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I've always been considered by my closer associates to be "a leader, not a follower" in a loose sense of the phrasing. Not to spark controversy, but a lot of my fellow film freaks seem to "bandwagon" their opinion whenever a remake is released; especially one that remakes/re-imagines a picture the film community holds in rather high esteem ("Psycho" or "Halloween,” for example). Granted, "Night of the Living Dead 3D" isn't the subtext-laden, atmsopheric scare flick that the black & white George A. Romero original was, but Jeff Broadstreet's loose 3D retelling is ambitious, if not hokey and flawed, yet fun.

Maybe my strengths and weaknesses as a critic play a part in this. Some call it "critical complacency," others call it "extreme leniency." Let's face it, the hardcore zombie lover would pop this disc in, sit down on their couch and probably remove the disc and chuck it out the window after the 15 minute mark. Much like New Line's "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" remake and Dimension's recent "Halloween" updating, this is a retelling in the truest sense of the word. Characters' personalities have been altered, names have been changed, skin colors have changed (Ben is now white), motives have changed, and completely new locales and characters have been introduced. Broadstreet takes the very basic elements of the "Night..." formula, builds on them, and then completely alters them. It is, more or less, a zombie film that occasionally references George Romero's "Night of the Living Dead" more than it is a full-fledged remake of it.

But that's why "Night 3D" is so tolerable. If this had been more like either Romero's legendary original or Tom Savini's now-classic 1990 remake, it would have been much harder to sit through. Call it gimmicky, but pointing out all of the "Night..." references to your buds and laughing at the in-jokes is half the fun. These small nuances, such as those mentioned in the previous paragraph, as well as the changes in dialogue, characters, and the altering of key scenarios are a number of reasons it can be enjoyed on such a carnal level.

The campiness of the flick practically ensures that performances are appropriately B-grade as well. A number of the cast involved with this project are either young, hungry up-and-comers looking for their big break that’s never going to come (Joshua DesRoches, Brianna Brown) or actors that were involved in previous films from Broadstreet (Ken Ward). Line delivery was a consistent problem and these actors hammed it up like a Christmas dinner. Although horror fan favorite Sid Haig supports most of these no-names with his nonstop charisma and sheer presence, the dull writing from screenwriter Robert Valding does nothing for Haig's memorable character.

Had this film had a more respectable budget with better actors and higher production values, it might have had a chance at possibly obtaining a theatrical release. Weighing in the positives, Broadstreet is a sufficient director who gets the most out of his atmospheric sets, handles the (minimal) scares effectively, and keeps the film moving at a breakneck pace. The film just has such an obvious deficiency in budget that it is, more times than not, unbearably campy. Gore is relatively low also, although there is a fairly nifty gut-munching sequence near the end of the flick.

Lovers of the the original “Night of the Living Dead” need not apply for Broadstreet’s loose retelling of George Romero’s classic tale of black & white zombie carnage. “Night of the Living Dead 3D” is a shameless remake/re-imagining that is as hokey, cheesy, and campy as any horror picture I've seen in recent years. See this for the inimitable Sid Haig, see it for the 3D, maybe see it just for the odd “Night…” reference and the twisted third act. But don’t see it expecting a faithful adaptation of Romero’s original. You won't be getting one.