Living Dead Weekend brings zombies to Monroeville Mall one last time

George Romero’s “Dawn of the Dead” was partly filmed at the mall, which has become a shrine for fans of all things undead.

By PATRICK VARINE
TribLive

For people attending on Sunday what may be the final Living Dead Weekend at Monroeville Mall, there are far worse things than a zombie takeover.

The building itself is in danger of joining the dead after its purchase in 2025 by Walmart. The corporate giant filed for a grant application laying out plans to demolish the mall, which was built in the late 1960s and served as the site for scenes in George Romero’s 1978 zombie movie “Dawn of the Dead,” a sequel to his seminal “Night of the Living Dead” (1968).

It is also home to the Living Dead Museum, whose owner Kevin Kriess organized the first weekend in 2017.

Gene Barney of Wilkinsburg, part of the weekend’s box office staff, said the museum and interest in the film has helped keep the mall in business.

“My friend came up from Palm Beach, Fla., to attend,” Barney said. “That museum sees people from all over the planet every week. The number of people who’ve come to the museum and then gone shopping are definitely helping to keep the mall afloat.”

With everything from panel discussions to filming-site tours and a mini-Comic-Con area with vendors, actor autographs and more, the weekend regularly attracts thousands to the mall, from near and far.

Trey Wallace drove from Erie to attend for the first time, decked out in full zombie regalia with green face paint and a vintage, bloodied outfit.

“I’ve been a huge fan of ‘Dawn of the Dead’ since I was a child,” Wallace said. “Now that the mall’s closing, I had to come to experience this. It’s such a cult classic: George A. Romero’s great filmmaking, Tom Savini’s makeup, and even just how cheesy it can be.”

In an ironic reversal, the un-dead were just the thing to bring art vendor Ricky Blalock’s creativity back to life. Blalock, who lives in Tennessee, spent 25 years as a drafting engineer, doing art on the side after learning it from his mother.

“When she passed away, I didn’t draw anything for months and months,” Blalock said. “But then ‘The Walking Dead’ came on television, and for some reason I thought, ‘I going to draw me some monsters.’ ” He found a receptive audience at places like the Living Dead Weekend.

“I like it a lot better than drawing ducks and deer,” he said, surrounded by his black-and-white hand-drawn portraits of Romero-era zombies and other horror icons like Freddie Krueger, Jason, the Creature from the Black Lagoon and even the rock band KISS.

This year’s event saw the largest group of “Dawn of the Dead” cast members yet assembled to meet fans, take photos and sign autographs. They included star Ken Foree, whose militant SWAT Officer Peter Washington delivers the film’s iconic line, “When there is no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth.”

That phrase was echoed across the building Sunday, on the back of promotional T-shirts reading, “When there is no more room in hell, the dead will walk the mall.”

Diana Reyes drove from Wilmington, Del., to attend the weekend for a second time.

“I wish they’d let us turn it into a historic landmark, because it is,” Reyes said of the mall. “Plus this brings so many people in who spend money at the mall.”

“I think we should stage a sit-in,” her daughter said with a laugh.