Long-Lost George Romero Film ‘The Amusement Park’ Is A “Revelation” Says A Guillermo del Toro Collaborator

Just recently, it was announced that George Romero’s classic “Night of the Living Dead” was getting a sequel based on a long, lost screenplay that was written by the original group behind the film. We were happy with the idea of potentially getting some new Romero awesomeness. But it appears what we should have been more excited about is the 1973 film “The Amusement Park.”

Over the weekend, Daniel Kraus, the author who has collaborated with Guillermo del Toro on novelizations of the director’s work, such as “The Shape of Water,” went to Twitter to rave about a copy of the unreleased Romero-directed film “The Amusement Park.” And according to the author, not only is “The Amusement Park” good, it’s 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,” tweeted Kraus.

READ MORE: ‘Night Of The Living Dead II’ To Be Released In 2019 Based On An Unproduced Script From The 1970s

So, where did “The Amusement Park” come from? According to Kraus, it was shot between “Season of the Witch” and “The Crazies,” only a few years after ‘Living Dead.’ Kraus says, “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.”

He goes on to say that a scholar, Tony Williams, saw the film three decades ago and said that the film is “far too powerful for American society…It must remain under lock & key never seeing the light of day.”

Of course, with praise like this, horror fans (hell, film fans in general) are going to be chomping at the bit to see this 45-year-old film. However, as you probably guessed, just because Kraus saw it doesn’t mean there’s any release date upcoming. That being said, the author says he’s going to try to fix that.

“Where can you see this savage masterwork? You can’t. But I’m dedicating myself to changing that,” says Kraus.

He says that while there’s no official way that fans can help with getting the film released, the George A. Romero Foundation is accepting donations for the film to be restored. And according to Kraus, after he tweeted about the film, the donations seem to be pouring in. So, hopefully, there’s a chance that “The Amusement Park” eventually sees the light of day, after all.

https://twitter.com/DanielDKraus/status/1061401937499901953