By Andie Lowenstein
As zombies continue to reign on the big screens, George A. Romero's classic 1985 film "Day of the Dead" is being brought back to life once more. "Texas Chainsaw 3D" producers Lati Grobman and Christina Campbell are teaming with Millennium Films and Taurus Entertainment for a second try after the film was revived back in 2008. Campbell Grobman Films is currently holding meetings with screenwriters about the best method of adapting the 1985 original about military personnel and scientists hiding from the zombies in a bunker.
"Contrary to other recent zombie remakes, our Day of the Dead will honor Romero's original vision by reviving the slow, brooding zombie that terrorized so many of our childhoods," Grobman told Deadline. "The trend of the fast, agile, 'sprinting' zombie creates a lot of great jump-out-of-your-seat moments, but it doesn't compare to the psychological fear and tension that builds when going up against Romero's original undead army."
This isn't the first time filmmakers have taken on Romero's flesh-starved corpses.
"Night of the Living Dead" (1990)
In 1990, Tom Savini, known for his makeup and special effects work on many Romero films, stepped behind the camera and used Romero and John Russo's original script to make a color and almost parallel remake of "Night of the Living Dead." While it didn't quite stand up to the original, Savini threw in a few twists and enhanced special effects to make a modern version of the horror flick.
"Dawn of the Dead" (2004)
Director Zack Snyder's feature-film debut in 2004 was a modern retelling of Romero's 1978 horror classic "Dawn of the Dead," the second film in Romero's "Living Dead" trilogy. Snyder kept the storyline moving along at a fast pace with good acting and smart storytelling. The remake paid a great deal of respect to the original while still working on its own unique terms.
"Night of the Living Dead 3D" (2006)
The renewed interest in Romero's films that came from Snyder's solid remake was nearly stopped dead in its tracks by this low-rent, 3-D cash-in, which came a couple years later. All you have to do is watch the trailer to get an idea of what's going on here. Suffice it to say, a zombie sends a text.
"Day of the Dead" (2008)
Respected director Steve Miner took the first shot at "Day of the Dead" back in 2008, bestowing us with a disappointing, straight-to-DVD remake. This film did not portray any of the dark and thought-provoking characteristics of the original. The CGI effects were thought to be way over-the-top and the zombies appeared as crazy, screaming, wall-crawling creatures.
For those still hungry for more Romero zombie action, the producers of the new film said they expect the remake to have a budget of between $10 million and $20 million and to be in theaters next year.
