Ken Wiederhorn's script for
Dark Tower, from a story by
Robert J. Avrech, was made as a film by producer Tom Fox using his production company Greenfox Films in collaboration with Howard International Pictures. Wiederhorn had been intended to direct, but lost the opportunity when financing took longer than expected to come through which coincided with Wiederhorn dealing with personal issues that also forced his withdrawal from the project. However, Fox eventually offered Wiederhorn the opportunity to write and direct
Return of the Living Dead Part II. The film was shot on location in
Barcelona. The film features one of the earliest on-screen appearances of actor
Doug Jones, who plays the ghostly form of Dennis Randall. Freddie Francis had become disillusioned with directing as he no longer wished to do cheap horror films and preferred working as a
cinematographer on larger projects. Howard agreed to let Daltrey and Gutteridge go and Francis hired
Michael Moriarty and
Jenny Agutter as their replacements. Francis's dissatisfaction with the experience of making
Dark Tower led to him returning to his primary role as a cinematographer. He never directed another feature film despite being offered directing jobs after
Dark Tower. Two years after
Dark Tower's premiere, he won an
Academy Award for Best Cinematography for the film
Glory at the
62nd Academy Awards. ==Release==