Familiar Faces at Walker Stalker Con
December 16th, 2014
News, Shuffling Horrors
I ran into two very familiar faces at Walker Stalker Con in Secaucus NJ: Judith O’Dea and Russ Streiner from George Romero’s zombie cult classic: Night of the Living Dead. It was an out-of-the-world experience to meet the two stars who appeared in the film’s opening cemetery scene. They played bickering brother and sister, Barbra and Johnny, and were the first to encounter Pittsburgh’s shuffling dead. Johnny started it all when he uttered that famous line: “They’re coming to get you, Barbra… There’s one of them now!”
After introducing myself, I showed them my zombie game, Shuffling Horror: Pittsburgh 68, explaining that it was inspired by Romero’s classic flick. Both laughed at the title reference (which a lot of folks don’t get). They both were even kind enough to pose with a game in hand!
I told Judith that her Barbra character was the inspiration for the game’s Sorority Girl character (Barbra’s state of shock inspired the game’s Breaking Point card, too). Johnny was the inspiration for the Jack of Zombies.
We then swapped stories about the Evans City cemetery (right off of Route 68). Judith had returned there a few years back and told me the place was still filled with that creepy, ethereal vibe. I told her about my pilgrimage there when we released the game, joking that the place seemed to be in black and white, just like in the movie! Just driving up that deserted gravel road gives you immediate movie flashbacks. You expect that one lone zombie in the distance to start stumbling toward you…
Judith and Russ are two actors who have made their mark in horror movie pop culture. Meeting them face to face is a memory this horror film fan will never forget!
Johnny: They’re coming for you, Barbra!
Barbra: Stop it! You’re acting like a child!
