Justin Johnson, Aaron Marshall, and Erik Mauck's 2009 documentary from R Squared is probably one of the most simplistic stories ever told but also proves to be fodder for one of the best independent documentaries I've ever seen, a film about an enthusiastic little girl who loves movies and is doing everything in her power to make a zombie film, the film community of critics and movie buffs that embrace her for her enthusiasm, her mom willing to do whatever it takes to feed her daughter's ambition--as long as she goes to school, and the movie that became a cult classic in its own right because of its charming production qualities and overall creativity. "Zombie Girl: The Movie" is an excellent and absolutely endearing documentary about the independent filmmaker (in this case a twelve year old with a dream) who wants to create a film they will love and they want everyone else to love. Emily Hagin is a small town girl who adores classic horror movies and is anxiously trying to create her own entitled "Pathogen," and what follows is a series of frustrating, entertaining, and often surprising events in which Hagin, armed with her camcorder and best friends, works her butt off to make a great horror film and shows America what a truly driven filmmaker can do when they refuse to let limitations keep them from creating a work of love and passion.

Emily's mother Megan has used movies to keep them bonded and intimate, but once Megan discovers she lacks any interest in making movies aside from Emily who dives in head first, the directors soon zero in on the conflict of a mom struggling to stay close to a daughter drifting away in to her hobby that could become a potential career. The other is the focus on the easy accessibility of filmmaking and how the digital and technological age has made filmmaking easy for better or for worse. Throughout the documentary there are about a dozen of Emily's friends who proclaim they hope to make their own movie, and the enthusiasts who shed some insight on Emily's experiences explain that whether we like it or not a new era of directors are emerging and they're becoming younger and younger thanks to the affordability of editing software, special effects, and camera equipment. What is ultimately gained in the end is a look at a girl whose own infectious excitement and wide eyed approach toward the movie making process brings about a coming of age experience and a direction toward doing what she loves, if it involves movie making or not.

When I was twelve I was scamming on girls and trying to wake up early to catch cartoons on TV, "Zombie Girl: The Movie" explores the journey in to making a movie and a young girl doing whatever it takes to make her dream a reality and for that it's a genuinely entertaining and charming documentary worthy of its acclaim.