They Walk is a feature-length, independent horror film and is writer and director Charles House's first feature film, and Macabre Cafe's second production credit. It's tentative release is fall of 2010.

The story started as a discussion about how to best stave off and survive through the inevitable oncoming zombie apocalypse. Several survival methods were discussed, each with their own likelihood of survival. These ideas eventually became a story, and over the course of time, became a script. After shooting many interviews for a documentary on the history of zombie cinema, the genre became a much more interesting place, and definable story arcs, common elements, ethos and social commentaries seemed to come from the various eras of the genre.
With this in mind, each of the five groups of survivors in They Walk is modeled after an era of zombie cinema, both in visual aesthetic and story. Some references are much more obvious than others, while some are subtle to the point of taking a real interest in the genre itself to catch. However, any viewer with an admiration for independent film can appreciate the story, whether steeped in zombie genre tidbits or only a casual nibbler of the flesheater genre.

Charles House - I wrote, directed, and edited They Walk. While we had a fantastic director of photography, because we were on such a small budget, I also ended up shooting a fair amount of it.

They Walk started as a discussion with a group of friends and I a few years ago. We sort of took a few archetypes we liked, probably ones we weren't even that aware of being stereotypical zombie film archetypes, and wrote a story around a few friends of ours... Two couples and a sort of self-involved tag-along friend, a cute couple with a car, and a band. Then, of course, there had to be a couple in a graveyard, where the trouble all started. Then we tried to find a lesser-used but more logical cause of the zombie outbreak, and the meteorites seemed like a fun story. Since, I've come across a few others that shared similar origins, Night of the Creeps, Night of the Comet, and even those are very referential of 50s and 60s cinema, and of course the plausible "Venus satellite" from Night of the Living Dead. Those friends kind of went their separate ways, but we all had an affection for the little story we had written. Then, I did a documentary on the history of zombie cinema for my college senior thesis, and started to discover a much bigger picture of the zombie genre, more story archetypes, the origins of these standards, the real life inspirations, political and social issues in different time frames that influenced those stories, and I wanted to explore it in a film. I dusted off that old story, rewrote it, added two more groups of survivors, tied them all together, filled it with references and subtle nods to the genre, and when it was time to consider production, I poked around for producers and crew. I had met Johnny Sullivan and Michael Kyne while assistant directing a feature film called Scarlet Rain, which just recently got released. From there, we did casting, and are really happy with the people we chose. I think their abilities really helped sell the characters, which are the most important part of any story, even a horror film. Especially a horror film.

Well, the film was very low-budget, so we had to work around everyone's schedules, and when you have a cast of nearly 20, that gets very difficult. The benefit of doing it in segments was that it could be shot somewhat like a series of short films, or almost like an anthology. Once it got to be time to get everyone in the same location at once, though, that became trouble. We were very much working against the clock and trying to get as much done as possible in a short amount of time. Beyond that, as will any low-budget film, almost everything is against you. You can't afford to do multiple takes of some effects and more difficult shots, you're working with a pressed schedule and have to get what you can in a limited amount of time, locations are almost always an issue... Really, I just can't think of any part of production that didn't have it's difficulties, but that said, we had a fantastic, hard-working cast and crew, and I think we're all very proud that we completed it and that we have something viable as a film to show for it.

While we had two excellent producers on this project, almost everything was funded out of pocket as we went along. The story was written with consideration to the effects I knew we'd be able to do, have makeup and practical special effects experience, props and equipment I knew we'd be able to wrangle, and with locations in mind. That said, the budget was particularly tight, but we certainly tried our best to work with it and demonstrate our capabilities despite it.

The locations were all places we were aware of, for the most part, unless they were non-descript and could be done most anywhere. The abandoned house I found on Google Earth one day when looking for my old apartment. It was behind my old apartment through the woods, and on Google Earth it looked like a square inside a circle inside another square. We checked it out in the middle of the night, out of morbid curiosity, and it became one of our favorite places. I'm really glad to have shot there, and also, f*ck that house. It's a fun, disgusting nightmare. That's where we got the idea for that part of the story. The main house, where the party took place and the Stephen and Mike characters lived, had been rented for years by different friends. I think 17 different people we know have lived in that house since I started college, maybe more. The "lousy apartment" where Hogger and Engine lived was actually the basement of that house built into a set. I have experience in making places look like sh*tty apartments. The actors were a mix of casting calls and people we knew. Some of which were local actors and friends, others were Towson acting students and people that came in for the casting call.

This film aside, because it's such an intentional genre pastiche, and a few others that are highly referential like Night of the Creeps, Shaun of the Dead, and the like, I suggest doing something that hasn't been done. Zombies are fun, and people love them, so therefore there are a sh*tload of zombie films. Any plausible way you can imagine to kill a zombie, or a person, most likely has been done. Don't focus so much on the kills, focus on the characters are the stories happening between them, their interactions and the way they deal with the terrible events going on around them. The best post-apocalyptic films, or horror films in general, don't really matter what the antagonist is. Night of the Living Dead could have been about escaped prison inmates, or aliens, or bunnies (Night of the Lepus, it's already happened), and it would have been a fantastic film. The important part is the characters and they way they handle their situations. If you're going to make a zombie film, don't be without knowledge of the genre. It bugs the sh*t out of me when I see films that just don't seem to know that it's been done a dozen times, or that something has been done and it didn't work well the first time. Know your genre, play into it, and know when to play against it.

Having worked with what is basically five different sets of actors, we had a few memorable moments. One I'm pretty fond of was when we were shooting Stephen's death, when he marches out onto the porch and basically gives up. We had a bunch of zombie extras, and they all ended up being very late, very early, or simply not showing. David, our actor, thought it was a great idea to go to the bar and round up extras. It actually worked! All of those zombies were found at the Mechlenburg Inn in Shepherdstown, WV. My favorite is the zombie who just seems to twitch uncontrollably.
A close second was actually in pre-production. We all put on zombie makeup and went out in the middle of the night to do some test footage with low-light shooting conditions (answer: it's a bad idea). The police knew what we were doing, and were generally very cool, but an officer approached us in his vehicle and asked us to stay off the main drag through town. Apparently, we had already spawned 16 911 calls. Some thought we were car accident victims walking to get help, others thought the apocalypse had come.

Having had all this stuff in mind for a few years, there were some shots I was really looking forward to that come out very differently, and others that I didn't expect much of that ended up being fantastic. The end of the film, after some very campy and fun moments, is surprisingly somber and unsettling. The actors do a great job and the score is incredible. Our composer, CJM Venter, did some amazing work throughout.

At this stage, I know the film needs a bit of tweeking and cutting around to be ready for a final release. However, all things considered, I think we've got some excellent performances, I great story, and some really fantastic music and moments throughout. I think any zombie cinema fan will appreciate it, and once we've finished the final release, we'll all be incredibly proud of what we've done.

I intend to continue doing video and film work. I'd love to direct another film, and I've got a few ideas rumbling around. For now, I'd really like to take They Walk to festivals and conventions, meet the public and give them a personal approach to the film. I'm hoping that'll give me some time to build my creative juices back up, SuperGlue my will to do independent stuff a bit, and continue creating films.

Hopefully just a few hours. Enough to be cinematic without being boring. Roger's return from Dawn of the Dead, minus all the fidgeting and freaking the f*ck out, seems solid. Morphine seems fun, too.

Slow zombies, no question. Fast zombies are fun, but they lose that creepiness to me. That's what really draws me to zombie cinema is that unsettling, eerie feeling that some of the really classic zombie films carry. I recently watched They Came Back, which isn't a now-traditional flesheater film, but still has that same unsettling weirdness about it. That's what I love about the genre. Fast zombies are for people who can't appreciate a genuine scare anymore and just want action.

The derringer in the film is mine. That'd make a good backup. I've also got a machete under my mattress, and I'd love to get ahold of a good coach gun (IE: boomstick) and a nice revolver.

Do the original Romero films count? If so, it's one of the original three, Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, or Day of the Dead. They take a rotating position in first place depending on my mood. If not, Evil Dead or Evil Dead II. If the deadites aren't zombies, then a good solid answer is The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue, or Cemetery Man. It's a tough choice.

Zombie Lake, no question. I've been seen zombies and topless German girl portrayed so f*cking boring. Flight of the Living Dead and the remake of Dawn of the Dead were real close. Rave to the Grave is somewhere nearby.

The Zombie Survival Guide is fantastic, and I know some zombie enthusiasts will disagree. It's affectionate to the genre, it's clever, it's clinical, and not snarky or half-assed at all. The best zombie game I've played is Survival Crisis Z. It's weird, and doesn't work that well, but the idea is very dark and very cool. It's basically Left 4 Dead and Fable with just awful, terrible f*cking graphics.

I apologize for being long-winded, I love this film and I absolutely love the genre. I hope people appreciate the film, and if they've taken the time to read through my incoherent jackass ramblings, I really appreciate their time and consideration.

Charles House 
Director, writer,
 and editor.

They Walk is available to buy at www.theywalkmovie.com