As retail moves increasingly online, American malls, it seems, are dead. For the Monroeville Mall, that sentiment will become literal when Living Dead Weekend takes over, giving horror fans access to celebrities, memorabilia, and other fun dedicated to some of their favorite locally shot zombie films.
The annual event celebrates the films of director George A. Romero, primarily Dawn of the Dead, his 1978 sequel to Night of the Living Dead. Dawn was shot on location at the Monroeville Mall, making the sprawling, two-level retail space a destination for horror fans. Taking place from Fri., June 10-Sun., June 12, the 2022 Living Dead Weekend will focus on the 1990 Night of the Living Dead remake starring Candyman actor Tony Todd, who will be in attendance at the event.
Besides Todd, guests can expect to meet other cast members from the film, including Patricia Tallman and Bill Moseley, and Pittsburgh-based makeup effects expert and actor Tom Savini, who directed the 1990 remake. There will also be appearances from other Living Dead alum, on-site movie location tours, exclusive parties, film screenings, and exhibits and panels.
This year also promises twice as many vendors as the 2021 Living Dead Weekend, which celebrated the return of the Living Dead Museum to the Monroeville Mall. Originally opened in a storefront in 2008, the museum moved to Evans City, Pa. in 2013, only to move back to the mall years later due to what owner and curator Kevin Kriess called “a change in management that was much more favorable to the site’s zombie past.”
The 2022 event seems to signal a return to the early days of Living Dead Weekends before the COVID-19 pandemic put events on hold and kept people away from large gatherings. Kristina Circelli, marketing director for CBL Properties, a real estate investment firm that operates Monroeville Mall, says everyone behind the convention hopes to see the return of overseas attendees, including from the U.K. and Germany, who “haven’t been able to attend since 2019.”
“The Living Dead Weekend began as a nostalgic event reminiscing on cult-classic movies and the mall in its infancy,” says Circelli. “Since then, it’s become such a staple for Monroeville Mall, one that we look forward to growing every year.”
Living Dead Weekend. Fri., June 10-Sun., June 12. Monroeville Mall. 200 Mall Circle Drive, Monroeville. $25-200 plus additional fees. thelivingdeadweekend.com
This article appears in Jun 1-7, 2022.
