Fangoria Entertainment is partnering with veteran producer Steve Stabler and Anchor Bay Films to produce a startling and humorous new version of director Bob Clark’s seminal 1972 zombie classic CHILDREN SHOULDN’T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS. The remake, to be shot later this year, will be directed by horror hall of famer and zombie makeup master Tom Savini.

Savini, of course, previously played with dead things on the landmark George A. Romero films DAWN OF THE DEAD and DAY OF THE DEAD, as well as having been personally chosen by Romero to direct the 1990 redux of his 1968 trendsetter NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Filmmaker Drew Daywalt, who has made a name for himself writing and directing numerous shorts (CAMERA OBSCURA, MY NAME IS KRINGLE), TV series (DEATH VALLEY) and feature films (LEPRECHAUN’S REVENGE), has scripted the update.

“CHILDREN SHOULDN’T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS means something special in my life,” says Savini, who won acclaim last summer for his WET DREAMS segment of the festival hit THE THEATRE BIZARRE. “When I did my first movie, it was for Bob Clark and [original CHILDREN star/special makeup creator] Alan Ormsby. It was DEATHDREAM, the very next movie they did after CHILDREN. One of the scenes involved a drive-in movie theater, and we shot all night, and on the screen CHILDREN played over and over again! That was the first time I saw CHILDREN. I watched it repeatedly while I assisted Alan on DEATHDREAM’s special makeup effects.”

“Tom Savini shows a great understanding and appreciation of the film and the genre, has been well trained by George Romero and has a good take on the script,” says Stabler, who will be producing the redux with Fangoria Entertainment’s Thomas DeFeo and Kevin Kasha, Anchor Bay Films’ executive vice president of acquisitions and co-productions. Adds DeFeo, “Nobody does zombies better than Tom Savini, who really invented the look and style of the modern undead. To have Savini directing a new zombie film, in an era where they are more popular than ever, sounds like an exciting—and scary—recipe for success.”

The new film will follow the basics of Clark’s original film, in which a group of low-budget filmmakers unwittingly awaken an army of the long-deceased during an occult ritual on a remote island. “We hope to pay homage to the original, and excite and stimulate the audience that liked it,” says Stabler, who has produced over 60 popular movies, including DUMB AND DUMBER, KINGPIN and BEHIND ENEMY LINES as well as the horror features BATS, PUMPKINHEAD II and GREY KNIGHT/GHOST BRIGADE. “We also hope to attract a new audience that will enjoy and appreciate the current take on it.”

Savini already has his marching order: to create the most ambitious and frightening ghouls ever. “I want to make something unique and interesting, and I also want to take zombies to a new level,” says Savini, currently acting for pal Quentin Tarantino in DJANGO UNCHAINED. “The best zombies of late have been what Greg Nicotero has created for THE WALKING DEAD. They’re fabulous…the best I’ve seen. But the zombies in CHILDREN are not your on-the-street they-just-died-and-now-they-are-zombies kind of living dead. They have already been dead for a while, sometimes a great while.

“So these are not just zombies, they are cadavers—walking cadavers—and that is what I want to show, what I want to make you afraid of. There’s only so much you can do to the face, hands, chests and clothing of zombies to make them scary, and that’s what Greg has done so magnificently—and that has always been the handicap of doing a zombie movie. With the new version of CHILDREN SHOULDN’T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS, we want to make zombies scary again.”

DeFeo has had his eye on a reimagined CHILDREN SHOULDN’T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS since 2007. “FANGORIA’s Tony Timpone, who will be working with us on the project, was the last person to interview Bob Clark for our SCREAMOGRAPHY series,” recalls DeFeo. “During that session, Bob excitedly told us of his intentions to remake CHILDREN SHOULDN’T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS and discussed his crazy new take in detail. After Bob’s untimely death shortly thereafter, FANGORIA felt an obligation to fulfill Bob’s goal of redoing one of his greatest films and honor his legacy.”

Adapting Clark’s chilling vision for a new generation of fright fans will be Internet horror sensation Daywalt. “We have been following Drew Daywalt’s career since the beginning and have been highlighting his work, exclusively at times, at Fangoria.com,” DeFeo says. “With his CHILDREN screenplay, Drew has brought a modern, ‘biting’ and fast-paced approach to the classic zombie formula.”

Stabler, meanwhile, has been looking forward to the right opportunity to team with the people behind his favorite horror magazine and website. “I’ve been wanting to find a project on which to collaborate with Tom DeFeo and FANGORIA for a long time,” he says. “They reach a large fan base and will help get people excited about the movie. The opportunity to remake a film that is a horror classic is always an exciting challenge.”

Concludes DeFeo, “With Steve Stabler, Tom Savini and Anchor Bay on board, we are striving to make the ultimate zombie film with CHILDREN SHOULDN’T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS. We’d like to have the most zombies ever in a feature film, some played by our favorite horror personalities in cadaverous cameos. Orville’s coming back, and Fango’s got him!” 

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