Night of the Living Dead
30th Anniversary Edition

Dark Horizons Website:- Makeup expert Vincent J. Guastini ("Dogma", "Friday Night") has been brought onboard for some new FX makeup for the 30th Anniversary special edition release of the 1968 film classic "Night of the Living Dead". Gustavini's job seems to involve recreating the Cemetary Zombie makeup which, as well as a whole new horde of zombies, will be inserted into the film. Bill Hinzman, the actor who originally played the 'Cemetary Zombie', has signed to reprise the role for the new scenes to be shot very soon.

The additions include new prologues and epilogues which detail the backstory and fate of Hinzman's graveyard zombie. As a result, the returning Hinzman to lose 30 years off his looks, but claims, "The only improvement is that I've almost grown into the part naturally. I get 30 years younger, but stiffer!"Hinzman was aided in this process by multitalented makeup artist Vincent Guastini, fresh off Kevin Smith's FX-heavy Dogma. The advances in special make-up over the last three decades may have been staggering, but that did notmake Guastini's job easier."Bill's makeup was complicated and a real challenge, and I was very,very nervous," Guastini says. "They wanted to make him look like he did 30 years ago. But while there are similarities, he doesn't look anything like that! He's had nose surgeries done, so his nose is totally different, and he had brain surgery.I had to sculpt and elongate what he looked like 30 years ago, do a multipiece appliance and hopefully make him look real and how he used to.

A rumour reported to Dark Horizons:- "NOTLD 30TH has just wrapped and things went great, I think the fans are gonna love the new scenes and the new Ghoul stuff, which are both very fresh, different, and in some cases graphic. The new Beakman Dinner Ghouls are all burned and mangled from an explosion from the gasoline truck that Ben mentions in the film, and at last we get to see them. There are also a new posse of men and cops hunting the ghouls down, as well as other new eating scenes - but I don't want to give it all away. Also we learn of the origin of the Cemetary Zombie, you know the big tall ghoul that kills Johnny, played once again by Bill Hinzman, and he looks pretty damn close to the way he did 30 years ago with a lot of help from Guastini's prosthetics."

I really thought it would turn out better, no offense to anyone, I thought Hinzamn and some of the editing of the new stuff was done very well if not excellent, but over all I feel it detracts from this horror classic. And ruins the movie.

But would I have done it over again if I knew in hindsight what the end result was. The answer is yes, I had a great time working on this, and really like the gang in Pittsburgh a great deal. And respect and love them as people.

It was a great time, and working with the Hardman's was  an added bonus.  You won't find a sweeter couple on the planet to meet. And who out there in the makeup effects field would say no to working on a horror classic?

I'm proud of the work I did and stand by it.

Vincent Guastini