Review by Adam Stephen Kelly
Stars Brianna Brown, Joshua DeRoches, Sid Haig, Greg Travis, Johanna Black | Written by Robert Valding
UK certification 15 | UK RRP £12.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 84 minutes | Directed by Jeff Broadstreet
The dead featured in the original Night of the Living Dead would be turning in their graves had it not been for the fact that they were already out of them. This, the second remake and the first in 3D, is so inferior to the George A. Romero classic, that a snowman and Mount Everest side-by-side is the only realistic comparison that I can make. It's simply terrible and puts not an ounce of creativity on display, nor does it actually offer any point to its painful existence.
Due to a copyright error back when Night of the Living Dead was made, the film became public domain, which means that anyone can sell the film, edit it in any way they want, say they made it, and remake it. Basically, a four-year-old could legally splice it together with another public domain film, let's say Italian master of horror Dario Argento's excellent Deep Red, then box it up and sell it off as Night of the Profondo Rosso. Yes, you'd have an utter monstrosity of a film, but you'd be well within the law. It'd still probably look better than Night of the Living Dead 3D, however.
The film opens with a graveyard scene identical to the opening of the original and then veers off to the realm of people being trapped in a house and trying to defend themselves from hordes of the undead. Again, just like the original, only done ham-handedly, rather than masterfully. The zombies themselves look pretty awful, made up to look like witches with long, withered grey hair than what we're more accustomed to. The odd few look decent, but then that is literally just the odd few. There is also a severe lack of gore for a zombie movie, especially for one that takes the name Night of the Living Dead.
The undead's very much alive co-stars deliver their lines with conviction and truth, torment etched in their faces. Actually, they don't. The performances are wooden and the script is unbearably bad. Some of the dialogue will make you sigh given that the film is set during a zombie outbreak. The only good performance is from Sid Haig, who unfortunately isn't in the film for too long. He's a fine actor who deserves much better than a film like this.
As for the 3D, it's used to minimal effect. There's nothing new here: arms come out of the screen, blood spatters out, etc. There is a moment where glass smashes that was pretty decent, but other than that, I was unimpressed, just like I was with the entire film.
I wouldn't waste your time with this picture. Stick with the 1968 Romero classic that started it all. That and the 1990 remake that Romero personally revised the screenplay for and requested Tom Savini to direct.
EXTRAS ★★★ Q&A with the film-makers and Sid Haig at the New Beverley Cinema in Los Angeles, making of feature, blooper reel, theatrical trailer, TV and radio spots, 3D stills gallery, filming in 3D featurette, 2D version of the film.