|
What is the purpose of a documentary? Most of the time, it seems, it is to bore me to bitter tears. But not this time. Zombie Girl: The Movie is the chronicle of the making of a movie called Pathogen. Which is a zombie movie. Directed by a girl. At the age of twelve. Interested yet? I thought so. By turns cheeky and poignant, Zombie Girl covers the production from inception to premiere with good-natured humor and honesty, and it is delightful to watch the progression from awkward little kid with a camera to budding cinematic talent. Take a peek behind the jump and I’ll tell you a little more about it.
Right off the bat, the interstitial title cards are adorable. Most of them are framed by stuffed animals in various states of vivisection, soaked in blood, a graphic representation of the juxtaposition of childlike innocence and gore-streaked horror that is Pathogen. But my favorite one is of a bloodied Barbie, quite naturally putting me in mind of the intro to the great Nathan Schiff’s They Don’t Cut The Grass Anymore. Then there is the music, the jaunty, toy-piano sound to most of it serving as counterpoint to the devolving disposition of events in the movie. The score seems to take great glee in the menacing of the characters by flesh-eating ghouls from the grave.
The crux of the film resides in three separate aspects, and I will attempt to delineate them here:
| First, obviously, is the making of a film. The special nature of this film is that not only are all the participants amateurs, but most of them wouldn’t even be able to get into a PG-13 movie without an adult. One would expect chaos to ensue when a twelve-year old is at the helm of a production consisting of actors not much older than she, and one would be correct. In the beginning, writer/director/camera operator/editor Emily Hagins leaves her (in this scene adult) actors hanging at the end of a scene, because it simply never occurs to her to call cut. Then there is the issue of wrangle the young actors: who has homework, who has prior obligations enforceable by parent, who just plain has other things to do, who doesn’t even show up. These aren’t the usual prima-donnas one might find on a movie set: it is simply a case of the natural exuberance and capriciousness of youth. Points two and three are encapsulated in the resolution of these issues into the realization of a finished product. |
The ubiquitous Hagins duo!
|
Two would be Megan Hagins, Emily’s graphic designer mother. Megan is the very definition of ubiquitous on the set of Pathogen. She works the boom, does all the makeup and special effects, and serves as their version of a script girl. But above and beyond all of that, she is Emily’s greatest supporter and fan. In fact, Megan’s patronage is so strong that at some points it threatens to spill over into coddling and enabling. There are likewise certainly times when Emily passes through her normally awkward adolescent self and into the land of brattiness. But of course these are normal conditions for both of these people, and even when they get exasperated with each other as the problems and pitfalls of any film production, let alone one as amateur and low-budget as this, become near all-encompassing in their lives, like an angry Sphinx in their backyard, in the end what really shines through is their love, the mother-daughter bond that most women and girls would kill for. See? I was so moved by it that I ended a sentence with a preposition.
|
No need to lose your head, dude.
|
Lastly, there is the thrilling progression of Emily herself, who, don’t forget, is the focus of this documentary. She starts out as the aforementioned girl who doesn’t remember to call cut, to a girl who comes out of her shell enough to argue with everyone around her to stake a claim on her vision, and who is so happy to be behind the camera she literally jumps around, smiling and wildly gesticulating when trying to explain a scene to someone. And later on, when she accidentally does a reshoot over existing footage, she is of course visibly upset, but doesn’t break down. Doesn’t cry. She mopes, but immediately begins thinking of what she has to redo, what she can get away with to complete the film. She shows similar forthrightness and obstinacy when posed with the trouble of the sound design and the editing together of the pieces she filmed into a cohesive narrative whole. When she gets up in front of a packed house for Pathogen’s premiere at The Alamo Draft House, you will cheer with the unhesitating candor and charm with which she handles the audience. |
| As for the filmmaking behind the documentary, I think it is top-notch. Enough footage was shot to encompass all aspects of the production of Pathogen, and it is never boring. All beats are hit, and nothing is shied away from: the humor of working with predominantly pre-teens; the tension between mother and daughter; the foibles of everyone involved; but the ultimate feeling you are left with is one of wonder at how something as innocent and heart-warming as a mother and daughter enjoying going to the movies together morphed into a full-fledged zombie film. Directors Justin Johnson, Aaron Marshall, and Erik Mauck also manage to take you from Emily’s writing a letter to Peter Jackson, to her having an internship with an indie production company, to making her own movie, without ever injecting themselves into the proceedings. There is no Michael Moore, “look at me!” vibe happening here. Other than the occasional prompting by specific question (hey, sometimes a twelve-year old mind wanders) they simply sit back and let the camera tell you the story. |
The men behind the movie.
|
Zombie Girl: The Movie is not out on DVD yet, but you should snap it up as soon as it is. It is currently screening at festivals, so keep an eye out for it. You’ll be glad you did. Visit the boys at http://www.zombiegirlthemovie.com/
EDIT: It's out on DVD now. Snap it up.
|
