A Fan's Thoughts on the 'Night of the Living Dead: Origins' Trailer

The trailer has come out for "Night of the Living Dead: Origins" and is making the rounds online. Even though a release date has not been made yet, the trailer has people talking about the animated take on "Night of the Living Dead." As someone who has followed this movie from the beginning, I was quite surprised when I first saw the trailer myself.

I had the opportunity to speak with two of the cast members earlier this year. I interviewed both Danielle Harris (read it here) and Tony Todd (read it here) and we discussed "NotLD:O" and both of them were very excited about the project, so my expectations grew. The fact that we were going to have a new insight into the original story by learning more about the backstories of the characters excited me as I have seen "NotLD" hundreds of times over the years.

I think that I should digress give a quick point of backstory for my interest in the original "Night of the Living Dead." I went through three copies of the movie on VHS when I was younger due to the fact that I wore the first two out from watching them so often. The first DVD that I purchased was "NotLD" on the day that I purchased my DVD player. I have had several opportunities to speak before college film classes about the movie, and the impact that it has had on the horror genre. I have not been excited about a new version of the movie since Tom Savini's version in 1990. Sorry, but it is a property that I am very serious about.

That being said, I should probably talk about the trailer. My honest opinion of the trailer is that it looks like the opening cutscene of a second-rate horror survival game from the PlayStation 2 or original X-Box. The cars and many of the characters appear to be lacking in general definition. It is as if the animators wanted the graphics to be seen, but passed over quickly enroot to something better. I find that I am discouraged by this trailer and find that I have lost much of my anticipation. I find myself hoping that this was a rough-cut trailer, and that the full version will be coming out soon.

"Night of the Living Dead: Origins" has been in the works for over three years. I have hoped that the animation would be cutting-edge, not to look like it should appear on the cutting room floor. I still hold a little hope for the movie. I hope that as more clips come out in the next few months (or weeks) I find that I underestimated the animation in the movie. I hope that what I see is not what I will get.

More from this Contributor:

Interview with Scream Queen Danielle Harris
Is the Next Great Zombie Movie Coming Out of Cuba?
Exclusive: Tom Savini Interviews for 'The Dark Knight Rises'

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