'Dead Island' Fans Do A Backwards, Live-Action Remake Of The Best Video Game Ad Ever

Video game trailers can get pretty cinematic, but they rarely cross over to non-gamers. When the zombie game Dead Island was announced in 2011, it debuted with a trailer featuring a beautiful, disturbing, and emotionally gripping story that got the ad world's attention.

Adweek picked Scottish agency Axis Animation's trailer as one of the best ads of the year. It even went on to win a gold Lion at Cannes, despite getting some boos from the audience due to its intensely graphic content.

If you haven't seen the original, featuring the use of reverse footage to tell the story of a family's vacation ravaged by zombies, it's worth watching here:

And here's the new remake with real people replacing polygons:

B.J. McDonnell, director of gore-fest Hatchet III, made the video as a Dead Island fan paying homage to the trailer he loved so much.

"My bud [director Kevin Tancharoen] asked me to do it since I love horror and I love the original trailer. I couldn't turn it down," McDonnell told Business Insider.

Gaming website Machinima is streaming the video.

Anton Borkel, lead creative director of the original Dead Island trailer, complimented McDonnell and Tancharoen on Twitter, calling the remake "such a quality production."

Here's McDonnell on the set, messing around with some undead friends.

Thanks to #garytunnicliff for@this picture and zombies on the #deadisland shoot. pic.twitter.com/eAxxZsTOHi

- Bjmcdonnell (@Bjmcdonnell1) November 3, 2013