Bleh, blehI really dug the Aussie horror flick Undead, a clever take on an overworked premise full of fun gore and lots of respectful homage to genre masters like Raimi and Romero. It's not a perfect movie, but considering it's populated by amateur actors and was pieced together over a couple of years for around a million bucks, I think it came out surprisingly well (but then, I'm predisposed to zombie flicks). The movie hasn't officially shambled its way to the US just yet, but Lions Gate, the home for wayward genre projects, has picked it up for eventual domestic release.

Lions Gate obviously recognizes the potential of Undead/s filmmakers, brothers Peter and Michael Spierig, and will fund their next fright flick Daybreakers. AICN caught wind of this (via THR) and dug up a little more info on the project, in which vampires have become the dominant species on the planet but find their food (meaning we mere humans) in short supply, which leads to bloodlust and famine. The movie will focus on a pair of siblings dealing with life in this grim future.

No word on budget or casting at this early stage of the process, but Lions Gate seems to put their faith in the filmmakers and let them do their thing. The film will apparently take a more realistic approach to the material (Undead was closer in tone to Peter Jackson's loopy Brain Dead than Romero's more resonant social allegories), so we'll see if the Spierigs can do serious material as well as black humor.