The Dead Next Door
Encyclopedia
Synopsis
The movie features an elite team of soldiers, the "Zombie Squad," who have been enlisted by the government to deal with a growing epidemic of zombies, while scientists work towards a cure for the virus that creates them. The squad must also fight against a religious cult which wishes to protect and enable the zombies, believing them to be a punishment ordained by God. Many of the characters are named after people who have made their marks in the horror and zombie movie fields, such as Savini, Romero, Raimi, and King.Production
Sam RaimiSam Raimi
Samuel Marshall "Sam" Raimi is an American film director, producer, actor and writer. He is best known for directing cult horror films like the Evil Dead series, Darkman and Drag Me to Hell, as well as the blockbuster Spider-Man films and the producer of the successful TV series Hercules: The...
produced the film under the pseudonym 'The Master Cylinder' using a portion of his payment from Evil Dead 2. Bruce Campbell
Bruce Campbell
Bruce Lorne Campbell is an American film and television actor. As a cult movie actor, Campbell starred as Ashley J. "Ash" Williams in Sam Raimi's Evil Dead series of films and he has starred in many low-budget cult films such as Crimewave, Maniac Cop, Bubba Ho-tep, Escape From L.A. and Sundown:...
dubbed the voices of two characters that were Raimi and Cmr Carpenter. The movie was produced over nearly four years, in Akron, Ohio
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
, for next to nothing.
The film was shot on Super-8, which is typically amateur grade film only used for home movies. Everyone involved worked on the film for free. The film is notable for highly graphic gore effects.