Zombies roam the streets...
ISU to serve as venue for unveiling of locally shot film
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| A deadly infection creates an army of approximately 88 flesh-devouring zombies in Jason Huls' locally filmed zombie spoof. |
Thursday, April 19, 2007 10:52 AM CDT
NORMAL -- Nights, dawns, days and returns of the living dead are bad enough. But what are you to do when an army of noxious, flesh-eating zombies mass for attack in the late afternoon?
Say, 'round 3:45 p.m.?
Well, you're not going to stay seated for the second half of "Oprah," that's for sure.
Especially if they're the late-in-the-day zombies loping/running about in Jason Huls' "Late Afternoon of the Living Dead," a locally produced send-up of living dead movies receiving its world premiere this weekend at Illinois State University (7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in Room 138 of Schroeder Hall; admission is free).
Shot largely here in the Twin Cities and to the south in Decatur, this 88-zombie affair represents nearly three years' worth of blood, guts, sweat and tears (accent on the blood and guts) for Huls and his cohorts of the living dead.
Many of those cohorts are also locals who kicked in their various talents gratis so Huls could maintain his original budgetary mandate of "paying for it out of my own pocket."
He's hesitant to divulge the low-low budget sum as an actual dollar amount for fear of scaring off potential Hollywood distributors who might refuse to look past the modest means at the expense of what he feels are the polished results on screen.
And he will be using the film as his calling card when he begins meeting with interested parties in the months ahead.
Fully scored and gored, "Late Afternoon of the Living Dead" tells the tongue-in-cheek tale of a zombie-making epidemic that infests the planet, leaving a handful of survivors, from a meek librarian-turned-hero to a stockbroker in serious need of some anger management.
Among the recognizable Twin Cities locations they pass by and/or through are downtown Bloomington's Castle Theater, the area in front of Clay Dooley Tire and Auto on East Grove Street in Bloomington, the alley next to the Normal Theater and, elsewhere in an uptown Normal turned topsy-turvy, the nearby Jake's Pizza.
There is also some hot and heavy zombie action on Bloomington's west side, and even some pick-up shots in Streator, Graymont and the Lexington area.
Another key location is a derelict building in downtown Decatur "across from Jimmy Johns" whose "blasted out" look provided a perfect place for Huls' non-zombie human survivors to hole up in. (So what if their filming coincided with downtown Decatur's biggest event of the year, the Decatur Celebration? Free cast of thousands! )
Moral of this story: Late-afternoon living dead may be restricted in their time frames, but their infestation knows no boundaries.
Huls, 28, is an area native who graduated from Normal Community West High School and Illinois State University before moving to Chicago several years ago to work for a college textbook publishing company -- not exactly a hotbed of the living dead.
What Huls says he did take to Chicago with him from his hometown was a love for writing and a minor in cinema studies from ISU, where he got his first taste of nuts-and-bolts filmmaking techniques under the auspices of his professor, Scott Rankin (who helped arranged this weekend's ISU world premiere).
He found himself in front of a camera ... positioning a camera ... setting up lights ... even, he notes, "how to do a dolly shot by putting the camera on a wheelchair."
Though he says he's not a hardcore film buff who can rattle off encyclopedic trivia about the history of cinema, he is a fan of good screenwriting, and "this sort of evolved for me out of my love of writing and wanting to visualize stories."
A role model for him is "Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson, whose early work includes -- surprise -- an over-the-top zombie spoof called "Dead Alive."
"I've seen a lot of his older stuff and watched the documentaries on his movies, and he really knows how to stretch a dollar," says Huls. "I also like the Coen brothers because I love their sense of story and their sense of humor -- I think they write some very unique characters."
The decision to see what he could do in the film medium arrived in the form an epiphany.
"I woke up one morning, literally, and decided to it," recalls Huls, whose mother, Jeannie Burris, also lives in zombie country, Mackinaw, and whose kid brother Travis, 22, also co-stars in his movie.
"It occurred to me that day that I knew a lot of talented people, and, really, why weren't we all working on something together?"
Like a tale of zombie armies infesting Earth?
"While I do have an interest in zombie movies, I would have to say I only wanted to do a horror film because they're easier to do on a low budget and make work," says Huls. "Also, audiences tend to be more forgiving because they understand what we're working with."
As a result, "That seemed a logical place to start."
Helpfully, around three years earlier, Huls and his longtime creative partner Chris Hutson had made a "pretty laughable" 10-minute short about a zombie creating havoc in the heartland, dubbed "Afternoon of the Living Dead."
From that kernel and midday time frame sprouted "Late Afternoon of the Living Dead," which itself originally was conceived at no more than 30 minutes in length.
All those creative people Huls knew were tapped for input -- from Chicago-based actor Ron Rotondo, to B-N musicians Nathan Parks and Kevin Yarger, to Hutson's Heartland Community College film prof Phil Vandiver (who plays an "intrepid TV anchorman" named Bart).
Other key talent included sound designer Paul Brooks, makeup man Gary Thompson ("thank God he was there"), cameraman Andrew Moore and producer Gale Murrin.
Huls cast himself as a comic-relief supporting player, neither human nor human-devouring zombie, but a see-through poltergeist named Shelton -- doubtless a zombie cinema first.
As things progressed, Huls, as writer and director, decided the premise could be developed further into a full-blown feature. "We were in this no man's land of being neither a short nor a feature-length movie, so I decided to go full-length after shooting certain scenes."
Because of that sudden shift to the big time, production on the film continued along weekend lines for nearly two years.
Late afternoons of the living dead never dragged on with such stubbornness.
But as a new era dawns for Huls' labor of love, he's hoping it will pave the way for a full-time career as a filmmaker.
Don't look for a "Later in the Afternoon of the Living Dead," he says.
Do anticipate "a sort of futuristic dark epic, sort of a cross between 'The X-Files' and 'Children of Men' " and/or some "Hostel"-ish "straight-up horror."
Whatever he dreams up, it's probably safe to assume one thing: Jason Huls will come home again, looking to scare up more of the locally grown talent that has helped him invade late-afternoon Bloomington-Normal with an army of zombies.
At a glance
What: World premiere showings of locally made movie, "Late Afternoon of the Living Dead," with filmmakers and cast in attendance
When: 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Where: Illinois State University Schroeder Hall Room 138
Cost: Free
Information: www.lateafternoonofthelivingdead.com
The plot thickens
A strange and deadly viral epidemic creates a planet-wide legion of the undead. Chris (Chris Hutson), a mild-mannered librarian, is transformed into an unlikely hero after he awakens in an abandoned attic with only fleeting memories of those who saved him. He begins a search of the city, looking for answers, but finding only packs of zombies. Among the human survivors he encounters: Lt. Barnes (Rich DeBarba), a good-natured soldier out to save as many as he can; Bart Riedell (Phil Vandiver), an intrepid news anchorman; and Ron (Ron Rotondo), a stockbroker with a vicious streak. Also on hand, but just barely: a poltergeist-turned-sidekick named Shelton (Jason Huls).
DVD available for purchase
NORMAL -- Though the locally made "Late Afternoon of the Living Dead" is receiving its world premiere this weekend at Illinois State University, its fans won't have to wait long for the DVD edition.
In fact, notes writer/director/co-star Jason Huls, shiny little discs of the movie will be available for purchase at the showings Saturday and Sunday in ISU's Schroeder Hall Room 138.
In addition to the film itself, the DVD will carry all the bells and whistles of a top-end Hollywood release, including an episode of the non-existent "Masters of the Craft" series, described by Huls as an "Inside the Actor's Studio" parody featuring an unctuous James Lipton-style host grilling the film's makers with utmost pretension.
Also among the extras: a music video based on the film and a blooper reel of outtakes, both produced by Huls' Ten Wing Films.
The DVDs will go for $10 a pop.
The innard circle
Facts and figures from the open graves of "Late Afternoon of the Living Dead":
Production length: two years (2005-2007)
Hue: In living/dying black-and-white
Writer/director/co-star: Jason Huls
Budget source: Out of Huls' pocket
Budget tab: Let's just say "not a lot"
Primary locations: Downtown Bloomington (Castle Theater especially), downtown Decatur (a vacant building especially)
Secondary locations: Normal, Algonquin, Chicago, Graymont, Lexington, Lisle, Streator, Woodridge
Zombies on view: 88
Non-zombies on view (and running scared): 23
Music score: B-N composers Nathan Parks and Kevin Yarger
Blood recipe: Hershey's chocolate syrup, by the gallon
Prevailing tone: Irreverent
First critical response: "Splatterific fun for the whole family!" -- Mel Valentin, www.movie-vault.com
If it was rated it would be slapped with: an "R," for strong language and gore
So: Keep the children at home, Mel Valentin of www.movie-vault.com, notwithstanding
Copyright © 2006, Pantagraph Publishing Co. All rights reserved.
