VC is starting to look like an obituary page lately. As a baby boomer, all my favorite filmmakers and artists are starting to demise in a steady succession as they hit their 80s and 90s. Thankfully, Sir Christopher Lee seems to be hanging in there and just cut his 91st birthday cake a week or so ago! Which brings us to another obituary- ultra-proflific Filipino filmmaker Eddie Romero. When fans talk about the name 'Romero' in the context of the horror genre, I always thought first of Eddie as opposed to George of Pittsburgh. Forever a towering figure in the b-movie pantheon, Eddie has directed and produced so many cool action/horror/exploitation titles over the decades that he is surely the Roger Corman of Southeast Asia (maybe neck and neck with Cirio Santiago?). In fact, he supplied Corman with a steady stream of classic drive-in titles throughout the 70s. For me, Romero's coolest contribution was the Blood Island trilogy starring John Ashley. He also assisted on Coppola's APOCALYPSE NOW! So long, Eddie, you will not be forgotten!
