some rights reserved)