Since co-writing the 1968 classic NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD with George A. Romero, John A. Russo has continued to work in the horror genre quite frequently, writing, directing, producing, or otherwise having a hand in the making of such films as THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, MIDNIGHT, THE MAJORETTES, HEARTSTOPPER, and SANTA CLAWS. Russo's latest project is MY UNCLE JOHN IS A ZOMBIE, a horror/comedy that takes a fond look back at the zombie masterpiece he and Romero created nearly fifty years ago.
In addition to writing MY UNCLE JOHN IS A ZOMBIE and co-directing the film with Robert L. Lucas, Russo also stars the eponymous Uncle John,
a zombie whose family took him in and rehabilitated him (to a degree), and has been living in hiding all of these years. Now in a post-zombie, modern world, Uncle John is about to be discovered.
As word gets out about Uncle John and the fact that, although he is a zombie, he still has considerable communication skills and a witty sense of humor, his popularity starts to spread faster than the zombie apocalypse itself, with news coverage (and fame) growing by the day.
However, there are some people who do not want to see zombies of any kind getting notoriety, who believe that the only good zombie is a dead zombie, and make it their mission to capture Uncle John and have a little fun at their hunt club.
Russo's co-stars include Gary Lee Vincent as John's nephew Oscar; DJ/model/dancer/firebreather Cy-Fi as John's beautiful caretaker and niece, who makes sure he's fed; Debbie Rochon; Russ Streiner (NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD's Johnny); Lloyd Kaufman; Nicholas Knight; Sal Lizard as Vampire Santa; Chuck Corby as Stush, the head of the zombie hunt club; NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD sheriff George Kosana as a retired sheriff; Solon Tsangaras as a hunter-turned-zombie; Susanne Banks as investigative journalist Heather Blanks; and Katharine Diane Watson as UK investigative journalist Laura Lance.
Although distribution plans for MY UNCLE JOHN IS A ZOMBIE have yet to be revealed, a trailer has arrived online to give an early look at the film. With a song inspired by lines from NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD playing over the imagery, the trailer sets the movie up to be a goofy, fun time, and I'm really interested to see what Russo and Lucas have pulled off with this one.
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