Finally, Humans Triumph Over Zombies

In which a 12-year-old filmmaker and her mother go on the ride of their lives

Who doesn’t like a feel-good zombie story? Something where humans triumph over the walking dead would give you the warm fuzzies, wouldn’t it?

It would be an especially good tale if the humans are a 12-year-old girl and her mother on the ride of their lives.

This is one such story.

At Comic-Con 2009, I did an interview for TheWrap with 17-year-old filmmaker Emily Hagins and her mother Megan about the documentary “Zombie Girl: The Movie.” It chronicles the making of the first feature-length film, “Pathogen,” Emily made as a mere pre-teen. Since then, this documentary has enjoyed a string of multi-award winning screenings and was released on DVD Tuesday on Amazon and Barnes&Noble.com.

In 2004, Emily Hagins had an epiphany about her future career as a filmmaker that led her to write, direct and film a full length movie — something that hadn’t been done by a child before. Emily didn’t have ties to the entertainment industry when she conceived her homegrown movie project — her sheer determination, supported by her mother’s desire to help her daughter pursue her goal, gave the aspiring filmmaker the encouragement she needed to realize her movie-making dream. 

Once she had set her mind to seeing this plan to fruition, she wrote, and got a reply from, Peter Jackson (“Lord of the Rings”), who directed her to contact her biggest backer, Harry Knowles (Ain’t It Cool News). But her staunch supporter through it all was her mother — a willing assistant in this pioneering endeavor – who filled most of the film crew positions.

The L.A. Times claims this film has “raw passion and real spirit,” and I agree. 

Though this tenacious first-time director grew up as part of the current technology-obsessed generation, don’t expect to see high-tech special effects or the novel use of anyone-can-do-it digital equipment in this movie. In fact, Hagins started off with a simple camcorder, home-made props, no budget and a clear idea of making a bloody, scary movie where the “zombies don’t run”.

Emily Hagins wrote, directed and filmed the full-length feature “Pathogen” as an unrelenting 12 year old. Today, she is working on her third film and is well on her way to establishing herself in the movie industry.

If you’re looking for a different type of scary movie — one with a message, not a bloody mess (well, there’s some of that, too) — watch “Zombie Girl: The Movie." The unique look into this mother-daughter filmmaking journey just might be the inspiration those aspiring filmmakers in your household need to get going on their own dream projects – and you can go along for the ride.

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