Horror classic “Night of the Living Dead” is being remade for virtual reality (VR) in time for the 50th anniversary of the film’s theatrical release next year. Los Angeles-based VR production company Supersphere has struck a deal with late director George Romero’s company Image Ten to develop a multi-platform VR experience.

“Virtual reality is incredibly stimulating and offers a whole new slate of possibilities for ‘Night of the Living Dead’ fans to engage with the world and its characters,” said Image Ten’s Gary Streiner, who worked on the original film as a sound engineer.

“’Night of the Living Dead’ is one of those films that has become a cultural touchstone; it revolutionized the horror genre and to this day it influences how we envision zombies,” said Supersphere partner and executive producer Doug Allenstein. “We’re thrilled to be working with the team at Image Ten to now expand that franchise to the next generation of storytelling: virtual reality.”

“Night of the Living Dead” has been hailed as a seminal zombie movie that defined the genre for decades. It was produced with a total budget of just $114,000, and Romero said in a recently-rediscovered 19972 interview that he shot the film in black-and-white solely for budgetary reasons. Romero passed away in July of this year.