Deadly Dwarves – Night of the Little Dead

Upcoming short delivers some vertically-challenged violence.

Fast zombies vs. slow? C'mon, there are many more colors in the undead serpent's rainbow than just those two. Connoisseurs of carnivorous corpse cinema have seen the likes of handicapped zombies (Special Dead), clothing-optional zombies (Nudist Colony of the Dead), even drug-using zombies (Stoned Dead).

Looking to dwarf all these, in more ways than one, is Night of the Little Dead, from Las Vegas filmmakers Frank Ippolito and Ezekiel Zabrowski. Ippolito, recently seen on SyFy's Face Off, was a make-up artist on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, where he met and befriended renowned little-person stuntman/actor Martin Klebba. When Ippolito brainstormed the notion of small zombies, he "knew that to torture anyone in a creature suit, I'd need someone solid." Klebba fit the bill perfectly, and appears in the project.

Ezekiel Zabrowski, the film's other driving force, has worked with magicians Penn & Teller since 2001 as "deputy director of covert activities". When he met Ippolito at a party, they started lobbing around ideas for the project; Zabrowski suggested a zombie theme, while Ippolito delivered the gore. The duo's first short, "& Teller" appears on the DVD for George Romero's Diary of the Dead, and depicts Teller as the sole survivor of a Vegas undead attack. His partner Penn stars in Little Dead, as seen in this behind-the-scenes trailer.

Night of the Little Dead will debut as a short "when it's ready" (Ippolito), but the hope is to expand into a feature, as it was written. For more info, check the official website. Get in early. When zombies are involved, you never want to be the slowest in the crowd.

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