There are already enough Living Dead movies to fill a fairly large shelf, but Rebirth of the Living Dead is bringing a slightly different connection to the franchise - this new independent zombie horror film is directed, written and edited by Dustin Ferguson, with John A. Russo returning as a producer. Russo was the co-writer of George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead and wrote the original 1978 novel Return of the Living Dead, so this film is being presented as a direct sequel to his novel rather than as another continuation of Dan O'Bannon's 1985 movie.
The new story moves the action forward by almost 50 years and into Los Angeles, where a street drug called Trioxin Trash is producing a rather serious side effect - the users become members of the Living Dead with a taste for human brains, where a young couple attacked in the woods ends up seeking help from an outcast scientist, who has his own unusual idea for controlling the resulting hunger.
John A. Russo Goes Back to His Own Story
Before The Return of the Living Dead became the 1985 horror comedy directed by Dan O'Bannon, the story existed as a novel written by John A. Russo. Russo had already co-written the screenplay for Romero's 1968 Night of the Living Dead, and his novel was his own continuation of that zombie world. O'Bannon's movie subsequently took the basic title and developed the material in a different direction.
Rebirth of the Living Dead is therefore going back to Russo's version of the mythology rather than trying to continue the events of the 1985 movie.
The new film introduces “Trioxin Trash” as the latest drug to hit the streets, where users looking for an extreme high instead end up undergoing what the production describes as total cellular reanimation and develop a craving for brains.
The central characters are a young couple who are attacked in the woods before turning to an outcast scientist for help, and his solution involves something called “pain therapy”, which is supposed to keep the zombie hunger under control while they look for a cure.
Dustin Ferguson Has Made a Lot of Horror
Ferguson is a prolific independent filmmaker who has worked as a director, writer, editor and producer across a large number of horror and science-fiction productions- his directing credits include Seed: Legacy, Apex Predators, Beyond the Gates of Hell, Amityville in the Hood, Spider Baby, or The Maddest Story Ever Told and Mothman vs Bigfoot.
He is also editing Rebirth of the Living Dead himself, which is something he has done on many of his other productions as well - production was handled by SoCal Cinema Studios, Ferguson's Los Angeles-based company. The film was shot in the Los Angeles area, with IMDb listing Los Angeles, California as its filming location.
A Very Deliberate Cast of Horror Veterans
The cast has plenty of names that will be familiar to people who spent years watching low-budget horror, VHS releases and cult movies.
Michelle Bauer plays Crystal, Brinke Stevens plays Charlene and Nathan Bexton plays Dr. Thomas - the cast also includes Barbara Magnolfi as Priestess Melinda, Jennifer Moriarty as Shelly and DieTrich Thrall as Jackson
Magnolfi is particularly familiar to horror fans from Suspiria, while Stevens appeared in The Slumber Party Massacre, and Bauer's earlier genre credits include Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers and Demonwarp.
The full cast also includes Shawn Doucette, Ken Brewer, Courtney Lercara, Jaedra DiGiammarino, Ted Hoffstatter, David Orosco, Doug Waugh and Justin Alexander Rodriguez.
Rebirth of the Living Dead will be releasing on digital from October 1st, which is today, yay!
[Rebirth of the Living Dead on IMDb]
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