New Horror Movie Capital of NJ? Vineland Zombie Movie Out Soon

Is Vineland the new horror movie capital of New Jersey?

"The Zombie Wedding", a movie set and filmed in Vineland in 2022 is set to be released soon and plans are underway to bring follow-up movie productions to town.

The movie is the work of the Weekly World News, the one-time satirical supermarket tabloid that is now exclusively online, known for its outlandish cover stories with paranormal themes and home to such wacky characters as Bat Boy, Manigator, P’lod the Alien, Ph.D. Ape and SpyCat.

In 2021, WWN Studios began a production arrangement with the city of Vineland, and the town is the backdrop for "The Zombie Wedding", a spoof on the zombie film genre.

“It’s a comedy, a family comedy. Actually, we’re calling it a `Zom-com’ – zombie-comedy romance, Greg D’Alessandro, the chief executive of Weekly World News, the parent company of WWN Studios, and screenwriter and music director for “The Zombie Wedding" told the Courier Post.

Stars in "The Zombie Wedding" include Cheri Oteri from Saturday Night Live, Heather Matarrazo, who had roles in "The Princess Diaries" and "Scream 3", Seth Gilliam from  The Walking Dead, and Micky Dolenz of the Monkees.

Vincent Pastore, "Big Pussy" from The Sopranos, plays the “Mayor Fanucci” character. Yes, Mayor Fanucci is the name of the real-life mayor of Vineland.

The cast also included extras from around the city of Vineland and Cumberland County.

Weekly World News already has plans for a follow-up zombie flick to begin shooting in Vineland in 2024 and there's the possibility of more coming down the line.

Vineland initially invested $1 million in the movie-making venture with a matching investment of $1 million from its Urban Enterprise Zone tax revenues.

Recently, Vineland City Council approved filing a grant application with New Jersey’s Film & Digital Media Tax Credit Program and sees the movie business as a potential money maker.

When will "The Zombie Wedding" be released? Soon, WWN's Greg D’Alessandro told the Courier Post.

“So, that film is done and we’re just out to distributors “So, we’re trying to pick which one (distributor) and when we can release. But we do hope to have a screening In Vineland before December, for the town and everyone to see it.”

Here's the trailer for "The Zombie Wedding"...