‘The Walking Dead’ Is Just A Soap Opera With Zombies, Says George Romero

The Walking Dead was recently dissed by the guy who invented the zombie movie.

Night of the Living Dead director George A. Romero previously stated that he was a fan of the comic books that inspired the hit AMC series. However, the legendary filmmaker doesn’t think too highly of the program. In fact, he sees it as nothing more than a soap opera with a few zombies sprinkled here and there.

During a chat with the British newspaper the Big Issue, Romero shared his thoughts about The Walking Dead. He also revealed why he’s never directed an episode of the show that clearly owes its existence to Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead.

“They asked me to do a couple of episodes of ‘The Walking Dead,’ but I didn’t want to be a part of it. Basically it’s just a soap opera with a zombie occasionally. I always used the zombie as a character for satire or a political criticism, and I find that missing in what’s happening now,” Romero explained.

According to the Los Angeles Times, The Walking Dead isn’t the only modern zombie story that George Romero has taken issued with in recent days. The Day of the Dead director was also unimpressed with director Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead remake and Brad Pitt’s box office hit World War Z. In his opinion, running zombies just aren’t very cool.

“I guess Zack Snyder started that with the remake of ‘Dawn of the Dead’ — fast-moving zombies, but the zombies in ‘World War Z,’ my God, they’re like army ants!” he said.

Despite his displeasure with The Walking Dead, Romero said back in 2011 that he enjoyed the Robert Kirkman’s comic books. However, he admitted that he doesn’t watch the series.

“Listen I love Frank [Darabont], I know he’s done a good job. I love the books, I never watched any of the episodes because… my zombies are sort of my own. I didn’t want to be part of it. Producers called and said, ‘do you want to direct some of these,’ and I said no. Because I just didn’t think it was me,” Romero explained to io9.

Although Romero doesn’t like The Walking Dead or its soap opera-esque scenarios, he certainly seems to be in the minority at the moment. The Inquisitr previously reported that AMC ordered a fifth season after the show posted record-breaking ratings. The network apparently intends to keep the story going for as long as people tune in.

What do you think about George Romero’s comments regarding The Walking Dead?

[Image via AMC]