Deadlands 2: Trapped Director Gary Ugarek's favorite Zombie films
List of Zombies films that inspired Deadlands 1 & 2 - Not in order of favorite based on placement... by just naming off titles that inspired and I enjoy. If I do a top 10 I would re-order the list heavily.
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- DirectorDan O'BannonStarsClu GulagerJames KarenDon CalfaWhen two bumbling employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas into the air, the vapors cause the dead to rise again as zombies.Was a heavy influence in deciding to do Deadlands 2
- DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsDavid EmgeKen ForeeScott H. ReinigerDuring an escalating zombie epidemic, two Philadelphia SWAT team members, a traffic reporter and his TV executive girlfriend seek refuge in a secluded shopping mall.One of my all time favorites... While the film itself did not lend a direct influence to either of my Zombie films... Romero's work in the genre and his screenwriting for the first 3 dead films is what made me a huge fan of him and his early work.
- DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsLori CardilleTerry AlexanderJoseph PilatoAs the world is overrun by zombies, a group of scientists and military personnel sheltering in an underground bunker in Florida must decide on how they should deal with the undead horde.Was a huge influence for the style of the films score for Deadlands 2. John Harrison's work was deeply on mine and co-composer Brian Wright's mind
- DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsJohn LeguizamoAsia ArgentoSimon BakerThe living dead have taken over the world, and the last humans live in a walled city to protect themselves as they come to grips with the situation.While this did not have a huge influence in either film... I appeared in the film as a zombie which was a direct result of some Behind the Scenes Social media (early days) work I did through my site WETNWILDRADIO.COM for the Dawn of the Dead remake. Univeral and Greg nicotero invited me to Land being film in Toronto to be a zombie. The entire experience made the desire to make a low budget zombie film even greater, hence my first film being Deadlands: The Rising.
- DirectorJohn HayesStarsPhilip KenneallyDuncan McLeodJohn DullaghanConvicts on a chain gang sniff experimental formaldehyde fumes to get high. They attempt a prison break, are shot down by the guards and buried in the prison garden. Soon, they rise from the dead, using shovels and hoes to kill all who get in their way on their quest to get high once more.A strange low budget indie with a short running time introduced me to the running zombie and the toxic gas concept. Couple that with the 245 Trioxin in ROTLD which were heavy influences for Deadlands 2: Trapped
- DirectorJoel M. ReedStarsJamie GillisRyan HilliardRon ArmstrongInvestigators search for soldiers' missing bodies, and hear unbelievable rumors about zombies. Dismissing those rumors they set out to investigate. After two men are found dead, CIA special-agent Nick Monroe is sent to flush out what are suspected to be deserters from the old U.S. Army Chemical Corps unit. Nick's ruthless investigation uncovers a ghoulish plot of world domination, but first he must escape the horror that does not want to be known... yet!Known as Virus and Hell of the Living Dead, this italian made splatter fest was a film that stuck with me through the years. The facts this was the first film to incorporate bio-weaponry into the genre (albeit loosely) I always felt I could ratchet it up a notch.
This and ROTLD 1-3 are all highly relying on the weaponized toxic gas for the reason for re-animation - DirectorLamberto BavaStarsUrbano BarberiniNatasha HoveyKarl ZinnyA group of random people are invited to a screening of a mysterious movie, only to find themselves trapped in the theater with ravenous demons.Known as Demoni throughout Europe, this Lamberto Bava directed Dario Argento produced flick was another heavy influence in the Location setting for Deadlands 2: Trapped. While many do not consider it a zombie film, I loosely place it in the zombie genre because of overall presentation and style. If you have not watched this film I highly recommend it as do a majority of Horror fans, one of the best of the 1980's.
- DirectorDanny BoyleStarsCillian MurphyNaomie HarrisChristopher EcclestonFour weeks after a mysterious, incurable virus spreads throughout the UK, a handful of survivors try to find sanctuary.A great British produced zombie-like project that more or less helped restart the genre for a brief period. If I ever make Deadlands 3, much of the inspiration is derived from 28 Days later.
- DirectorZack SnyderStarsSarah PolleyVing RhamesMekhi PhiferA nurse, a policeman, a young married couple, a salesman and other survivors of a worldwide plague that is producing aggressive, flesh-eating zombies, take refuge in a mega Midwestern shopping mall.as noted in LOTD above. I was simply seeking to bring more information to the masses about this remake of a sacred romero film and genre title. Never in a million years would I have expected it to lead to being an extra in this and LOTD, getting invited to the WW premiere, and meeting Zack Snyder... talking to Zack and seeing the action take place begin the momentum leading me to make Deadlands: The Rising (2006)
- DirectorLucio FulciStarsTisa FarrowIan McCullochRichard JohnsonStrangers searching for a young woman's missing father arrive at a tropical island where a doctor desperately seeks the cause and cure of a recent epidemic of the undead.I am listing this film because when designing death gags, the violence depicted in this and Romero films led more to selectively choose how my victims would succumb to zombies in my films. While my 2 films are not gore fests like Romero's work or this film, the act of the initial attack depicted in this, Dawn and Day were heavy influences for death gags in both Deadlands films.
- DirectorKen WiederhornStarsJames KarenThom MathewsMichael KenworthyCurious kids unearth the barrels that previously helped revive the dead, which proves the second time's an undead charm.YOu may wanna laugh because this is on the list, but Billy's Father's death scene was one of the scenes I showed my make-up crew to use as a reference for the police officer's death in Deadlands 2. While my zombies were not eating his brains... they initial attack and flesh rip were designed around the first brain eating scene in this film.
ROTLD 2 while not on the same quality level as ROTLD 1, I find this and ROTLD3 to be the only TRUE sequels in this catalog. ROTLD 4 & 5 I more or less refuse to acknowledge as part of the franchise - DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsMichelle MorganJoshua CloseShawn RobertsA group of young film students run into real-life zombies while filming a horror movie of their own.So a lot of people emailed me to say did you use your hand held camera work in Deadlands 2 from seeing Diary of the Dead...
No, Diary was finishing production as we were starting Deadlands 2... the decision to go Hand held was from the first zombie attack scene being shot handheld at the behest of my DP. I ended up originally not liking the idea until I watch the dailies on the following night and turned to him and said Do the rest of the film this way. That date was Sept 28th 2007.
Side Note: While i am not a fan of Land of the Dead or Survival (2009) I did find out of the 3 newer romero zombie films this to be closer representation to his earlier work. Where Land and Survival felt like he was pandering to fans of the gore more than the story telling. I felt Diary delved deeper and darker into story than Land or Survival.