‘Zombie Girl,’ Spurred by ‘Rings’ Director, Makes Horror Films

Jan. 22 (Bloomberg) -- While her fellow sixth-graders were chatting online and dreading their first pimples, 12-year-old Emily Hagins was making a zombie movie.

Hooked on film after seeing the “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” four years earlier, Hagins wrote and directed “Pathogen” in her hometown of Austin, Texas. She cast her friends and classmates in starring roles and got crucial support from her mother Megan, a graphic designer who provided special effects, drove her daughter to the set and even held the boom mike.

Now 16 and putting the finishing touches on her second movie, Hagins flew to Park City, Utah, where a documentary about her is playing at Slamdance, an indie movie event that runs at the same time as the larger Sundance Film Festival.

“Zombie Girl: The Movie,” directed by three friends who were all based in Austin at the time, is a funny, tender look at Hagins’s journey as a first-time director, which included foul- ups such as forgetting to say “cut” when a scene ended and losing footage by accidentally recording over previously filmed scenes.

“It was definitely a learning experience,” Hagins said during an interview in Park City.

“Hopefully, I learned from all my mistakes.”

Despite her girlish giggle, Hagins exudes the confidence and composure of a veteran filmmaker. It’s the same attitude that led her to write a letter to director Peter Jackson after she saw “The Fellowship of the Ring” in 2001. (She liked it so much she saw it 22 more times.)

Scary Mouse

Hagins told Jackson she wanted to be a director and asked for his advice. Jackson wrote back and recommended that she get in touch with Austin critic Harry Knowles, who hosts an annual 24-hour film festival called Butt-Numb-A-Thon. It was there that Hagins saw a low-budget, Australian zombie movie, “Undead,” and fell in love with the genre.

“Before that, I didn’t like anything scary,” said Hagins, whose long blond hair was tucked under a knit cap. “I was even terrified of the Chuck E. Cheese mouse.”

“Undead” inspired Hagins to write her own zombie story about a small town infected by contaminated water that turns locals into the living dead. Armed with the script, a digital camera and store-bought supplies, Hagins shot and edited the movie for about $7,000, which all came from her parents except a $1,000 grant from the Austin Film Society.

“That included lots of pizza and soda,” she said.

Juggling her director’s duties with school caused some conflicts with her mom, but Megan never doubted that Emily would finish what she started.

“She’s extremely responsible and hard working,” Megan said. “When she told me she wanted to make a movie, I knew she could do it.”

‘The Retelling’

“Pathogen” premiered at Austin’s Alamo Drafthouse in 2006, played at several film festivals and is available on DVD at http://www.cheesynuggets.com/. Her new film, “The Retelling,” is about a 12-year-old boy who uncovers a murder plot involving his blind grandfather.

“It started out as a horror movie and ended up as a murder mystery with ghosts,” said Hagins, who plans to show the movie on the film-festival circuit.

To pay for the production, Hagins raised about $8,000 from friends, family, a private grant and other supporters. While her mother once again helped out with food and special effects, she didn’t have to operate any equipment this time because her daughter had a real crew.
“Zombie Girl” directors Justin Johnson, Aaron Marshall and Erik Mauck heard about Hagins when she posted an Internet ad seeking kids to appear in “Pathogen.”

“It was obviously a novelty for a 12-year-old girl to be making a movie, especially in a genre usually dominated by men,” Johnson said. “But as we followed her for two years, we discovered other interesting aspects like the mother-daughter relationship.”

Zombie Fans

The directors, all in their early 30s, said their documentary won’t just appeal to zombie-movie fans.

“It’s also great for parents, for kids, for anyone who aspires to do something and is passionate about it,” Marshall said.

Though Hagins still doesn’t have her driver’s license, she’s already looking forward to a long career as a film director.

“Movies have been such a large part of my life, it’s hard for me to imagine doing anything else,” she said.

(Rick Warner is the movie critic for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.)
To contact the writer on the story: Rick Warner in Park City, Utah, at rwarner1@bloomberg.net.


"Zombie Girl - The Movie" is now available on Netflix Instant.