Exclusives
Munroe on ‘Dead of Night’ Trilogy and Monsters!
This week is all Kevin Munroe as the director revealed to Bloody-Disgusting that he’s not only prepping Dead of Night, the feature film adaptation to Dylan Dog, but he’ll also be directing WAR MONKEYS and EL ZOMBO. We caught up with the director who talked quite a bit about all three projects. Beyond the break you can read what he has to say about the DEAD OF NIGHT trilogy!
With Brandon Routh attached to star, Munroe says he hopes to begin pre-production as early as next month.
“With DEAD OF NIGHT… if all goes well we’re gonna be closing financing very soon and we’re gonna start prep December January, we’ll be in New Orleans. And then filming late January, February.”
In the adaptation, Dylan Dog is forced back into his nightmare investigations after he is approached by a woman who claims to have seen her father brutally murdered by a mysterious creature. With his street smart, his gun and a set of paranormal weapons, Dylan attempts to restore order both above and below ground.
Originally the plan was to move the film from London to New York, now they’ll be heading to Louisiana.
“The original script was set in New York, and eventually the location changed, someone drew Louisiana on the desk. And looking at New Orleans, we’re like “Holy crap that will be a lot of fun”. The original source material was London, with a lot of moors and fog… and New Orleans is perfect for that! You can’t sell that in New York, but you can in New Orleans. So in a strange way it’s actually being more true to the source material.”
Munroe reveals to B-D what type of monsters he’ll be going up against.
“Right now he’s got vampires, and a couple different instances of zombies,” Munroe reveals to Bloody-Disgusting. “There are werewolf families in there as well. Plus other stuff that is hinted at. He goes up against everything; there’s ghosts, and aliens, and curses, and banshees and everything… So right now we’re just trying to do sort of the first chapter, and then sequels we’ll get to see a bit more.”
Sequels? Sounds like DEAD OF NIGHT will becoming a potential franchise…
“I would love to [make a trilogy]. Right now they are just treating it as one film at a time. And I’m happy to, because at the end of the day this movie stands alone. But I can’t see why, if this film is successful, why there can’t be more. The comic is so deep and there are so many different stories to tell. And the character is so great; it’s not like he’s just some ass-kicker who shows up and that’s the level of his characterization. He’s more than just an angry investigator; there are a lot of layers to him.”
Although it’s too soon to talk about it, Munroe teases what type of main villain Dylan will be going up against.
“Basically he goes up against… sort of bad guys that come in all forms. Every family has their good and bad members.” He continues, “There are bad zombies, bad vampires, bad werewolves. The movie is all about seeing who the bad guys from the warriors. There’s a storyline where Dylan has to go investigate, and he doesn’t know who to trust, who is after him. Everybody’s sort of a suspect.”
The most exciting news is that there will be a mix of puppets, CG and other variations to bring the monsters the life.
“DEAD OF NIGHT is] entirely prosthetic, the biggest CGI thing we have is probably going to be wire removal. And the monsters will be very specific, the vampires will move entirely different than the werewolves. Everything has a really cool feel to it.”
Exclusives
New Documentaries Explore the Cult Legacies of ‘The Keep’ and ‘Wolfen’; Watch the Trailers Now [Exclusive]
Undersung werewolf gem Wolfen and Michael Mann’s The Keep get the spotlight in a pair of feature documentaries acquired by Antenna Releasing.
A World War II Fairy Tale, which covers the infamous production of and reception to The Keep, will receive a limited theatrical release in October, followed by a TVOD release on Apple/Amazon. The Keep will also screen as a double feature for some showings.
For Uncovering Wolfen, Antenna eyes a limited theatrical release for 2027. Both films are currently available for booking via Antenna prior to their theatrical and digital releases.
Both documentaries are directed by Stewart Buck, who co-helms with Stéphane Piter on A World War II Fairy Tale.
“We at Antenna are obsessed with film history,” said Chief Acquisitions Officer Billy Ray Brewton. “Stewart has done such a remarkable job of really diving into the deepest recesses of how these films were made and, in doing so, has created the definitive histories of both projects.”
“We’re delighted to be partnering with Antenna Releasing!” said director Buck. “It’s refreshing to see a filmmaker-friendly approach to distribution with people who know what it’s like to be in the trenches with independent projects that struggle to find a home in the crowded marketplace.”
Check out our exclusive trailer and poster reveal of both documentaries below.
Released in 1983, Michael Mann’s The Keep was a notorious box office bomb, critically lambasted and all but forgotten for years, save for the fascination with Tangerine Dream’s iconic score. In recent years, the film has enjoyed a bit of a resurgence and is widely considered a cult classic, though director Michael Mann and many cast members refuse to acknowledge it.
Wolfen, on the other hand, was critical success but was overshadowed heavily by its flashier 1981 siblings An American Werewolf in London and The Howling. It’s also a trailblazer for socio-political horror, and the doc will explore that via the craftspeople who made it.
Look for them both in theaters soon. Stay tuned for more as it arrives.
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