A long lost movie by the late George A. Romero has been discovered and a campaign is underway to restore the missing masterpiece.
The screenwriter-and-director – who passed away in July at the age of 77 – created some of the most revered horror films of all time starting with ‘Night of the Living Dead’ in 1968 but now a little known movie he released in 1973 called ‘The Amusement Park’ has been found.
Author Daniel Kraus discovered the missing movie – which is not listed on Romero’s IMDB page amongst his credits – and after watching what he describes as Romero’s "most overtly horrifying film" he has started a funding page in conjunction with the George A. Romero Foundation to raise enough money to restore it for a release.
In a series of Twitter posts which began with Kraus sitting down to view the movie, he wrote: "I’m about to watch George A. Romero’s virtually unseen 1973 movie THE AMUSEMENT PARK (shot between Season of the Witch & The Crazies). Been trying to find this for 20 years … OK, this movie is a REVELATION.
"With the exception of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD – maybe – THE AMUSEMENT PARK is Romero’s most overtly horrifying film. Hugely upsetting in form & function.
"Where can you see this savage masterwork? You can’t. But I’m dedicating myself to changing that. Can you help? Yes, probably. Give me some time to figure out what’s what. This is truly one of those magical (cursed?) objects that I cannot believe has fallen through the cinematic cracks. We’ll drag it back. I mean, THE AMUSEMENT PARK doesn’t even show up on Romero’s @IMDb page! This thing is long-long-long-lost. What does that tell me? It’s dangerous & uncomfortable.
"Everyone’s excited! That’s good. This is Romero at the height of his full-throttle, machine-gun-edit, CRAZIES-era confidence. It’s a sun-soaked nightmare: bright, loud, demented, disorienting. (It is *not*, as some sources report, a documentary.)
"But I repeat: there is *no* way to see this right now. That said, rest assured people are working on fixing that. It will take a little time. Please be patient. For right now, there *is* something you can do. @theGARFofficial is accepting donations toward the film’s restoration. (sic)"
Since the funding page was set up the foundation has revealed that the money has been pouring in from horror aficionados desperate to view the movie.
Kraus tweeted: "A big day for Romero’s lost 1973 film THE AMUSEMENT PARK! I’ve heard from @theGARFofficial that restoration donations are pouring in!! (sic)"
Before Kraus’ reveal most fans of Romero’s work had not even heard of the ‘The Amusement Park, which was prevented from being released by the producers who were said to have been too disturbed by the filmmaker’s fantasy documentary about the way society treats the elderly.
Recalling what the scholar Tony Williams said about the movie, Kraus tweeted: "Tony Williams, who saw the film 30 years ago, wrote ‘The film is far too powerful for American society … It must remain under lock & key never seeing the light of day.’
"It was never shown publicly. The people who funded it wouldn’t allow it. And no wonder. It’s hellish. In Romero’s long career of criticizing American institutions, never was he so merciless."
‘Trollhunters’ writer Kraus is also currently working on completing Romero’s unfinished novel ‘The Living Dead’.
Lost George A. Romero film found
