INT: James Dudelson & Ana Clavell

Last Updated on July 28, 2021

The Arrow
interviews
James Dudelson and Ana Clavell

Not
so long ago, word on a sequel to Romero’s Zombie classic “Day
of the Dead”
sprang up out of nowhere to bite us fans on the ass.
The film is titled “Day of the Dead:
Contagium” (see
synopsis at the end of this interview) and no
word on this sequel
had hit the waves until recently. A

teaser
trailer was also put out and to me, it sported shades of
“Children of the Living Dead”. Luckily,
it was only a teaser shot for the AFM (American Film Market) and not footage from the actual film. Arrow
recently hit up the directors of said sequel,
James Dudelson and Ana Clavell (thanks
to

Dayofthedeadmovie.net
for
the hook up!)
, in order to get some info. This is what I got!

ARROW:
What’s your favorite horror movie?

Jim Dudelson: Day of the Dead, Dead of
Night.

Ana Clavell: 
Too many to mention…definitely all of the Dead
movies.

ARROW: Who wrote the screenplay for Day of the Dead Contagium and
when was it written? 

Jim Dudelson:
Ana Clavell (co-director), December 2003.

ARROW: Was George Romero ever approached to be part of the project
in some capacity? If
not, why not?

Jim Dudelson: I
cannot
answer the question at this time.

ARROW: Okay…so when and where was the film shot?

Jim Dudelson:
April 2004 Norwalk, CA (where parts of the movie
“The Ring” was shot” and a location in LA (where parts of “Silence of
the Lambs” was shot)

ARROW: Where is it now in terms of production (Post?)

Jim Dudelson:
Four
months. We hope to have our first screening in November.

ARROW: What was the movie shot on?

Jim Dudelson:
35MM.

ARROW: Can you give us an idea as to how much the budget was?

Jim Dudelson:
Not for publication at this time.

ARROW: So who was responsible for the special effects in the
picture?

Jim Dudelson:
Wells/Marks Media.

ARROW: What’s the ratio in terms of CGI and practical effects in
the flick?

Jim Dudelson: About 15-20%; some of them are pretty
unobtrusive.

ARROW: Would you say
your prequel is “Day of the Dead (original)” gory?

Jim Dudelson:
Yes.

ARROW: In your opinion what is the best gore set piece within the
film? The one that will blow our fanboy sox off!

Jim Dudelson:
Too
many to choose from.

ARROW: …so are there any “name stars” starring in the movie?

Jim Dudelson:
No, just good talented actors.

ARROW: Why was the film kept
under wraps for so long in terms of the press? I mean, we all just
heard about it!

Jim Dudelson:
Because I didn’t want the press bothering us
while we were shooting.

ARROW: As a director, what were you aiming for on a visual
standpoint? Flashy? Gloomy? What not…

Jim Dudelson:
Naturalistic; progressively becomes darker and bleaker. The style is
fluid with multiple
cameras hand-held.

ARROW: Where is the film now in terms of distribution?

Jim Dudelson:
We have three offers as of today.

ARROW: When will we be able to see a real trailer (not the AFM
teaser)?

Jim Dudelson:
In about three weeks.

ARROW: What’s next on your plate as a director?

Jim Dudelson: Creepshow.

Ana: Untitled Horror project and
Creepshow.

And that’s that on that! I never got a
chance to ask if the “Creepshow” project they were going to be working on
is a remake of Romero’s anthology or not. I pray to Buddha that it
isn’t.  As for Day of the Dead Contagium…time will tell if it’s
a steamy pile of shit or a film that could stand tall next to its
forefather.

DAY OF THE
DEAD CONTAGIUM SYNOPSIS

Sometime in 1968 a
strange viral outbreak is contained within the walls of a military
hospital in Pennsylvania: all those exposed are destroyed and burned
to the ground. A wall of silence befalls the incidence, and soon
enough only a vague myth remains. The hospital becomes a civilian mental treatment center.

Set in a mental hospital in Pennsylvania, five patients about to be
released uncover a secret buried within the compound and unleash a
virus (contagium) designed to force Humanity to evolve into powerful
creatures capable of astounding feats…and incredible cruelty. In order
for this new Human to survive it needs to feed on human flesh: but a
bite from these creatures creates a new state of existence, the
Creature’s subordinate, the Living Dead. It’s up to our terrified
heroes to choose to accept this fate or to fight it, even if it means
their own destruction.

Although special effect heavy, the core of the story is both
compelling and tragic. It’s the age-old dilemma of transcending our
shortcomings and overcoming our fears in spite of what the sacrifice
may entail. Day of the Dead: Contagium is homage to the Dead trilogy,
it hints at a possible origin to the Zombie phenomena in a manner that
incorporates all known lore. It also covers some of the lesser known
aspects of the original transformation and it imagines the last
moments before the End of Humanity.