If they can remake one of my favorite guilty pleasures, Nightmare City, then they can remake Hell Of The Living Dead, another of my favorite guilty pleasures.
Maybe we could get a script closer to the original one, with armies of zombies fighting each other.
If Tom Savini could get behind it like with Nightmare City 2016, then maybe we'd have a much better movie.
On the other hand, armies of zombies would be rather costly and I could see some cheap CGI being brought in that would wreck the whole thing. Personally I had a lot of fun watching the original Hell of the Living Dead, Zantoro was a hilarious character and I thought that the filmmakers did a good job given the budget they had to work with. I'm no expert on films but I always end up finding the originals far better than the remakes.
I had no idea Nightmare City was remade, is it any good? I loved seeing the original as a kid.
"The 21st century is all flash but no substance." ~ Smog City
The remake of Nightmare City, last I read, was scheduled for a 2016 release. It's being directed by Tom Savini, produced and presented by Umberto Lenzi, and might have a part for Barbra from Night Of The Living Dead 1968. So, it has the earmarks of being a good film. It focuses on a mutant strain of ebola as the source of the zombies. It's not clear whether they're slowing moving flesh eaters or fast moving atomic vampires like in Lenzi's original. As long as they don't copy the ending of the original, I see good things happening for the remake. The ending of Nightmare City is really the only thing I can't stand about the picture.
Nightmare City is one of my all time favorite guilty pleasures, too. :) So is Hell Of The Living Dead.
I had no idea they were remaking Nightmare City, but from what you've told me, it sounds like it could end up being a really great film. I didn't much care for the ending in the original either so I hope they find a way to improve it. :)
"The 21st century is all flash but no substance." ~ Smog City
It floored me, too, when I learned earlier in the year that they were remaking Nightmare City. It seems such an obscure film to remake. How many times are people doing remakes of Italian exploitation films from the 80's?
shareIt's very surprising, but it might be a good thing, it might bring those films back into popularity. I remember several low-budget 80's films that I loved regardless of their quality. Demon Witch Child, Rats: Night of Terror, Contamination, and I'd love to see them in theaters again. I saw Hell of the Living Dead at a drive-in once, it was a really far out experience and It'd be great to see that style of film coming back, whether in remakes or as originals. :)
"The 21st century is all flash but no substance." ~ Smog City
Hell Of The Living Dead is definitely a film I'd go to see in a theater if it ever came back to one. I've always wanted to see Dawn Of The Dead on the big screen, so I definitely saw the remake, which would probably be the closest I'd ever get to that. And I was surprised, given how much I like the original, which I think is one of the best movies ever made, that I was pleased by the remake of Dawn.
I saw the 2014 Godzilla movie because I always wanted to see a classic Godzilla film on the big screen. That would also probably be the closest I'd ever come to that.
I saw the 2005 War Of The Worlds movie because I always wanted to see the 1953 version on a big screen. Again, probably the closest I'd ever get to that.
So, remakes do serve a purpose. :)
True, they're the only chance left to see those stories on the big screen. Sadly there's only one theater in the entire town here, and it only shows popular films, no low-budget or indie films at all. One of my favorite low-budget horror films is My Bloody Valentine (1981). It was filmed in my hometown and it's a really thrilling and fun film to watch. It came out before I was born though, so when its remake came out in 2009, I was really excited to see it in the theater. It wasn't better than the original, but it did have its good qualities and it was interesting to experience the story in a theater and to see what the new filmmakers did to alter it in the remake.
The original My Bloody Valentine was also released with the remake on DVD, and some extended footage cut by the MPAA was added in that I hadn't seen before. I don't think that ever would've happened if the film hadn't been remade, so if more low-budget horrors are remade, maybe it's a chance to see some new footage from the originals released. :)
"The 21st century is all flash but no substance." ~ Smog City
Malco has owned all the theaters that have ever been in this town. We only have 1 theater now, but it does have 16 screens. So, don't expect any low budget pictures here anymore. Or any documentaries. I have been lucky to see some low budget pics here. Like Metalstorm: The Destruction Of Jared Syn, in 3-D. Eliminators. Great White, the eventually banned Jaws knock off. King Kong Lives.
We had 1 drive in here where I saw the remake of Invaders From Mars, Friday The 13th Part V, and The Twilight Zone: The Movie. But it eventually burned down and a Kroger store popped up in its place. It was really close to my house so I could see the films pretty well on those large drive in screens. Silent films, of course. :)
That sounds great. I wish drive-ins had made a comeback in the 21st century, the way vinyl records and 1950's diners did, but these days with so many forms of online streaming and home theater systems available, it's difficult even for regular theaters to stay in business. Theaters charge a fortune now, too. I used to be able to get into a film for about $5, now it costs $56 to get into one here and that's not including food and drinks.
"The 21st century is all flash but no substance." ~ Smog City
I rarely see films in theaters anymore. Last year, I only saw 1, Godzilla. This year will be 3, only because there are 2 Pixar pics coming out this year since none came out last year. The other choice was Age Of Ultron because I actually have a real, first printing of the first appearance and origin issues of Ultron.
We used to have a 2nd run theater that would show films for $1. I saw Jurassic Park for a buck. Same theater I saw Robocop in. Today, matinee prices are like $7.50 here in town. Of course, I can remember buying new comic books for 75 cents. :> And those Ultron comics I mentioned were like 12 cents when they were originally sold on a shelf. Now, the cheapest books come from Image for $2.99 and most other companies charge $3.99.
I don't buy movie theater food. The popcorn is stale right out of the year old bag. However, if I could get a classic I'd want to see in a theater, such as Hell Of The Living Dead, I'd probably get some popcorn just for the sake of an old time theater experience. I'd love a Fifties and Sixties style experience where you could get pizza or burgers at a theater. :)
I had had hopes Grindhouse would play in my market. That would have been an experience close to an old style double feature of exploitation. However, it didn't play in my market.
I ended up buying Grindhouse on a DVD instead, same here I was really hoping to see it in the theater, but it wasn't shown in the theater here. The closest thing to seeing an exploitation film in the theater for me was when I was a kid. I started collecting film cameras and film projectors when I was a kid so one time my best friend got a copy of the films I Drink Your Blood and I Eat Your Skin, we made popcorn and projected both films as a fake double feature on a sheet taped to the side of his parents' barn.
"The 21st century is all flash but no substance." ~ Smog City
I was lucky enough that my local library got Grindhouse for its DVD collection. So, I was able to eventually see it.
My dream of seeing a double feature in a theater finally came to be when Disney released 3-D versions of Toy Story and Toy Story 2 as a double feature. I liked both pics and I think Toy Story 2 is Pixar's best. So, I happily went to see them.
I even wrote a review of Toy Story for my college newspaper when it came out. :) I liked it enough as an adult in the audience that I thought other adults would like it, too.
Toy Story was a great film, I loved how it brought in classic toys as characters. The slinky dog and the dinosaur were always my favorites when I was a kid so it was great to see them as characters in a film, it really brought up a wave of nostalgia. :)
"The 21st century is all flash but no substance." ~ Smog City
Well, I would kind of consider Mattei´s own "Island of the Living Dead" a re-make of this one. Not really but kind of.
shareI had heard there was another Mattei living dead movie before but I never could get concrete information on it. At one time, I had heard he had directed a film that was actually titled Night Of The Zombies. Not another one of his films given that English title. But I never could get any solid facts on it. Now that you've given me a title, I checked IMDB and that is apparently this film I'd heard about.
Seems Island Of The Living Dead is a sequel to another living dead movie Mattei made called Zombies: The Beginning. These appears to be the last 2 films that he made before he died.
Mattei also directed some of Fulci´s "Zombi 3" in 1988 after Fulci got sick I think. It definitely feels like a Mattei film.
Yeah, I think "Island of the Living Dead" was his very last movie but I did not know it was a sequel. It is no masterpiece but it was rather fun. As expected by Mattei I guess.
I think Mattei said he directed like 30% of Zombi 3 on the DVD extras interview he did. He considers it still a Fulci movie.
I'd bet anything Mattei directed the flying head sequence. It's so off the wall and unlike anything I've seen from Fulci.
It also seems that Mattei intended for there to be a third film in this series to make a trilogy. He died before those plans could be realized. And I guess the idea probably died with him, given pretty much the death of Italian low budget cinema in the 90's.
shareBoth "Zombies: The Beginning" and "Island of the Living Dead" are available for streaming on Exploitation.tv
Thats where I found "Island" earlier today by chance. It´s like netflix but they only do exploitation movies and most of them are in HD. Its newly started so they don´t have that many movies yet but they are adding new ones constantly. It is a cool service for fans of wild cinema. I think there is a 7 day free trial also. Highly recomended.