Where did the idea of genetics gone wrong–the plague in the films title–come into play?
“It’s in the blood.” The horror of blood gone wrong. Gregory: That idea started with The Night of the Living Dead where Romero didn’t explain what the problem was; the problem was just happening. Those characters were faced with the problem and had to figure out how to deal with it. The idea of something wrong in the blood line, whether caused by the water or something else, underscores that something is happening in the town that has obviously messed things up with the children both physically and mentally. Guillén: The parents may not be deformed but they’re a little unhinged as well. Gregory: [Laughs.] I often see this: when you’re a restaurant and there’s a kid running around unchecked and you’re thinking, “Why isn’t that parent taking care of that kid and telling him to sit down and be quiet?” But, moreoften than not, they don’t do anything. They allow it to run around and take food off of other people’s plates, things like that. Parents frequently ignore that kind of problem. The
