Night of the Living Dead: Darkest Dawn

Night of the Living Dead: Darkest Dawn
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Krisztian Majdik, Zebediah De Soto
Produced by	Simon West Jib Polhemus Gus Malliarodakis
Written by	Zebediah De Soto, David R. Schwartz
Starring	Tony Todd Danielle Harris Bill Moseley R. Madhavan Joseph Pilato Sydney Tamiia Poitier Alona Tal Tom Sizemore
Music by	Jermaine Stegall
Cinematography	Gabriel Sabloff
Edited by	Krisztian Majdik
Release dates	July 11, 2015 (2015-07-11) (Walker Stalker Fan Fest)
Country	United States
Language	English

Night of the Living Dead: Darkest Dawn, also known as Night of the Living Dead: Origins, is a 2015 computer-animated horror film directed by Krisztian Majdik and Zebediah De Soto and produced by Simon West.^[1][2] The film is a re-telling of the original Night of the Living Dead in a contemporary setting.

Synopsis

An animated re-telling of the original Night of the Living Dead film. Set in modern-day New York City rather than 1960s rural Pennsylvania. Centers on a group of desperate survivors fighting to stay alive barricaded in an abandoned apartment building. Confined, cut off from the world, and under constant attack from the undead hordes closing in around them, the six main characters struggle to survive while also confronting their own sense of compassion and humanity.

Cast

• Tony Todd as Ben^[3]
• Danielle Harris as Barbara^[4]
• Bill Moseley as Johnny ^[5]
• R. Madhavan as Tom^[6]
• Joseph Pilato as Harry Cooper^[7]
• Sydney Tamiia Poitier as Tami^[8]
• Alona Tal as Helen Cooper
• Tom Sizemore as Chief McClellan
• Sarah Habel as Judy
• Jesse Corti as News Reporter
• Anastasia Roark as Susan Donaldson
• Cornell Womack as Hunter Deets^[9]
• Erin Braswell as Judy^[10]
• Mike Diskint as Tom^[11]
• Tech N9ne as Zombie

Production

The film had been in production on and off for five years since 2009.^[12] The film features visual effects from The Graphic Film Company, Los Angeles, which relied on the iPi Soft iPi Motion Capture markerless motion capture software. The software’s ability allows the filmmakers to produce very large amounts of moving zombies on screen and also allows the actors to motion capture their performances as if they were acting on a real film set.^[13] The budget was rumored to be below 1 million USD.

Mos Def was originally cast as a voice actor,^[14] but after a short time, he was released from the project.^[15] Both Todd and Moseley would be reprising their roles as Ben and Johnny, respectively, from the 1990 version of the film. Indian actor R. Madhavan was signed on to play a role in mid 2013.^[16]

Release and reception

The film was reported to be complete in May 2014 and had a screening at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. A theatrical release across the United States of America was planned in the fall of 2014. However this did not happen.^[17] The film later premièred at 2015 Comic Con held in San Diego as a part of the Walker Stalker Fan Fest, during July 2015.^[18] The film was later released in October 2015 on iTunes and OnDemand stations across the United States.

To date there have been no reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes aside from a single "Audience Review". On IMDb it has had generally mixed reviews, most critics praised the narrative and setting change but complained that the CGI looked rushed and was below standard.^[19] Genre author A. M. Esmonde stated, "the visual graphic aesthetics aren't too hot, quite frankly a little disappointing."^[20] but went on to praise the voice work quality and depictions of the actors Tony Todd, Danielle Harris, Bill Moseley and Joseph Pilato, adding "what it lacks with the video game like presentation it makes up for with its great voice characterisations. There's the talent and eerie animated likeness of horror favourites."^[21]

References

External links

• Night of the Living Dead: Darkest Dawn at the Internet Movie Database