It’s been a couple of months since independent cinema lovers heard anything about an upcoming re-imagining, Night of the Living Dead: Rebirth from Roger Conners. Despite the lack of updates, the movie is currently about 80% finished with principal photography, and a teaser trailer can be expected sometime in early 2015. The best news of all is that sources close to the film have let me take a gander at several scenes that are in the middle of the editing faze, and I can confirm that the movie looks quite good from an independent standpoint.
Speaking personally with writer/director Roger Conners, I think his vision from script to film is translating better than he originally imagined. He is quoted as saying, “My main goal, which is to capture the suspense and sense of claustrophobia of the original film, completely resonates in this piece. I can’t wait to see this completed with effects and score. As a die-hard fan of the original I have to say that I’m so proud with what we’ve managed to pull off thus far.” In the few sequences I was able to see, it becomes apparent that Conners is taking Night of the Living Dead: Rebirth on a more traditional, old-school route in frightening audiences. It’s commonplace nowadays for productions to go balls to the walls from the start, but it looks to me that Rebirth has a palpable suspense and agitation to it that slowly grows much like the pace of the original George Romero movie.
Hopefully, this title will scare audiences in late 2015!
Night of the Living Dead: Rebirth features cinematography from Noelle Bye, special effects from Daniel Blain Click, Ron George, Cassaundra Hollaway, and Greg Lanning, and a cast that includes Conners, Aswan Harris, Alvin Hudson, Rachel Anderson, Bradley Arner, Taylor Nelms, and RJ Messenger.
“A tense visit to their family burial site quickly escalates into a fight for survival when brothers Adam and John are randomly attacked by several unknown assailants. When John is severely wounded, Adam is forced to flee the scene alone and soon crosses paths with a capable truck-driver named Ben. As night falls, the two are forced to seek refuge inside a desolate farmhouse. There, the two encounter another group of strangers who have been seeking shelter from the attacks in the cellar. Tensions quickly flare between them as opinions and prejudices begin to rise to the surface. As the night trudges on, they soon realize that their safe-haven has become a death-trap as the numbers of murderous creatures surround the farmhouse and begin to lay siege on the structure. One by one, their numbers dwindle as they face the dangers both outside the home as well as within.”
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