It’s time to go back and Revisit George A. Romero’s 1968 horror classic with this new release from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment with the Night of the Animated Dead, a new, star-studded animated recreation of the classic zombie horror.
This animated version of 1969’s Night of the Living Dead is brought to us by The Long Game in association with Hemisphere Entertainment, it features never-before-seen, exclusive animated scenes not found in the original live-action film.
In Night of the Animated Dead, siblings Barbara and Johnny visit their father’s grave in a remote cemetery in Pennsylvania when they are suddenly set upon by zombies. Barbara flees and takes refuge in an abandoned farmhouse along with stranded motorist Ben and four local survivors found hiding in the cellar. Together, the group must fight to stay alive against the oncoming horde of zombies while also confronting their own fears and prejudices.
I wasn’t too sure about the release of a reworking of Romero’s classic, I’m a big fan of the original movie and love the look of it in black & white, the colourised version that was released ruined it for me. So the idea of an animated version had me wondering how it would work and if it would bring anything to the original movie.
Night of the Animated Dead is virtually a shot for shot animated of the original movie, there are some extra bits thrown in to bring a little bit more to the story, but to be honest, there isn’t that much added and the animated version runs for only 71 mins.
When it comes to the animation it’s not the best I’ve seen, but it strangely works for the content, it all looks crisp and colourful making the production look very modern and the Blu-ray looks good, there are some nice “bloody” scenes that do look good with the colour palette used.
When it comes to the sound it is mixed nicely with some good usage of the 5.1 sound and some rather bloodcurdling sound effects for the moments when a zombie is shot and the flesh falls off their bones, yes I know that is rather gory of me but damn it sound great.
The music by Nima Fakhrara for Night of the Animated Dead is rather atmospheric and for an animated feature it works, it did remind me at times of some of those tracks we used to get in some of the cut scenes in video games in the late ’90s, not entirely a bad thing I enjoyed those types of tracks.
When it comes to the voice cast of the feature, it did sound a little wooden which was surprising considering the cast involved in the production which features Josh Duhamel (Jupiter’s Legacy, Transformers) as Harry Cooper, Dulé Hill (The West Wing, Psych) as Ben, Katharine Isabelle (Ginger Snaps) as Barbara, James Roday Rodriguez (A Million Little Things, Psych) as Tom, Katee Sackhoff (The Mandalorian, Battlestar Galactica) as Judy, Will Sasso (MadTV) as Sheriff McClelland, Jimmi Simpson (Westworld) as Johnny and Nancy Travis (Last Man Standing) as Helen Cooper.
I was surprised by the special features on the Blu-ray, or should that be a special feature! The only feature we have is Making of the Animated Dead in which director Jason Axinn & Producer Michael Luisi regale fans with the careful process of honouring the iconic classic with their vision for an animated remake, including scene breakdowns and booth recordings with the cast!
Executive Producers are Richard Potter (Diciembres), Thomas DeFeo (The Seventh Day) and Jamie Elliott (Fighting with My Family). Producers are Ralph E. Portillo, p.g.a. (Buddy Games), Robert Feldman, p.g.a. (Dr Shroud) and Kevin Kasha (I Spit on Your Grave). Animation services were provided by Demente Animation Studio. The original Night of the Living Dead was written by George A. Romero (Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead) and John Russo (The Majorettes, Santa Claws). Night of the Animated Dead was produced by Michael J. Luisi, p.g.a. (The Call, Oculus) and directed by Jason Axinn (To Your Last Death).
Night of the Animated Dead Official Trailer
If you are a fan of Romero’s classic then you may have second thoughts on checking this out, but if like me you are intrigued on how Night of the Animated Dead works, then it’s worth checking out. The movie is out now on Digital, Blu-ray & DVD. The Blu-ray is exclusively available at HMV.
They are coming to get you, Barbara
Movie title: Night of the Animated Dead
Movie description: Visiting their dad's grave in the countryside, two siblings are attacked by a zombie. Barbara escapes to a farmhouse. A man helps barricade the house as more zombies arrive outside.
Date published: October 4, 2021
Country: UK
Duration: 71mins
Director(s): Jason Axinn
Actor(s): Josh Duhamel (voice), Dulé Hill (voice), Katharine Isabelle (voice)
Genre: Animation, Horror
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
