An army of the dead is bringing Atlantic City back to life on the big screen.

Trump-owned casino goes bankrupt: Is Atlantic City dead? 50% Say Yes 50% Say No. On 10 June 1999 the rapidly decomposing remains of 64-year-old Saul Hernandez were discovered inside the bed in Room 112 at the Burgundy Motor Inn in Atlantic City, New Jersey. A German couple had. You wont see anything dead in the places you shoudl be. The Walk, their big tax free outlet mall, is filled. I'd say 95% of the stores on the Boardwalk are filled with stores. And the casinos that are still there are pretty big and nice. You will find sad stories in any city, but for a vaca spot we love AC.

Well … sort of. OK, not really.

But parts of AC were used as filming sets for Zack Synder’s straight-to-Netflix movie Army of the Dead. A trailer for the $90-million movie surfaced last week. Here’s a first look:

However, fans will have to wait until May 21 to see the entire Army of the Dead film.

The casino heist film is set in Las Vegas during a zombie outbreak. Mock gambling floors were staged at the Showboat Hotel Atlantic City and the former Atlantic Club Casino Hotel.

The movie stars Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Ana de la Reguera, Theo Rossi, Huma Qureshi, Omari Hardwick, and Tig Notaro.

Synder has directed multiple Hollywood blockbusters, including 300, Watchmen, and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. He made his directorial debut in 2004 with a remake of the 1970’s horror classic Dawn of the Dead.

Army of the Dead arrives in Atlantic City

Filming for Army of the Dead in Atlantic City began in 2019.

Is Atlantic City Dead Zone

Showboat owner Bart Blatstein invited the crew to use the vacant gaming floor. Decommissioned slot machines and card tables filled the space which had not seen live gambling since 2014.

The Army of the Dead also filmed at the old Atlantic Club, another casino that closed its doors in 2014. Film production at the former casino was shrouded in secrecy and lasted several weeks.

Thank you, come again

Army of the Dead took advantage of tax credits enacted by New Jersey in 2018.

Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation that provides a tax credit of 30% for qualified film production expenses. To be eligible, a film must spend at least 60% of its total budget through vendors authorized to do business in the state or spend more than $1 million in qualified expenses in New Jersey.

“This is really good for Atlantic City and the local economy,” Heather Colache, director of the Atlantic City Film Commission, told a local newspaper at the time.

Is Army of the Dead art imitating life in AC?

The filming of a zombie movie in a city that has been left for dead countless times is near-perfect symmetry.
Public officials and residents in Atlantic City have lamented the fact that parts of their town already resemble a zombie movie.

Is Atlantic City Dead Man

“Let’s be real, Pacific and Atlantic Avenues are like night of the living dead…Atlantic Avenue is like zombie city.” – Atlantic City Council President Marty Small, wants @NJCRDA to contribute more for police to clean up streets

— David Danzis (@AC_Danzis) June 13, 2018

Is Atlantic City Dead Bodies

Atlantic City’s gritty image did not sit well with at least one cast member of Army of the Dead. In October 2019, actor/comedian Chris D’Elia posted a YouTube video slamming Atlantic City as “super depressing,” and compared a homeless man on the Boardwalk to his undead castmates.

D’Elia was soon replaced by Notaro in Army of the Dead because of sexual misconduct allegations unrelated to his time working on the zombie flick.

Welcome back to the World’s Most Famous Boardwalk

Atlantic City has served as a setting or filming location for many movies, music videos, and television shows.
Notable movies with scenes either set or filmed in Atlantic City include:

• Atlantic City (1980 / 1944)
• Snake Eyes (1998)
• Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
• Rounders (1998)
• The Color of Money (1986)
• The Godfather: Part III (1990)
• The King of Marvin Gardens (1972)

The Eastbound Strangler is an unidentified serial killer believed to be responsible for the murders of four women near Atlantic City, New Jersey in 2006. A $25,000 reward offered for information has gone unclaimed.^[1]

Background[edit]

Four dead bodies of women identified as prostitutes were found in a drainage ditch^[2] filled with shallow water on November 20, 2006^[3] behind the Golden Key Motel^[4] on the Black Horse Pike in Egg Harbor Township, situated on the outskirts of Atlantic City, New Jersey.^[5] All of them were placed face down^[6] in a row, facing east, about sixty feet apart from each other. They were clothed except for having their shoes and socks removed.^[2] They were believed to have been strangled to death.

Investigation[edit]

41-year-old repairman Terry Oleson, who was being allowed to stay for free at the Golden Key Motel in exchange for repairs when the murders took place, was implicated by his girlfriend as the killer. They were reportedly having a domestic dispute at the time. In Oleson’s room, investigators found cameras set up and images of his girlfriend's teenage daughter undressing. There have been no DNA matches to connect Oleson with the crimes and he was never named as a suspect.^[4]

Eldred Raymond Burchell who had given himself the nickname of the 'River Man', being a possible reference to Green River Killer Gary Ridgway, was suspected after he had confessed to another prostitute that he had killed people. However he has not been connected to any murders.^[7]

There was thought to be a possible connection to the Long Island serial killer^[8] but investigators later ruled it out.^[9]

Charles Coles, a drug dealer and a friend of Kim Raffo, was questioned by police but released without charge,^[10] as was Mark Hessee, an acquaintance of Kim Raffo and Barbara Breidor.^[11]

Victims[edit]

• Barbara V. Breidor, 42 — Worked as a prostitute to support her cocaine addiction. She disappeared in October 2006 but was not reported missing for several weeks.^[3] Identified through dental records,^[12] her body was so badly decomposed the cause of death could not be determined.^[7]
• Molly Jean Dilts, 20 — Originally from Black Lick, Pennsylvania,^[12] she was last seen alive a few days before her disappearance. She was the only victim not to have a record for prostitution, but was believed to be working as one.^[3] She was believed to have been the first to be killed and her body was so badly decomposed the cause of death could not be determined.^[7]
• Kim Raffo, 35 — Former waitress, originally from Canarsie, Brooklyn, who left her husband and children for drugs and prostitution in Atlantic City.^[5] Last seen alive a day before the bodies were discovered. She was believed to be the last of the four victims to be killed and was strangled with a rope or cord.^[4]
• Tracy Ann Roberts, 23 — Former erotic dancer^[13] and originally from a small town in Delaware,^[14] who sold sex to support a drug habit. Last seen alive in November 2006 when she was hit in the throat and hospitalized by a man who wished to be her pimp.^[3] She had been asphyxiated.^[7]

Popular culture[edit]

Investigation Discovery's Dark Minds, hosted by M. William Phelps, aired an episode on the case. February 2, 2012.^[15]

The case was featured in episodes 3 ('Danse Macabre') and 4 ('A Darkness on the Edge of Town'} of The Killing Season.^[16]

The case was mentioned in the 2021 Lifetime movie 'The Long Island Serial Killer: A Mother's Hunt for Justice,' which also dedicated itself in part to the four victims, which seemingly linked it to the Long Island Serial Killer case.^[17]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^'Atlantic City Strangler Cold Case Breakthrough! Globe Magazine'. www.globemagazine.com. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
2. ^ ^abM. William Phelps (presenter) (8 May 2014). Dark Minds – The Eastbound Strangler (Video). Atlantic City: Dark Crime via YouTube. 2 mins 22 secs minutes in. Retrieved 13 November 2014. I need to pick up his trail before he kills again
3. ^ ^abcdBrian Combs (February 6, 2011). 'Victims of the Eastbound Strangler'. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
4. ^ ^abcCristina Corbin (July 20, 2013). 'Atlantic City authorities eye 'more than one' person of interest in 2006 unsolved prostitute murders'. Fox News. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
5. ^ ^ab'Angels Join Hunt For Serial Killer'(PDF). December 6, 2006. Archived from the original(PDF) on November 25, 2010. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
6. ^Lauren Pearle; Chris Francescani; Elizabeth Kolleeny (November 28, 2006). 'N.J. Police Suspect Serial Killer in Four Slayings'. abc News. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
7. ^ ^abcd'10 Grisly Hotel Homicides That Are Still Unsolved'. Steemit. 18 January 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
8. ^Andrea Canning; Eamon McNiff; Josh Einiger (December 15, 1010). 'Are Atlantic City Murders Tied to N.Y. Serial Killer?'. abc News. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
9. ^Andrea Canning; Josh Einiger; Richard Esposito; Emily Friedman; Jessica Hopper (April 13, 2011). 'Long Island Serial Killer: Investigators to Use High-Tech Planes in Search for Bodies'. abc News. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
10. ^Klatell, James (May 18, 2007). 'Beyond The Boardwalk'. www.cbsnews.com. p. 5. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
11. ^Klatell, James (May 18, 2007). 'Beyond The Boardwalk'. www.cbsnews.com. p. 6. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
12. ^ ^abKlatell, James (May 18, 2007). 'Beyond The Boardwalk'. www.cbsnews.com. p. 2. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
13. ^'Authorities Search Home of Ex-Motel Worker During Probe of 4 Dead Atlantic City Prostitutes'. Associated Press. April 3, 2007. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
14. ^Klatell, James (May 18, 2007). 'Beyond The Boardwalk'. www.cbsnews.com. p. 1. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
15. ^'The Eastbound Strangler Dark Minds'. Investigation Discovery. 2 February 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
16. ^Hickey, Brian (November 14, 2016). 'Watching 'The Killing Season' with the man once suspected in four Atlantic City murders'. www.phillyvoice.com. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
17. ^'Who Were The 4 Women Murdered By 'The Atlantic City Serial Killer?''. Oxygen Official Site. 2021-02-19. Retrieved 2021-02-25.

External links[edit]