Reel Zombies (2008)

• 63%
• 2008
• Action
• Comedy
• Horror
• David J. Francis
• Mike Masters
• David J. Francis
• Mike Masters
• Stephen Papadimitriou

Independent Zombie Film makers, Producer Mike Masters and Director David J. Francis, the team behind the commercially unsuccessful Zombie Night 1 and 2, have found the climate for Zombie movies has changed significantly after the "real" zombie invasion begins. Hedging on the fact that the Zombie mayhem that has taken a grip on the nation is only a temporary problem, the film makers realize that once normalcy has returned, demand for Zombie product (now outlawed) will be at an all time high. The filmmakers seize an opportunity to do something they were never able to before on their meager budgets, make a memorable zombie film. This time, however, through using real zombies, the film will have an authenticity and production value previously unattainable. They set about "bringing the gang back together" and assemble several key cast and crew members from their past productions (the ones that aren't already dead). With a full crew and a documentarian following them all the way, Masters and Francis embark on the production of their masterpiece. Film production at the best of time is wrought with peril, and for these intrepid film makers, it is no different this time around. From the challenges of safely shooting with and wrangling the hoards of untrained zombies to creative differences over what the film is ultimately to be about - the filmmakers face new challenges and production gets more precarious at every step. The entire process is documented, complete with interviews, behind the scenes footage of production meetings and shooting challenges, as the filmmakers struggle with cast and crew being eaten by their hungry zombie extras. A lack of resources to finish the film, and an increasingly high level of zombie activity cause them to reconsider their previous notion that "things will soon be back to normal." Despite it all, the filmmakers' resolve to finish the film at all costs leads them down some dangerous paths, and forcing them to make some difficult creative choices to keep the cameras rolling at all times. It's all the challenges of shooting a low budget zombie film, mixed with the perils of surviving in a Zombie infested world. Will they finish the film and get their long deserved accolades as pioneers in the Zombie film industry, or will the making of documentary be all that's left of their attempts to bring something innovative, fresh and devastatingly real to the screen?