There is something very exciting about being on a low-budget film, especially a horror film I don’t know whether it’s the atmosphere or just the feeling that a bunch of people are trying to make a film that will scare the shite out of you. Personally, I think it’s just a cool place to be. So when Arrowinthehead.com was invited to check out the new film directed by THE DENTIST himself, Corbin Bernsen, I couldn’t resist. That, and the fact that the shooting location was only a few blocks away from my humble abode. And so I made my way down to the set of DEAD AIR, thanks to the generous invite from the good people at ANTI BODY FILMS including Chris Aronoff, Jesse Lawler and the writer of DEAD AIR, Kenny Yakkel.
When I arrived, I found myself at a typical soundstage where a low budget chiller may shoot. Even though it was a Saturday afternoon, there was a quiet chill in the air. The sky was a bit cloudy and I was suddenly in the mood to watch the George Romero classic “Night of the Living Dead”. The question is, was I going to see a few undead walking amongst the crew? Sadly, no… the zombies weren’t shooting on this particular day. But I did see Corbin Bernsen watching intently as they rehearsed a scene involving radio shock jock Logan [The Great Bill Moseley] being held at gunpoint by a terrorist named Abir, played by Navid Negahban.
Also in the mix was the lovely and talented Patricia Tallman. It was nice to see Ms. Tallman and Mr. Moseley reunited from the terror they faced as Johnny and Barbara in Tom Savini’s remake of “Night of the Living Dead”. “They’re coming to get you Baaaahrbarrrah!” seemed to be running through my skull. See, I can’t get that flick out of my freaking skull. BRAINS!!! Well, there’s a start.
This was a relaxed set as Corbin, who is on break from his hit series “Psych”, seemed to be right at home in the director’s chair. At one point there was an unexplained shadow on the wall in the radio station set design, which was built by Corbin and his brother. He turned to us and explained that it was a family ghost who constantly makes “cameos” in each of his films. An eerie thought, yet it seemed right at home on a horror movie. Every horror flick should have a resident ghost I think.
It was surprising watching Corbin direct. He is very subtle and seems to listen to his crew. They had been shooting for only under a couple of weeks, but it seemed that cast and crew were comfortable with each other. As did they seem to be comfortable with their director. It was an interesting scene with Logan on the radio as Abir enters with a hostage, the hostage being Patricia Tallman’s character.
It’s always exciting to see good actors work, and frankly, all these folks looked to have a nice slice of talent. Bill Moseley who is usually the one causing the mayhem seemed to enjoy playing the good guy, as he also does in the horror film “Fallen Angels”. Yes, Otis is one of my all time favorite characters, but he’s got a lot more going on than psycho southern charm.
“Dead Air” is another zombie movie, yet it takes on a different view being that most of the script takes place in the radio station where Moseley’s shock jock spouts his anti-Middle East talk, as he keeps a secret of his own in spite of the hate. It’s an act, and it may be what leads terrorist Abir come to
make sure he can infect as many Americans as he can. You see, the zombie’s here are caused by an explosion at a major sports event.
All those who witnessed the game are infected much the same way that the Rage infects those in “28 Days Later”. Logan is ear-witness to the horrified calls of all those being slaughtered outside the safety of his current location, meanwhile, his wife is across town in danger of the sickness taking over. There is much going on and most of it we do not witness. But with Bill Moseley as our anti-hero, there may be much to enjoy.
After we broke for lunch, we followed the cast and crew on their way to have a bite to eat. I was behind Bill when he discovered what lunch would be
served on that particular day. No “Brains” here. I said it before and I will say it again, for some reason, every horror set I have been on seems to be a relaxed place to be. And “Dead Air” is no exception. After awhile, Kenny Yakkel took a few of us around the studio to see the rest of where the action
would be taking place. Another set included the radio station front office. It included pictures of the crazy “on-air” personalities that included the cast and a nice photo of Corbin. There was an elevator, where some nastiness goes on and the front desk. The set design looked great, which is a good thing considering much of the film would take place in these two rooms. It may make for a very claustrophobic environment which almost always works for horror.
After that, I got a chance to talk one-on-three with Corbin Bernsen, Patricia Tallman and Bill Moseley. You can see that interview right here on AITH. It was short but sweet and it involved Bill’s eyebrows and a spider, Corbin’s thoughts on making a political horror flick and finally Johnny and Barbara revisited thanks to Patricia and Bill (who also worked together on “Army of Darkness”). Thankfully, my “Night of the Living Dead” craving was filled for the moment.
After that, I also got a chance to sit down with writer Kenny Yakkel who talked horror, remakes and his wife’s involvement in the biz. And it you want to see more about Kenny’s love for zombies. So if you want to hear about zombies, spiders and DEAD AIR; you’ve come to the right place. And I’d like to send out a special thanks to the entire cast and crew for making me feel right at horror home… especially the guy that let me go in front of him for lunch when he was working way harder than I was.
STAY TUNED FOR MORE DEAD AIR VIA A QNA WITH SCREENWRITER KENNY YAKKEL
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