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In a bit of news that, even for a horror fan, doesn’t make all that much sense, George Romero’s 1978 Dawn of the Dead will get the 3D treatment from the wizards at In-Three. The procedure involves taking the existing film and creating a second image of it, which when projected from a specific type of machine, creates a stereophonic image that appears in three dimensions to the viewer wearing the appropriate glasses. Selected objects appear to move forward or backward, creating a deeper sense of depth and allowing some objects to appear as though they have exited the screen and coming hurtling towards the viewer. This same technology was used as a preview of things to come with Star Wars at ShoWest in 2005 and was utilized for Walt Disney’s The Nightmare Before Christmas 3D. Nightmare has been released twice in 3D, grossing nearly $9 million in ticket receipts.

The costly procedure can rack up $50,000 to $100,000 per minute of film treatment. Romero’s Dawn clocks in at over 126 minutes depending on the version shown, which would lead to a conservative estimate of $6.3 million for the transfer. There are currently about 1,300 screens capable of projecting the 3D movies, a number that is expected to expand in the coming years. In-Three’s Neil Feldman believes that there is sufficient interest to move forward with this, and other, 3D projects.

While I would agree that there is an audience for 3D films and I personally really enjoy them (having seen Nightmare and Night of the Living Dead 3D and Beowulf) I’m not entirely certain that Dawn of the Dead, with its long, slow pace, is the best choice. It definitely won’t have the same draw as a current film or Tim Burton’s Nightmare and I predict it will face an uphill battle in earning its money back. However, I will probably see it in theaters, because thats the kind of guy I am. As to the rest of America, who knows.

Sound Off: Would you go see Dawn of the Dead in 3D?