Exclusive: Exit Humanity’s director talks Civil War zombies
In case you haven’t noticed, the horror scene in Canada is a-boomin’. Over the last year, a new re-emergence in Canuxploitation has been hitting the international markets with a fury, as seen in such films as Hobo with a Shotgun, Monster Brawl (here), Father’s Day (here), In the House of Flies, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, Pontypool, and in what might be the best of these recently released, Exit Humanity.
Killer Film caught up with director John Geddes to chat about the Civil War-based zombie story, while he is knee deep in post. Read on!
Jon: How did Exit Humanity get going? Were you interested in the Civil War prior?
John Geddes: I have always had a passion for the history of the Civil War. It was an incredible time in American history where so many lived in despair yet they showed amazing resilience and kept hope for a better world ahead.
Jon: Aiding the gritty, moody cinematography, is cell animation. Explain how this is used in the narrative, as well as working with artist Snezhan Bodurov.
John Geddes: Exit Humanity is a journal written by the lead charter Edward Young. Ed is an artist and writer and through out his journey in the film he is illustrating his experiences. I thought it would be cool to incorporate those drawings coming to life and seeing some of the carnage from the point of view of the page.
I met Snezhan Bodurov after seeing some of his art that caught my eye. He is a brilliant artist and him and I starting collaborating immediately on the animation needs for the film. I think movie goers will enjoy this unique feature through out the story. Snezhan has worked so hard by hand drawing each frame of this animation.
Jon: The film certainly has wrangled up some great veteran genre actors, like Bill Moseley, Dee Wallace, Brian Cox, and the under-appreciated Stephen McHattie. How did you get these actors involved?
John Geddes: We fought hard from the start to secure a great cast. It was always our desire to work with great actors who could perform and create a real sense of drama. My vision was always to make a strong film with a powerful message. I think the script spoke for itself and the challenges in the roles we appealing to the actors. This film was shot all outdoors and the conditions were hellish.
Dee had to trek up a mudslide just to get to the set. It was an amazing experience working with these actors who have inspired me through so many great films. I must say all their performances are outstanding.
Jon: While those actors help round out the cast, it’s all on Mark Gibson, a newcomer. Talk about finding him and what made you confident to hinge the film on a newbie in film.
John Geddes: Actually, Mark Gibson has been acting for over a decade. He has been engaged in many plays here in Toronto and him and I are great friends. We spoke for years about making a film together and when that time came around Mark put in years of excitement and passion into the role. I can’t put into words how hard he worked and how amazing his performance is in this film.
The film is also led by an insanely good supporting cast. Adam Seybold plays “Isaac” his performance in this film is striking on all levels. I like to call him a sleeping giant of talent. Jordan Hayes, Ari Millen and Jason Brown are also so gripping. The great thing is the actors respected my vision and they understood how far they were going to have to go to achieve the right mood. The sets made it easy for us all to feel like we were living in the 1800′s. If it was not mud covering our sets, crew and gear it was freezing cold with rain. A big shout out to Jordan who never once was the “female” on set. She was first to sprint through forests and fall into mud and get soaking wet and all that makes it feel real in the film.
Jon: I would be foolish to not include a question about your other cast members, the undead. With so many zombie movies flooding the market, were you concerned about their appearance and the handling of the gore? Or did the story set the tone for the undead action and violence?
John Geddes: I have always said this is not a zombie film. It’s a dramatic fantasy story with zombies in it. This is not the kind of zombie film where hordes of the undead are cornering our characters every ten minutes nor is it the kind where there is loads of guts and blood. It’s a character driven story and it dives into the history of these zombies and how they have impacted these characters in a world already in so much pain just after the Civil War. The zombies are certainly in the film and when they are they look amazing!
The Brothers Gore (Jeff & Jason Derushie) handled all the special effects makeup and they did a fantastic job as always. These guys would work 15-hour days and always stayed positive with our unpredictable schedule on a movie shot entirely outdoors.
Jon: The trailer showed some classical looking Civil War battles. Did you receive any help from those Civil War reenactors?
John Geddes: We did indeed receive lot’s of help. Tim Fretwell and Les Peplinski made it all possible for us to create a battle that could hold up to the real thing. I never thought it would be possible to shoot anything like this on our budget however one of our producers Cody Calahan said why not call on a reenactors society. Sure enough they were all delighted and came to our shooting location and set up a whole camp and spent the night there. It was really exciting and we owe this group all the credit for our war scenes.
Jon: Finally, with you in post now, what’s the release plan like so fans can catch this.
John Geddes: Right now we are in the last stages of post. Around four weeks left and the film will be completed. At that point we are going to apply to many festivals and try to screen the film within the festival circuit. An exact date is not set yet for release but for sure soon soon.
Visit Exit Humanity‘s website and Facebook for more!
