World War Z (2013)
Based on the novel by Max Brooks, the 2013 Brad Pitt zombie flick actually was a setback for genre as no one, not even Romero himself was impressed. The directors showed intense distaste for the film and often cites it as a film that ruins the zombie genre as a whole. In an interview with IndieWire, Romero even discussed how films like World War Z even made it impossible for him to return to the genre:
“Now, because of World War Z and The Walking Dead, I can’t pitch a modest little zombie film, which is meant to be sociopolitical. I used to be able to pitch them on the basis of the zombie action and I could hide the message inside that. Now, you can’t.”
Honestly, I can’t blame him for feeling this way as World War Z frankly feels like it didn’t really understand what made zombies so interesting. While the very visible veins on the face of the film’s zombie’s is interesting and watching Brad Pitt’s Gerry stare at a man convulsing and contorting on the ground as he turns is pretty terrifying to watch — there’s just nothing that’s that special about them. Not to mention, the zombies coming together to form a fast moving flood just looks and honestly sounds pretty dumb.
