This article on George Romero’s latest zombie movie (as-yet-untitled, but I like to call it “Island of the Dead” anyway) in USA Today actually came out last week, just in time for Halloween, but I was, er, too lazy to post it then. Hey, better late than never, right? So here’s your first look at Romero’s new zombie movie, including the first-ever picture of some shambling, stumbling zombies. The film is already well under way in and around the Toronto area. According to Romero himself, the new movie will be a pseudo sequel to his recent “Diary of the Dead”, with characters from that movie popping up in this new one. He also says this movie will be more action-oriented, ala his “Dawn of the Dead” in comparison to “Night of the Living Dead”.

More about the plot from USA Today:

“It’s about tribalism,” says Romero about the story that unfolds on a small island a couple of weeks after the original outbreak in 1968’s Night of the Living Dead. “There are two factions. It’s the idea that even when faced with a crisis, tribal concerns about power control people’s motives.”

One side wants to kill off zombified loved ones before cannibalistic urges strike. The other would rather wait to see if there is a cure for such cravings. “They want to leave Grandma in the rocking chair for a while longer,” he says. “It’s not a good idea.

“It’s this whole idea of tribalism, that we can’t pull it together,” he says. “News reports about the presidential race still bring up religious topics or racism. That’s pretty much the central theme.”

I’m not sure how a movie about zombies on an island will parallel the current presidential race, but I’m sure George will figure it out.

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