Nazis are back in fashion! Well, in the movies, anyway. For a while it seemed like Second World War movies were history, but there are signs of an upsurge in this sub-genre. And we're not talking Saving Private Ryan or The Thin Red Line here. Filmmakers are suddenly taking the war not quite so seriously again. Currently Inglorious Bastards is getting bums on theatre seats and Tarantino's latest is following in the jackboot steps of Tom Cruise's thriller Valkyrie. Elsewhere on this site, you will find coverage of Iron Sky, a Second World War sci-fi comedy that is on the way from the makers of the Star Wreck series of Star Trek spoofs.

Recently we heard about another new film being conscripted into filmland's fling with WWII. Moreover, this one is taking advantage of another current fad: 3D. This new film, which is in preproduction, is a British Second World War zombie flick called The 4th Reich. Yes, that's right;  World War Two and zombies? And did we mention that it will be in 3D?

The 4th Reich will be directed by Shaun Robert Smith and will be his first full-length film. It follows his award-winning short The Soldier (which you can see on YouTube here). At press time he still had to cast the leads, but the supporting cast includes some stellar names, including horror legend Tom Savini and Sean Pertwee (Event Horizon). Axelle Carolyn (The Descent Part 2), Simon Bamford and Craig Conway are also signed up.

The production team of The 4th Reich also sounds impressive. It includes Director of Photography Peter Hannan (Children of Men, The Meaning of Life), Production Designer Mark Tanner (Saving Private Ryan, Mutant Chronicles) and an FX team comprising Alex Gunn (Rambo 4, Valkryie) Kristyan Mallett (Harry Potter, Clash of th Titans) and John Schoonraad (Rambo 4, The Wolfman).

According to the information we received, the film will be set in war-torn Europe and will 'nail' the historical facts. Here is the official synopsis:

June 1944, after the glorious victory on D-day, the armies of the combined allied forces begin their long push to Berlin with the aim of bringing down Hitler and the despised Nazi regime of the Third Reich. But buried deep in secret files German Reichstag, is the chilling reality of Hitler’s plan to create an eternal living hell, The 4th Reich.

Dr. Joseph Mengele, Hitler’s chief scientist, was charged with creating a new super army of invincible soldiers. A force that would never be beaten. His experiments and research at the death camps of Auschwitz, Belsen and Birkenau would create unspeakable evil.

A small brigade of soldiers from 3rd Infantry Division, under the command of the battle hardened Captain Bathurst embark on an ever darkening quest to liberate Europe. Fighting their way through the French countryside, villages and war ravaged towns. Each step discovering progressively strange battles and events until they reach an abandoned research facility where the true horror begins.

Smith told CinemaSpy.com that he is planning to film The 4th Reich in Poland and the Ukraine. Expect to hear more on this movie as production progresses.