Pop Culture WI: Romero never made Night of the Living Dead?

[Crying]

How would things have changed if Romero never made Night of the Living Dead? Would the Zombie genre still exist, and how would it be different? If the Zombie genre didn't exist, what could have 'replaced' it? What movie might Romero have made in place of NotLD?

 

[cra0422]

My best guess is that the zombie genre would be more like the mindless voodoo-type zombie that had been revived and enslaved by a sorcerer or witch. In "Night of the Living Dead" Romero himself didn't consider the flesh-eaters as zombies but rather ghouls

 

[Fenrir_Angerboda]

We had a discussion about this before.

the concept of the Voodoo Zombie is still around.

Given that Romero's major influences, I am Legend and the like are still around, someone may be inspired to do something like that later.

I had also proposed that it would lead to a wider variety of undead in cinema, since the classic zombie is now a reanimated servant obedient to it's master's whims.

The ghoul might become the counterpart to our classic zombie.