George A. Romero rises with a new 'Dead'

George A. Romero has a unique place in film history - he's a horror filmmaker whose movies have political and cultural bite. Ever since his 1968 breakthrough with the now-classic "Night of the Living Dead," with its subtext of racism and the Vietnam War, Romero has become famous for his zombie movies, which feature deadpan humor and gory effects, and take on everything from consumerism (1978's "Dawn of the Dead") to class conflict (2005's "Land of the Dead") and the effects of digital media (2006's "Diary of the Dead").

In Romero's sixth zombie flick, "Survival of the Dead," opening Friday, he has decided to deal with today's politically divisive culture. The 70-year-old master spoke to Lewis Beale by phone from Toronto, where he has been living the past few years.

In your latest, some soldiers flee to an island hoping to escape the zombie plague, but find they've come upon a place where two families seem to be more engaged in battling each other than the living dead. Where did the idea come from?

When I was writing the initial script, I said I'll just make it about war, that people can't cooperate, they can't give up their enmities, even when faced with a drastically changing world. Then all this stuff about anger hit the news, the absence of civility.

Yet you've also included some truly off-the-cuff humor, like the scene where a soldier lights his cigarette off a flaming zombie's head.

[Laughs.] I couldn't resist a few Looney Tunes moments. I've often done that, and this film I sort of cut it loose. Some might think it's too self-indulgent, but so was "Dawn of the Dead"; it was no-holds-barred. But what the heck, that's what happens when you have creative control.

Several of your films have been remade by other directors, the latest being "The Crazies," about a biological plague and the military's reaction to it. What did you think of those remakes?

I think they did a good job with ["The Crazies"], but it's not like a film I would have made. When we made the original, it was during Vietnam , and we were really angry, and one of the points was you couldn't tell who was really crazy, the soldiers or the infected. And "Dawn of the Dead" , I think they did a good job, but I think it became more of a video game.

What's your opinion about the state of horror films today?

I find them mean-spirited and out to shock. I can't get very excited about the "Saws," the "Hostels." I prefer the traditional stuff, and I'm surprised more people aren't moved to use the genre as allegory. It's just one version or another of a guy in a summer camp with a knife or ax. What surprises me is there aren't more indie films that take off. "Paranormal Activity" to me was exciting, it relies on things that go bump in the night, and it worked.

How about the vampire craze. Do you get it?

I don't get that at all. It's sexy, that's what it's about. And they've gotten very young. Vampires used to be 400 years old. I don't think it has anything to do with desire for eternal life, there's nothing heavy or deep.

You moved to Toronto about six years ago, after the filmmaking scene in Pittsburgh, where you made most of your films, dried up. What's it like living up there?

Generally, there's a more liberal attitude, which I'm more comfortable with. There's tremendous ethnic diversity. It's like New York, but you don't have to step over a homeless guy to get to the restaurant.

You've pretty much made all of your films outside the Hollywood system. How do you think the industry relates to you?

I think they just don't get me. My partner and I, we did our penance, our pilgrimage to Hollywood, and for six years we made a lot of money writing and rewriting, and never made a movie. It was development hell. Nothing ever happened, and I just said, "Forget this." I'd rather do these little movies and have a life. On the other hand, I feel I could do a great job on a big movie. There's always frustration there. It's not a life frustration, just a feeling I could have done that better. But I've done 17 films, and some of them are quite famous. I think on a certain level, I haven't sold out. And I'm still here.