With all the remake fervor in recent years, few announcements surprise us when it comes to Hollywood reduxes. But would you believe that NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD is not only being done again, but has already wrapped! And here’s the catch: This time the zombies will be comin’ at you in three dimensions! FANGORIA has learned that Midnight Movies Entertainment and Lux Digital Pictures GmbH are in the final stages of postproduction on NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD 3D, a new motion picture inspired by the 1968 George A. Romero classic. Exploiting the film’s reputed public-domain status and the recent explosion in zombie flicks, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD 3D shot in and around locations in Los Angeles last summer under the direction of Jeff Broadstreet, helmer of the indie films SEXBOMB and DR. RAGE. Robert Valding penned the update, which reportedly uses the original film more as a jumping-off point than 1990’s faithful Tom Savini-directed version.
“We are re-imagining Romero’s film, but we are remaining faithful at the same time,” Broadstreet tells Fango. “Robert Valding wrote a very clever script, and we tried to comment on society now the way the 1968 film commented on its own time.”
Cast-wise, the most familiar name in the credits is Captain Spaulding himself, Sid (THE DEVIL’S REJECTS) Haig, who also faces ghouls in the upcoming HOUSE OF THE DEAD II: DEAD AIM. Haig toplines as new character Gerald Tovar Jr., a pyrophobic mortician who harbors a dark secret in the film. Brianna (ENTOURAGE) Brown plays the female lead (called “Barb” this time), newcomer Joshua DesRoches is Ben, Greg (TOOLBOX MURDERS) Travis is “Henry” Cooper and Ken (DR. RAGE) Ward essays Johnny. Another DR. RAGE vet, Robert (DRAGON FIRE) DiTillio, appears as a priest in the new movie’s early moments who winds up as zombie chow. Fresh from ghoul duties on Tobe Hooper’s MORTUARY, Dean and Starr Jones and their American Makeup & Effects company handled the undead legions.
Broadstreet lensed the new NIGHT in the Natural Vision 3D® process by Dimension 3 and used a lightweight HD3Cam camera system designed by Daniel Symmes, which allowed for extensive handheld and Steadicam filming, a first for 3-D features. Theatrical release plans are still being firmed for NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD 3D; however, Midnight Movies expects the film to debut in U.S. theaters in January 2006. For more on the remake and to view a trailer, visit the official website here or here. A 3-D gallery will be added to the site in coming weeks.
“We are very happy with NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD 3D,” Broadstreet says. “Right now we are working on the music, sound work and the CG visual effects shots. The 3-D turned out really well. There is some very cool 3-D in this movie, and it’s not very gimmicky. Dean and Starr Jones did a good job on the special makeup effects. We had a lot of zombie extras on this movie, and Sid Haig is very memorable in a role that we wrote just for him. I got my first choice!” Watch for an exclusive set visit to NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD 3D in the pages of FANGORIA early next year. —Tony Timpone
http://www.nightofthelivingdead3d.com/