Interview with Zombie film maker

The first film I reviewed as training material was the indie flick, Day Zero, by Mathew and Marshall Khalil. Well I managed to have interview with one of the brothers and ask him a few questions about the film. Note that this does contain information about the film so if you are going to whine about spoilers don't read it until after you've watched it. So here for you is Mathew Khalil, zombie film maker!


ZLC: What inspired you to write this script?
Mathew: Our inspiration for writing the script was our need for a zombie television series. Day Zero was supposed to be a pilot but was later turned into a movie after we found out that The Walking Dead was coming out.

ZLC: Where did the idea for the infection by breath come from?
Mathew: We loved in 28 Days Later how the infected vomited blood onto people and then they became infected. We tried to come up with something that was a unique way to become infected and the "smog" breath is what we had come up with.

ZLC: How does the smog infection actually work?
Mathew: The Virus is supposed to be airborne. After the comet hit earth a gas was released, turning people into zombies. Anyone who gets the virus from that point on can spread the virus through a traditional bite or through their ability to expel smog breath.

ZLC: At one point zombies ring a doorbell... explain please?
Mathew: The zombies ringing the door bell wasn't intended to be so literal. It was supposed to be the lumbering zombies bumping into the doorbell. Unfortunately because of time restraints we didn't have time to film that.

ZLC: There is also a point when a zombie pulls a victim from one room to another, to what end?
Mathew: I love the idea of people being dragged away by their attacker and finished off somewhere else. But the primary reason would be that the mom character was killed in the living room, and if the main character saw her on the living room floor when he came home, then he wouldn't have a reason to go to the back of the house to witness the baby being eaten.

ZLC: In your mythology obviously the infection spread quite quickly, just how much of Edmonton's population was turned in the first day and night in which the movie takes place?
Mathew: It's really unclear just how much of Edmonton had been affected but definitely a significant amount.

ZLC: Will we be seeing a sequel?
Mathew: Hmmm, a sequel? Only time will tell I guess.

ZLC: Favorite zombie film and why?
Mathew: I love all zombie films but I'd have to say "Night of The Living Dead" in color. They finally did it right and haven't quite done it as well since. Nothing beats a slow zombie, and besides, Tony Todd is the star. And he's hard as f**k.

ZLC: You've created a couple of indie films. Why zombies for this movie?
Mathew: To be completely honest, we thought that it would only be about twenty minutes or so after editing, but obviously that wasn't the case. It was kind of an accidental feature film.

ZLC: Are you a true believer?
Mathew: Do I believe in zombies? Well not really, but I do have a zombie survival kit packed and ready. Just in Case.

Top right: Mathew. Top left: Marshall. Bottom: Me!

Stay vigilant, may the infection never reach you, and those close to you have the resolve to do what is needed should you be so unfortunate, Mike D.

Zombies in film: Day Zero

"What can you do when everyone around you is dead, except die yourself."

Film: Day Zero

Directed by Mathew and Marshall Khalil

Written by Mathew and Marshall Khalil

Produced by Night Terror Films, Cathullu Productions, Atomic Zombie

Story: I will try to avoid spoilers but this is a pretty typical zombie story. A family goes about its everyday life until zombies invade. Then a group of survivors is forced to spend a night barricaded in a house. The cast includes a cowardly protagonist, his infected sister, a teenage girl, her foreign father, a woman from down the street and a scientist. You can see how things are going to go. Not much original here but why break a formula that works right? Two notable parts of the plot are throughout the film we see a mysterious character known only as the Chief and Todd (the protagonist) is forced to make some decisions on who lives and who dies, always choosing himself or his sister even though she is clearly a lost cause.

Zombies: The zombies from this film are pretty close to how the undead function. They are slow, uncoordinated, brain dead and persistent. The film does have inconsistencies in this area though, some zombies will slam their body against a door fruitlessly while others will ring the doorbell and patiently wait for the victim to open up, then the zombie will hide the body… perhaps this zombie in particular was simply one of the various serial killers and maniacs who will take advantage of the outbreak to fulfill their own desires. The zombies also infect other people by releasing an airborne gas which seems to instantly turn both living and dead while the traditional bite takes the regular time to kill and infect (ranging from a few hours to kill and minutes to reanimate, to up to a couple days to kill and hours to reanimate. All depending on the fortitude of the person infected.)

Survival Lessons:
1 - Never shake a bum to get him to wake up. He may be a sleeping bum in which case prodding in ever increasing pressure will suffice OR he may be a zombie about to turn in which case prodding will eventually reveal this and not leave you in an immediate grapple with the undead creature.
2 - Your best friend is no longer your best friend when a seven foot cannibal is trying to eat you.
3 - Swearing at zombies does not slow them down or even hurt their feelings.
4 - Killing yourself by any means that do not destroy your brain only ensure you will rise again and become a danger to others.
5 - Do not be sentimental and protect infected loved ones. It will bite you in the ass.
6 - Look out behind you.
7 - Try to get an important bio-scientist into your survival party. It will make you a priority should the military ever get its sh*t together.

Warnings: This movie has a lot of foul language. There is also a disturbing scene with a baby. You've been warned!

Until next time, may the infection never reach you, and those close to you have the resolve to do what is needed should you be so unfortunate,
Mike D.