Book Review: Gospel of the Living Dead: George Romero's Visions of Hell on Earth by Kim Paffenroth

GOSPEL OF THE LIVING DEAD: GEORGE ROMERO'S VISIONS OF HELL ON EARTH

By Kim Paffenroth

Author Kim Paffenroth is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Iona College of New York who has crafted a comprehensive analysis of the current four films in the George A. Romero zombie franchise (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, and Land of the Dead) as well as the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead (the only film absent is the 1990 version of Night of the Living Dead which the author deems to similar to the original to denote mention). In "Gospel of the Living Dead: George Romero's Vision of Hell on Earth" Paffenoth takes a look at each individual film analyzing not only the socially regarded implications of the films but the religious ones as well.

Many of the ideas presented by Paffenroth are not new by any means but while presenting the older and more universally regarded theories and analysis of the films he also presents their religious ones as well. He also touches upon the effect that each film had on the era in which they were produced as well as mentioning the state of the film industry and its impact on each of the films.

With each chapter Paffenroth introduces each film before going into a detailed synopsis and then into his analysis of the film before providing a conclusion to the essay. Although his synopsis is very standard it is never dry as he adds his own personal touches every once in a while. The analysis of each film is the true gem of this book as many times he references other films in the series as well as other films in the zombie genre (although limited to only modern day films). At times I wish he had gone a little deeper but it appears as though Paffenroth is trying to stay true to each individual film without straying too far from home. This book is an introduction to Romero's films for those who may have seen or heard about them but never truly digested them. This book will be on the simplified level for hard-core film enthusiasts as these aren't the most sophisticated of film analysis but nevertheless they are entertaining and will keep the casual reader informed.