Nearly five decades ago, filmmaker George Romero redefined the zombie genre with Night of the Living Dead, a horror classic that was memorably remade in 1990. But for next year’s 50th anniversary, Night of the Living Dead is doing something special and heading into virtual reality.
Variety is reporting Romero’s Image Ten is developing a Night of the Living Dead “multi-platform VR experience” in partnership with Supersphere, a virtual reality production company. Further details of the VR remake weren’t announced, but Supersphere’s Doug Allenstein said that the goal is to “expand that franchise to the next generation of storytelling.”
There are some interesting directions the VR remake could go in, if it keeps the same storyline and characters from the original movie. Romero’s film put Duane Jones’ Ben at the forefront of the action, while the first remake elevated Barbara (Patricia Tallman) into a leading heroine as well. Perhaps the VR retelling could allow viewers to experience the story through the eyes of either of them as they attempt to survive the night.
Alternately, the viewers’ perspective could shift to another character who is trapped with Ben and Barbara or offer a more omniscient take that would allow fans to freely roam in that world. Perhaps the Night of the Living Dead VR could even pull off the biggest switch of all and follow the story through the eyes of the zombies themselves.
The Night of the Living Dead VR remake is expected to be released in 2018.
How do you think the new Night of the Living Dead remake should handle its VR elements? Let’s discuss in the comment section below!
Images: Janus Films
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