George A. Romero brought the world the first flesh-eating zombies in the 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead, then followed that up with Dawn of the Dead in 1978 and Day of the Dead in 1985. He was hoping to get another Dead movie made in the ’90s, but wasn’t able to get it into production until the next decade – resulting in the 2005 release Land of the Dead (watch it HERE). And with the new episode of the WTF Happened to This Horror Movie?, we’re digging into the story of the making of Romero’s long-awaited fourth Dead movie. Check it out in the embed above!
Written and directed by Romero, Land of the Dead had the following synopsis: In a world where zombies form the majority of the population, the remaining humans build a feudal society away from the undead. Ruthless Paul Kaufman rules and protects this microcosm but enforces painful class distinctions. Second-in-command Cholo DeMora attempts to lead a secret rebellion against Kaufman’s tyranny, but when the zombies begin to evolve, the survivors must discover a way to protect themselves from a zombie hoard that can learn and adapt.
The film stars Simon Baker, Dennis Hopper, Asia Argento, Robert Joy, John Leguizamo, Eugene Clark, Joanne Boland, Tony Nappo, Jennifer Baxter, Boyd Banks, Jasmin Geljo, Maxwell McCabe-Lokos, Tony Munch, Shawn Roberts, Pedro Miguel Arce, Sasha Roiz, Krista Bridges, Bruce McFee, Phil Fondacaro, Alan van Sprang, Earl Pastko, Peter Outerbridge, Gene Mack, and Devon Bostick, with zombie cameo appearances by Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright, Tom Savini, and Greg Nicotero.
his is what the WTF Happened to This Horror Movie series is all about: Hollywood has had its fair share of historically troubled productions. Whether it was casting changes, actor deaths, fired directors, in-production rewrites, constant delays, budget cuts or studio edits, these films had every intention to be a blockbuster, but were beset with unforeseen disasters. Sometimes huge hits, sometimes box office bombs. Either way, we have to ask: WTF Happened To This Horror Movie?
The Land of the Dead episode of WTF Happened to This Horror Movie? was Written by Eric Walkuski, Edited and Narrated by Tyler Nichols, Produced by Lance Vlcek and John Fallon, and Executive Produced by Berge Garabedian.
A couple of the previous episodes of the show can be seen below. To see more, head over to our JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channel – and subscribe while you’re there!
What do you think of Land of the Dead? Let us know by leaving a comment!
