It's a Date

All Jenny, a cheerleader, wants to do is spend a nice, romantic evening with her dreamy football team captain boyfriend, Jack.

And all Jack wants to do is break up with her.

It might not be the typical plot for a zombie movie, but it makes for an interesting, entertaining one.

"Date With the Dead" is a zombie movie directed and produced by Ian Vatcher, 22, Tommy Gushue, 22, and Justin Madol, 25, of St. John's. Starring Andy Jones, James Hawksley and Jennifer Smith, the short film will debut at a creepy event Sunday at The Rock House.

Vatcher, Gushue and Madol are longtime friends, each with an interest in film - Vatcher is an experienced photographer and cinematographer who's worked on films like "Diverted" and "Above and Beyond," as well as numerous TV commercials, while Gushue, an award-winning screenwriter, has worked under the tutelage of acclaimed Canadian screenwriter Alex Epstein. Madol, an actor who has appeared in the feature film "Screamers," also directed the 2007 short film "Hit and Run."

For a group of young men, the trio is particularly professional, and late last year formed their own independent production company, Black Market Films. "Date With the Dead," their first project, came about after Gushue read the script, written by a screenwriter friend of his in L.A.

"I thought it was so good, I wanted to go out and make it," he said. "We thought it was great, and something we could do."

The film is a 1950s-type teen comedy, featuring original music by St. John's band The Satans.

Madol said the guys secretly had Andy Jones in mind for one of the starring roles, but approached him asking for help with the humour in the script. During the conversation, Madol offered him the part.

"It's totally right up his alley and anyone who's worked with Andy will know he's just so gung-ho for any type of project like this," he said. "He was only too pleased to be able to do it."

Madol offered the part of Jack to Hawksley, and the trio held an open audition for the role of Jenny, which was given to Smith.

Jones plays Prof. Corpinski, Jenny's eccentric father who has a secret or two, including a connection with zombies.

Vatcher, Gushue and Madol each stressed their excitement about having the three actors on board.

"When we started this, we wanted to make it as legitimate as possible, and confirming those actors was one of the biggest pushes in the direction of actually doing the project," Vatcher said.

"It definitely gives us a sense of legitimacy," added Gushue.

"Date With the Dead" was filmed over six days last winter, in houses on Cochrane Street and Queen's Road. The perfect cemetery for a zombie movie wasn't easy to find, since the guys wanted somewhere particularly old and a little out of the way, but they eventually found the right one in Portugal Cove.

Exceptionally good zombie make-up was also a must, and the trio pulled it off with the help of make-up artists Skye Williams and Vatcher's mother, Debbie.

If the response to the film - even before it's been released - is anything to go by, it'll do well. The movie's Facebook site has over 500 members, and the official website is receiving lots of hits.

The film has already been chosen to screen at the Nickel Independent Film Festival in St. John's, June 23-27.

When asked if they'd consider doing another zombie movie, however, Vatcher, Gushue and Madol respond in unison with a surprising answer: "No."

"Zombie is a sub-genre where the fans are absolutely crazy about it - they'll go see every zombie movie, and they absolutely just love it. I don't think either Ian, Justin or I are that kind of zombie fanatic," Gushue said.

"We don't want to pigeon-hole ourselves as zombie filmmakers, and for our production company one of the main goals is to explore different genres and try a lot of different things," Vatcher added.

The "Date With the Dead" premiere takes place at The Rock House Sunday evening at 9:30. Tickets are $10 at the door, or $8 if bought in advance at Hava Java, The Levee, or Allan's Video.

Along with the screening of the 17-minute film and a performance by The Satans, the event will feature performances by Smiley Ralph, The Sellouts and The Living Daylights.

The trailer for "Date With the Dead" can be seen online at www.datewiththedead.com.

tbm@thetelegram.com