Isle of the Dead Remake to be Set in Afghanistan

I’ve never heard of the Boris Karloff cult film “Isle of the Dead,” but apparently some one has, and they’ve begun the process of the dreaded remake on the picture. The remake, to be based on the 1945 film directed by Val Lewton, stars Karloff as a Greek military commander on an island where a plague breaks out. He orders the isle quarantined and as residents fall ill and die, some begin to suspect that a vampire-demon might be the cause of the deaths. Zombie mayhem, one presumes, ensues. Writers Brian Horiuchi and Matt Lazarus have been hired by RKO Pictures to adapt the story to modern times and set it in Afghanistan.

From the Hollywood Reporter:

RKO plans to set the remake against the backdrop of a viral outbreak in Afghanistan.

“Val Lewton made his name by taking the horror genre to a new place,” said RKO chairman and CEO Ted Hartley, who will produce. “Brian and Matt have the same kind of genre-bending sensibilities that will give this classic tale the perfect blend of contemporary themes and timeless scares.”

No director has been set.

A zombie movie set against the backdrop of the war in Afghanistan? I can dig it.