Whenever you hear the words The Walking Dead, it's quite easy to think of the iconic AMC TV franchise. Thoughts might come to mind of Andrew Lincoln's Rick Grimes, Norman Reedus' Daryl Dixon, Melissa McBride's Carol Peletier, or Lauren Cohan's Maggie Rhee. You might think of the original series or the classic Robert Kirkman graphic novel upon which it was based. In today's day and age, you might think of recent spinoffs The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, Dead City or The Ones Who Live. However, none of those projects were the first to boast those three iconic words in its title.
In fact, the original Walking Dead is now set to make its presence felt on streaming in an announcement that may shock and surprise (but will definitely confuse!) people. And with that, let's dive into it and help set the record straight for everyone.
Boris Karloff's classic 1936 movie The Walking Dead arrives on HBO Max on October 1
If you read that HBO Max was adding The Walking Dead and were a little confused by the "(1936)" that came after it, you probably weren't alone. It's easy to think about the beloved AMC TV franchise which has taken over the television landscape over the past 15 years, but Rick Grimes and his walkers aren't the ones coming to the WarnerMedia streaming service. It's actually a classic horror movie that boasts one of Hollywood's all-time biggest legends and it arrives on HBO Max on October 1.
Originally released in 1936, The Walking Dead stars Boris Karloff as a man who is brought back to life by a mechanical heart and tracks down the men who framed him for a murder he didn't commit (which ultimately led to his wrongful arrest, trial, and execution). It was well-received by audiences at the time, specifically because of Karloff's haunting performance, and performed well for Warner Bros.
It's not surprising that the film enjoyed success as it was released at the height of Karloff's popularity, coming after his legendary performance in 1931's Frankenstein and its 1935 sequel Bride of Frankenstein (he would reprise the role again in 1939's Son of Frankenstein) as well as his 1932 performance in The Mummy.
Although The Walking Dead isn't as well-remembered as many of Karloff's other iconic films, it is particularly notable for foreshadowing modern medicine through the mechanical heart device - which can now be used to ensure patients remain alive during cardiac surgery.
One of the reasons that the film doesn't come up as much in conversations today is likely down to the fact that audiences associate the Walking Dead name with the AMC series and the comic book that inspired it. Robert Kirkman's comic series started it all in 2003 and it enjoyed a startling 16 year run, wrapping up in 2019, but it was the launch of the TV series starring Andrew Lincoln in 2010 that changed everything.
AMC's The Walking Dead ran for 11 seasons, wrapping up in 2022 but it also launched six spinoffs. Fear The Walking Dead, World Beyond and Tales of the Walking Dead all aired when their parent series was still on the air, while Daryl Dixon, Dead City, and The Ones Who Live carried on the story after it completed its run.
As for where you can find that franchise on streaming, the original series is available to stream on Netflix in the US and Disney Plus in the UK. The three new spinoffs are available to stream on AMC+ in the US (with select ones being available on Netflix too) and NOW TV / Sky in the UK.
If you'd like to familiarize yourself with Karloff's 1936 classic, however, now is the chance to do that as it comes to HBO Max just in time for spooky season.