HORROR ICON CLIVE BARKER TO PEN ‘ZOMBIES VS GLADIATORS’

Those unfamiliar with this project will see the title and say: really? There is another “zombie vs.” movie? But this time there are no strippers, vampires, or any other mythical creature (yes,  strippers are mythical creatures). This time we head back to ancient Rome. No, there are no announcements that Russell Crowe would be cast to be in the film, but even better news is that Clive Barker has been given the green light to rewrite the film.

I’m not sure what happened to the original screenplay, but the idea of the film has garnered enough of a buzz. Amazon Studios – an off shoot of Amazon.com – will release the film and they seem ecstatic to have Barker at the helm. I would be too since the pedigree Barker brings to the table betters their chances of making this a success. As of now, the premise of the film is that there is a shaman who placed a curse on the Roman Empire before his death and raised the dead to feast on the living. One gladiator decides to fight for his survival against the horde of zombies. Nothing too original with the story, but there is chance for great visuals and settings in the Roman Greco era. Barker’s creativity should add great imagery to the film which I hope will keep it from becoming a straight to DVD title.  However it’s hard not to see it go that way. As popular as they are, you just do not see “zombies vs.” too much on major film circuits or being blockbusters.

Here’s what Barker has to say about the project:

“I’m excited by the opportunity to interweave two very rich narrative threads. One of them concerns itself with the reality of the decadence of Rome and its rise and fall. The other is a fantastical narrative element – the living dead. My brief to myself on this project is to give the audience not only zombies they have never seen before but also a Rome they have never seen before.”

This is what Barker had to say about working with Amazon:

“Amazon Studios offered up the dream ticket with this project. In twenty-five years of working in this town, I’ve rarely had people listen to what I had to say as closely and as carefully as they did and then simply give me the freedom to go do it. Amazon Studios is an innovative creative concept. I am looking forward to providing my own perspective to make Zombies vs. Gladiators a highly commercial and entertaining movie. “

All in all, I’m excited to see how the project develops. I’ve been a fan of his since I first saw Hellraiser.  Since then, I have read many of his books and he was even the first person I followed on twitter. Making this film a commercial success will be the hardest of all the tasks but I’m sure a company as big as Amazon will supply the budget to do this the right way. If not,  this whole idea – which sounds great now – could turn out pretty bad for all parties included; especially for Barker.