George A. Romero’s Living Dead franchise gave audiences some of the best horror movies of all time and helped revolutionize the zombie film genre. Romero, who passed away in July 2017 , with his knack for storytelling, increasing levels of tension, a love of gore, and a biting satire that was unmatched during his day, ushered in a new era of horror movies, films that weren’t afraid to take chances and give underrepresented voices and characters a place to shine.
Just like how the “Godfather of Zombies” wrote some truly badass female characters for his various horror films, Romero’s iconic films also featured some all-time great Black heroes of not only the horror world, but of cinema in general. Here’s a history of those unforgettable characters (both living and undead) who helped turn Romero’s socially-conscious series into one of the best horror franchises of all time. Ben (Night Of The Living Dead) Back in 1968, a Black hero in a movie with a predominantly white cast was rare outside of those played by the legendary Sidney Poitier, especially in horror movies.
However, that all changed when George A. Romero cast Duane Jones to play Ben, one of the leads in his landmark zombie film, Night of the Living Dead . Throughout the movie, Ben is an incredibly resourceful character who keeps his head together and wants to come up with a plan to survive the night and the scores of undead corpses pounding on the doors, windows, and walls of the crudely fortified farmhous.