Another CreatureFeature Guide To Hallowe'en On Roku - Day #08 - WICKED WATCH WEDNESDAY (Episode 2)

Welcome back, Boils & Ghouls...

... to the second instalment of "Wicked Watch Wednesday" in which I aim to recommend something wonderfully wicked for you to watch EVERY WEDNESDAY between now and October 31st !!

Having begun this series of posts with a look at "Night of the Living Dead", for the first episode of "Wicked Watch Wednesday" last week, it seems only right to suggest the 1978 sequel to that film as the subject matter for this followup post. Those of you who read that first instalment may recall my mentioning that "Night of the Living Dead" (NoTLD) could well have provided the original inspiration for the (current) popular television series, "The Walking Dead", but this sequel goes far beyond "inspiration" and I may even go so far as to suggest it acted as a 'blueprint' for developing some of the storyline(s) for the zombie-based television series by expanding the apocalyptic vision beyond an isolated farmhouse to depict, on a much larger scale, the effects of a zombie plague on the wider society. It was almost two years later (29th June 1980) before it hit British cinemas but, when it did, here is the poster which would have greeted cinema-goers in the UK when it screened on these shores:-

ORIGINAL BRITISH QUAD POSTER.....................IMAGE SOURCE: Wrong Side Of The Art

Again directed by George A. Romero, but this time starring David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott H. Reiniger, Gaylen Ross, David Crawford, Richard France plus Howard Smith (amongst others), as none of the original characters from 'NoTLD' were featured, it follows the exploits of four more "survivors" as they flee the ever-expanding zombie plague, which began with the original 'NoTLD', and take refuge in an abandoned shopping mall. Tensions build as time goes on and they realise it's not just the zombies they have to fend off, when they begin to fall prey to consumerism as well as having to defend themselves against a large gang of bikers who decide to invade the mall. Anyway, for those of you that have yet to see this "cult classic", here's a brief taster of the film courtesy of the original trailer:-

If you'd like to know more there's a full list of the cast & credits on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) listing for "Dawn Of The Dead", FOUND HERE, which also includes a full storyline / plot summary as well as box office stats, technical specs & much more. For die-hard fans, there is even more information to be had from the Wikipedia Page for "Dawn Of The Dead", VIA THIS LINK, which may help to fuel your appetite for (yet) another screening. Although, if you're as much of a fan as I am, you probably won't take too much persuading to watch it again !!

As with many of the films I've highlighted thus far, the best recommendation I can make as to which of the available Roku channels you could use to watch this movie is to suggest "YouTube" as your first port-of-call on account of the vast number of horror movies which, thanks to this channel and it's associated apps, are now readily available to stream via your Roku player(s) whenever you choose.

YOUTUBE.......................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

If you haven't already added it to your channel selection, you'll find "YouTube" listed among the "Internet TV" channels in the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store and you can easily add it to your Roku player(s) by navigating to the built-in 'Channel Store' from the home screen and scrolling through the options until you see the (above) channel icon. It's completely FREE-TO-ADD as well as being FREE-TO-VIEW so, once you've located it in the list of channels, just click the "OK" button on your Roku remote to select it and then click "OK" again where it says 'Add channel' to install it on your Roku player(s). Having done that, it's simply a case of launching the channel via the 'Go to channel' option & navigating the on-screen menu to play "Dawn Of The Dead" [Extended Mall Hours (Uncut)] on your Roku which, for the record, runs to 2h 35mins and can be found at:-

LINK TO MOVIE: "Dawn Of The Dead 1978 - Extended Mall Hours Uncut" on 'YouTube'

Meanwhile, to add a little more of that cinematic experience, here's a few of the other posters that movie-goers would have encountered depending on their particular location around the world:-

ORIGINAL USA ONE SHEET POSTER.....................IMAGE SOURCE: Wrong Side Of The Art

ORIGINAL FRENCH ONE SHEET POSTER............IMAGE SOURCE: Wrong Side Of The Art

ORIGINAL SPANISH ONE SHEET POSTER.............IMAGE SOURCE: Wrong Side Of The Art

For further movie memorabilia pertaining to "Dawn Of The Dead", I suggest that you visit a website called "Homepage of the Dead", FOUND HERE, where you'll find everything from posters, t-shirts, lobby cards, movie stills, button badges, DVD covers & much, MUCH MORE from around the globe. Another interesting site, containing 'Fan Art Posters' for the "Dawn of the Dead" movie, comes in the shape of a blog called "Beyond Horror Design" which can be found VIA THIS LINK. Meanwhile, for more genuine movie posters from around the world, you should also visit "The Film League" webpage for the "Dawn of the Dead" movie,  AT THIS ADDRESS, which contains one or two items not found on the "Homepage of the Dead" and/or "Wrong Side Of The Art" websites for die-hard fans.

Finally, to round-off this second instalment of "Wicked Watch Wednesday" on 'Day Eight' of the annual 'Countdown To Halloween', comes a few FRIGHTENINGLY FUN FILM FACTS for you... in addition to directing the movie "Dawn of the Dead", George A. Romero has a cameo role in the film as the "director" in the WGON TV Studios, as well as a second cameo playing "Old Nick", which is the name given to the 'Santa Claus' biker, seen (briefly) in the motorcycle raid on the mall. Also, being the budget-conscious film-maker that he was, George A. Romero even employed the services of his wife, Christine Forrest, in a cameo role as Assistant to the Director (i.e. himself) for the scenes shot at the WGON TV Studios. Talk about keeping it in the family !!


In the meantime, for those of you seeking even more tidbits of trivia from the "Dawn of the Dead" movie, you should check out the detailed listing on the IMDB website, FOUND HERE, where you will find an abundance of interesting film facts that should keep you occupied for quite some time !!

Anyway, that's all for today... just remember to come back in 24-hours for 'Day Nine' and more Hallowe'en-themed content, courtesy of "Another CreatureFeature Guide To Hallowe'en On Roku", when I will reveal the next devilish drink for "Toxic Tipple Thursday", and (again) this time next week for another "Wicked Watch Wednesday" as we continue our "Countdown To Hallowe'en" 2014...

Fangs (as always) for reading !!