Zombies have evolved since Night of the Living Dead

Zombies have stood in for various forms of evil in their movie and TV incarnations over the years.

Creative minds have expressed everything from racism to disease to social inequality through the gory, shuffling undead.

A stage production of Night of the Living Dead that opened last week on the Toronto stage is a homage to the 1968 movie, with a comic twist that calls to mind the campy original directed by George Romero.

Romero was in Toronto to witness this new take on his classic film and explored the evolution of zombies with CBC's Eli Glasner.

The TV hit The Walking Deaddoes not getRomero's approval, as he views it as "just a soap opera."

Then theres Shaun of the Dead, the 2004 British zombie comedy directed by Edgar Wright, which manages to charm us as it parodies the beloved genre.