Roger Conner’s ‘Rebirth’ Being Called “‘Night Of The Living Dead’ With A Twist”

Everyone loves a great horror film, especially those that influence us in every single way. Night Of The Living Dead (read our retro review here) is no exception. I was lucky enough to talk to Roger Conners (The Curse Of Lilith Ratchet 2018 – read our review here), the writer/director/actor of an upcoming film called Rebirth, which is being called “Night Of The Living Dead with a twist,” taking a more modern day approach to Romero’s old school classic. For someone like me, this was exciting news. With work by Cinematographer Noelle Bye and Composer Brett Montez (both of whom worked on Mother Krampus 2: Sleigh Ride 2018 – read our review here), this film is sure to be a great new rendition of the old classic.

Roger Conners had this to say:

“From the very moment I started brainstorming this project, I’ve always wanted this film to be its own thing. I didn’t want to just pop out yet another shitty Night of the Living Dead remake. Thats never been the goal with this. That being said, I’ve always maintained and stood by the obvious fact that this is a tribute to the original material. Beyond that, and more than anything, this film is really a homage to Romero and his knack for touching on modern social commentary. We have plenty of that in “Rebirth”. It feels very relevant. But, commentary aside, from the very beginning you’re going to see plenty of nods to the 1968 film. Whether it be Adam’s trench-coat which is clearly inspired by Barbara’s costume, or the makes and models of certain vehicles you see throughout the course of the film, we tried our hardest to respectfully tip our hat to the source material. I know fans of it are absolutely going to pick up on these Easter eggs, and they’re sprinkled all throughout the course of the film.”

Rebirth will star Conners himself, as well as Curse of Lilith Ratchet’s KateLynn Newbury (read our interview with her here), Aswan Harris (Marauders 2016), Alvin Hudson (Alone 2005), Bradley Michael Arner (Chill: The Killing Games 2013), Taylor Nelms (Lee Martin’s The Midnight Show TV series), newcomer Hailey Moltz and Mother Krampus 2: Sleigh Ride’s Benny Benzino, Tiffani Hilton, Rachel Anderson and Robbie Barnes.

I can’t wait to see this film! I know I’ll watch it over and over again to find all those hidden aspects or hat tips to the original. There is nothing more exciting than knowing that a new zombie film will soon appear, especially one that has such a impact on today’s horror community.

Keep it tuned to PopHorror for more news on Rebirth! Don’t forget to check out our exclusive interview for pride month with Roger Conners and find out more about his part in the upcoming film, Descending, in an additional interview with Cleveland’s most beloved indie filmmaker. I am very excited, and can’t wait to watch this film!