A lighter, darker side of George Romero in 'Moonshadows'

George Romero grew up on E.C. Comics, and the influences of those horror comics is evident throughout his work, most notably Creepshow, which is presented as an anthology of tales within a comic book. A certain gleeful ghoulishness underlies much of Romero's filmography, suggesting if nothing else, he always remained a kid at heart who giggled at the grossout.

In the 90s and early 2000s, Romero attempted but failed to make horror movies for children, hoping to broaden his appeal beyond the ultra-gory. Despite a few attempts - most notably Goosebumps and (I would argue) The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon - he was unable to make that leap.

Goosebumps understandably has received the most coverage as far as aborted Romero projects for children goes, and indeed, with its critiques of capitalism and living dead threat, it's easy to see why. However, I want to talk about Moonshadows, a fantasy horror script he wrote multiple drafts for, and unlike Goosebumps, it's an original story, not an adaptation of someone else's book.

When Romero portrayed a real-life monster in 'The Assassination'

Before I Wake was the unproduced George Romero script I was most interested in reading when I visited the George A. Romero Archival Collection in October 2024 (click here for more about that), but I read two other scripts, including The Assassination.

Like Before I Wake, The Assassination also came close to production before falling apart. In fact, it actually got as far as casting. Ed Harris and James Coburn had signed on for prominent roles, pop singer Ricky Martin was in talks for a part, and Anthony Quinn was set to play the story's central figure, Rafael Trujillo, the longtime dictator of the Dominican Republic.

Unlike Before I Wake, it's easy to figure out why The Assassination wasn't filmed: Anthony Quinn died. Around the time the film was to begin shooting, the 86-year-old Quinn passed away of respiratory failure, and he was pretty much irreplaceable to the project. 

Hollywood lays Romero to rest with 'Before I Wake'

George Romero was incredibly prolific in the 1970s and '80s, but in the '90s, he hit a rut. Despite being attached to many high-profile projects - including Resident Evil, The Mummy, and Goosebumps - and cranking out a large number of scripts, he only produced one feature film, The Dark Half, which finished filming in 1991 and was released in 1993. He didn't complete another full-length movie until Bruiser in 2000.

One project that came close to being filmed was Before I Wake (This has no connection with the 2016 film of the same name directed by Mike Flanagan). This version was a haunted house movie Romero spent years developing, writing multiple drafts and getting as far as having shooting schedules written, locations picked out, and a budget lined up. So why didn't it happen?

The Quatermass Xperiment

Victor Carroon (Richard Wordsworth) was one of three astronauts launched into space in a rocket by Professor Bernard Quatermass (Brian Donlevy), but he's the only one found on board when the rocket crashes on a farm. When he's dragged free, all Victor can say is "Help me," before slipping into more-or-less a catatonic state. Before long, it becomes apparent to Quatermass, Scotland Yard Inspector Lomax (Jack Warner), and others that something inhuman has taken over Victor, threatening the entire world.

The Quatermass Xperiment is a movie I was curious about for a long time before I finally saw it. I first became aware of it when I learned John Carpenter used "Martin Quatermass" as a pseudonym when he wrote Prince of Darkness. Carpenter even appears on the DVD to talk about his love for the movie.

Watching it for the first time, I see why it appeals to Carpenter. It's apocalyptic sci-fi horror, dark and cynical, and it mixes subtle mystery and tension with (for the time) graphic shocks.

Would You Rather

I love Jeffrey Combs. The man has turned in countless great performances in the horror and science fiction genres, and when I see he's in a movie, I immediately become interested.

Combs’ presence intrigued me with Would You Rather, and indeed, I don't think I would have enjoyed the movie as much if he weren't in it. He plays such a wonderfully loathsome and nasty villain and carries the movie on his back.

Plenty of movies start off interesting and become disappointing by the end. Would You Rather works in the opposite direction. It begins fairly uninvolving. I was disappointed the filmmakers took a great, schlocky idea and played it seriously, which drained out a lot of potential fun and humor. But, by the end, I confess the movie had me hooked, creating genuine tension and unpredictable moments.

The Pit and the Pendulum (1991)

Director Stuart Gordon is best known for his H.P. Lovecraft adaptations, but with The Pit and the Pendulum, he moved on to Edgar Allan Poe, handling the material with the same splatter gore and black humor he’s known for.

Spain. 1492. The Inquisition under Torquemada (Lance Henriksen) is in full swing. During the auto-de-fe, Maria (Rona De Ricci), aghast at the cruelty on display, begs for the violence to stop when a child is whipped. Entranced with her beauty, Torquemada orders her arrested as a witch. She's taken to the castle dungeon for torture while her husband Antonio (Jonathan Fuller), a baker and former soldier, tries to rescue her.

Nobody expected the Spanish Inquisition, but viewers of The Pit and the Pendulum can expect a cavalcade of atrocities: the iron maiden, the rack, floggings, burnings at the stake, a tongue is cut out, and Torquemada wears a spiked corset with the spikes pointed inward. It's as bloody and ghastly as you'd expect a movie about the Inquisition to be.

Three...Extremes

America and England are responsible for most of the anthology movies I'm familiar with, but Three...Extremes is an East Asian production from three different directors: Fruit Chan of Hong Kong, Park Chan-wook of South Korea, and Takashi Miike of Japan. Each one of these directors directs a 40-minute segment.

Chan starts with "Dumplings," the tale of an aging ex-actress who visits a woman for dumplings that restore youth but are made with a gruesome ingredient.

In "Cut," by Park, a successful film director and his wife are kidnapped by an extra from his movies and tortured.

With "Box," Miike tells the story of a woman haunted by nightmares of being buried in a box in the snow.