Cinematographer Michael Gornick will attend the "Shock Around the Clock" horror-movie marathon at the Drexel Theatre.

During the Shock Around the Clock horror-movie marathon, audience members may be sneaking fearful peeks over their shoulders or anxious glances to their sides.

But they can relax — the monsters will be only on the screen and not in the seats. In fact, seated nearby might just be cinematographer Michael Gornick, ready to chat.

Gornick — who served as director of photography on five horror films for director George A. Romero (1940-2017) — will be a guest at the event, which runs from noon Saturday to noon Sunday at the Drexel Theatre in Bexley.

The cinematographer plans to interact with curious attendees during a question-and-answer session and by introducing the Saturday afternoon screening of two of the films he photographed for Romero: “Creepshow” (1982) and “Day of the Dead” (1985).

“I really want to roam through the audience during the screenings, so if anybody has a question about a scene or what just happened, I want to answer their question,” Gornick said.

In Gornick, horror buffs will find a wealth of information. Movie marathon organizer Joe Neff said that Gornick’s contributions to Romero’s films went beyond camerawork.

“This is a guy who worked on a little bit of everything on all these classic films and has these amazing stories,” Neff said. “He kind of paints the entire picture of what it was like working on these films and what it was like being part of this extended family that George Romero created.”

A native of Trafford, Pennsylvania, about 20 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, Gornick was drafted into the Air Force during the Vietnam War, during which he served as a cameraman eventually stationed at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver.

“One evening (I) went off to the movies and saw ‘Night of the Living Dead’ and was knocked out,” Gornick said, referring to the first in a wave of zombie movies directed by Romero, who called Pittsburgh home for much of his life.

“I made a promise to myself, when I got home at some point, to look this guy up, congratulate him and find out more about the making of ‘Night of the Living Dead,’” Gornick said.

Gornick won an entry-level position as a sound technician on Romero’s “The Crazies” (1973).

“They kept saying, ‘Mic over here, mic over there,’” Gornick said. “I thought, ‘Wow, these are friendly people,’ but I think they didn’t actually know me. They were telling me to move the mic.”

Four years elapsed before Gornick was promoted to cinematographer on the director’s celebrated film “Martin” (1977), starring John Amplas as a moody modern-day vampire.

“He had an amazing trust in my abilities to compose shots, talk to him about, within the course of takes, what might work, what might not work,” Gornick said of his collaboration with Romero.

After photographing “Dawn of the Dead” (1978) and “Knightriders” (1981), Gornick helped bring to life the comic panel-inspired images in “Creepshow,” which stars Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Leslie Nielsen and Ed Harris.

Although Romero’s frame of reference for the colorful horror film were issues of EC Comics, Gornick found himself inspired by Dayton cartoonist Milton Caniff, creator of “Steve Canyon” and “Terry and the Pirates.”

“I was the so-called funny comic paper kind of kid,” Gornick said. “I couldn’t afford the comic books — mom and dad couldn’t spring the money — but we got the Sunday paper. ... Unlike a straight comic, it has style and grace and color and emotion and angle.”

Three years later, Gornick photographed “Day of the Dead,” in which zombies have assumed control of above-ground terrain. Lori Cardille stars as the head of a group of scientists who operate out of a mine.

True to the subject matter, Gornick opted for a cold, musty palette.

“It’s the third in the conditions of the dead,” he said. “Now it’s massive numbers. It’s a societal problem that continues on and on. And it’s pretty dismal. Is there hope? Probably not.”

Yet Gornick finds plenty of reasons to hope in the continued popularity of his work with Romero.

After he began attending horror conventions and events such as “Shock Around the Clock,” Gornick became aware of the still-enthusiastic audience for their movies.

“I was so thrilled,” he said, “that somebody was touched and enjoyed what I had done.”

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Schedule

Sure, the Shock Around the Clock 24-hour horror movie festival is filled with fright-filled films. But trailers and short films will also be screened, and other activities will take place, such as a costume contest with a $100 prize to the winner, a screaming contest and prize giveaways.

Still, the 12 movies are the stars of the show. Here is the lineup, which is subject to change:

Noon Saturday, "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man" (1943); 1:40 p.m., "The Birds" (1963); 3:45 p.m., costume contest; 4 p.m., "Creepshow" (1982) introduced by cinematographer Michael Gornick; 6:15 p.m., Gornick question-and-answer session; 6:45 p.m., "Day of the Dead" (1985); 8:15 p.m., "The Wretched" (2019); 10:45 p.m., screaming contest; 11 p.m., "Crash" (1996); 1:10 a.m. Sunday, "Body Melt" (1993); 2:45 a.m., "Mandy" (2018); 5 a.m.,"Bliss" (2019); 6:30 a.m., "The Dark Red" (2018); 8:20 a.m., "Opera" (1987); 10:30 a.m., "Shaun of the Dead" (2004)

Trailers for the movies can be seen here.