As a kid I remember wanting to make movies; I found out how utterly horrible it was to get a film off the ground let alone make a movie, and “Zombie Girl” is that movie about the ultimate movie geek making a zombie movie. The zombies in this movie don’t run. It’s gory. It’s indie. And the director is twelve! “Zombie Girl” profiles not just Emily Hagins, the preteen filmmaker looking to create her own zombie movie, but it explores the budding interest of filmmaking with the convenience of the film technology in the tech era and what access its created for people like Hagins.
The team of Justin Johnson, Aaron Marshall and Erik Mauck delve in to the life of Emily Hagins a Texas teen girl whose own love for movies influence her to direct her first movie “Pathogen,” and makes waves when she gets in contact with movie producers and some critics (she even wins over Harry Knowles and LOTR director Peter Jackson—yes, that Peter Jackson!) to make what starts out as a nightmare and becomes a full film production that launches at the Alamo Draft House. Much like the stripped down horror production Hagins is creating, the trio’s “Zombie Girl” is an inspiring little treat of a documentary that’s hard not to love with Hagins’s enthusiasm (she can reference shots from films directed by Kubrick at one point) in keeping with filmmaking and the hard work behind it.
The crew deserve most of the credit turning this seemingly mundane topic in to one of pure fascination as Hagins charm and wit keep her friends as well as her family going along with her movie and tests the fabric of the relationship between she and her mother whenever the work becomes too taxing on her or her guardian who wants to be included in the work to bond, but barely can acknowledge the dedication it takes. Mom even forces Emily in to applying for a filmmaker’s grant mid way to help garner better help, to which she knows she can not provide. Dad however is more realistic about Emily’s goals and hopes this will end up in a career in spite of his obvious inclinations that this is merely a big phase in a growing girl’s search for a creative outlet. While the crew on the other hand know this is a movie about a movie and the shocking low cost it takes to make one, it’s also about the changing bond of a mother and daughter who share a passion for the cinema but may grow apart as Emily’s “may or may not” career in filmmaking blossoms.
Whether or not Hagins goes through with her filmmaking aspirations is irrelevant to the overall premise of the film that seeks to spotlight a twelve year old who had a seemingly large dream and accomplished it in spite of the drawbacks. This is not a movie seeking to change the world or our way of thinking but it makes a wonderful statement about the way our world has changed to where people like Emily can be given the chance to share their stories for their audience and hopefully begat the next Romero’s and Spielberg’s. If you really want to know what goes on behind true indie filmmaking where private funding is almost always impossible, “Zombie Girl” is a charming and excellent experience about the accessibility of filmmaking and the creativity is breeds. I think “Zombie Girl” is a win; I hope to see “Pathogen” someday.