Night of the Living Dead Microdrama: 10 Scary Plans
A Night of the Living Dead microdrama is headed to Room418, a newly established studio and mobile app built for horror fans, according to Deadline. The company is turning George A. Romero’s 1968 zombie classic into a vertical series, one of 10 original and adapted projects in development.
Room418’s Night of the Living Dead microdrama and app plans
Based in Los Angeles, Room418 describes itself as both a studio and a platform for scary stories made to be watched on a phone. An invite-only beta of the app is set to open this fall with licensed horror titles. A commercial launch with original productions is meant to follow.
Co-founder and CEO Dylen Postnikoff said the vertical format behind the Night of the Living Dead microdrama matches how people now discover entertainment.
“Vertical changes more than the frame,” Postnikoff said. “It changes the rhythm of the storytelling, how quickly you establish a world, where you build tension and how you earn the next episode. What excites us is what that unlocks. A microseries can be a complete entertainment experience in its own right, but it can also introduce a filmmaker, prove an audience for an idea and become the first expression of IP that grows into film, television and beyond.”
Why a public-domain classic fits
Romero’s original is in the public domain in the United States because the copyright notice was dropped from prints when the distributor changed the title. That status leaves the story open to adaptation, which is why the Night of the Living Dead microdrama can move forward. Romero’s zombie world is drawing fresh attention elsewhere, too: Filming recently wrapped on Twilight of the Dead, based on a treatment Romero wrote before his death in 2017.
The rest of the Room418 slate
The slate also includes a screen adaptation of Ben Sobieck’s When the Black-Eyed Children Knock, a story that first found readers on Wattpad. Room418 is co-producing an original project with horror creator Monse Gutierrez. It is also teaming with Los Angeles-based REELi Studios on a series rooted in Filipino folklore, to be shot in the Philippines.
Postnikoff, a communications and marketing specialist, previously worked at Blink49 Studios, CBC and Shaftesbury. He said horror travels well across borders. “What makes horror so interesting globally is that fear is universal, but the mythology is local,” he said. “Every market has its own stories, folklore and voices, and horror audiences are drawn to cross borders to discover new stories.”
What’s next for Room418
The beta will open with curated licensed horror in vertical, horizontal and mixed formats, with originals such as the Night of the Living Dead microdrama to follow. For more scary picks while you wait, see our list of the best horror movies of 2025.
Reporting from Deadline.