Romero's 'Dawn of the Dead' goes 3-D

Rex Features

George Romero's Dawn of the Dead will be re-released in 3-D, says The Hollywood Reporter.

3-D company In-Three will use its patented "dimensionalisation" techniques to turn the 1978 horror classic into a 3-D film. The project will reportedly be completed within a year.

The only other 2-D film that has been through this process is The Nightmare Before Christmas. Disney's 2006 re-release of the stop-motion animation film pulled in $8.7 million from 168 US theatres. The company plans to reissue Nightmare again this year and in 2009.

In the "dimensionalisation" process, a second camera image is created from each frame of the 2-D print. Objects are then moved forwards or backwards in relation to each other so as to create the 3-D effect.

The conversion process can cost between $50,000 and $100,000 per minute.

Dawn of the Dead follows a group of survivors who take shelter from zombies in a shopping mall. The film was remade by Zack Snyder in 2004.