George Romero's "Lost" Film The Amusement Park to Officially Premiere in October

The godfather of the zombie genre George Romero passed away in 2017, leaving behind a number of [...]

By Patrick Cavanaugh

The godfather of the zombie genre George Romero passed away in 2017, leaving behind a number of rare and unfinished projects, with his 1973 film The Amusement Park finally being remastered and screened after decades of being relatively unseen. While the filmmaker made a name for himself in the horror genre, The Amusement Park focuses on terrors of a different kind, depicting the ways in which society treats the elderly. The film will be screened in his hometown of Pittsburgh where a number of his most iconic films were shot. You can learn more about the October 12th screening at the George Romero Foundation's official site.

The site describes the film, "A long-lost Romero film gets its official premiere 46 years after its completion! Unseen for decades, the Regent Square Theater's audiences will get the first opportunities to see the newly restored film. Sponsored by the Lutheran Services, The Amusement Park was commissioned as a film intended to inform viewers about the need to care for the elderly. Romero, however, conceived of what was perhaps his wildest, most imaginative movie: an allegory about the nightmarish realities of aging in a world without an adequate social safety net. Starring Martin's Lincoln Maazel, an elderly man finds himself disoriented and increasingly isolated as the pains, tragedies, and humiliations of aging in America manifest themselves through roller coasters, bumper cars, and chaotic crowds. Shot in the now-defunct West View Amusement Park in Pittsburgh's North Hills, The Amusement Park is a strange but incredibly humane film that, nonetheless, might be Romero's 'most overtly horrifying film.' (author Daniel Kraus)"

This film's release follows up on what the filmmaker's wife, Suzanne Desrocher-Romero, shared with ComicBook.com last year.

"We have a film that he shot in 1973 that most people haven't seen. A handful of people have seen this film," Desrocher admitted. "We're gonna restore it, and we're gonna show it to Romero cinephiles. It's a scary movie, but it's not a horror movie, and it's about ageism. Anyway, he has a cameo in it, and it'll be fun. And we'll show the movie, or get it distributed. It'll be a project that the foundation's gonna do. I think it's the first project we're gonna do actually."

She added, "A lot of people are like, 'Oh, my God, I can't wait to see it.' And I go, 'It's not a zombie movie now, remember.' And what's also terrific is that you see his footprint. You see how he shoots and the story. It's a unique find. I'm so happy I have it."

You can head to the George Romero Foundation's official site for more details.

Are you glad to see the film finally get a premiere? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!

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