Interview with Mike Pine of Zombie Girl Diary

UPDATE The teaser trailer for Zombie Girl Diary is now online, you can see it here


It seems like originality is more the exception than the norm in Hollywood now.  Studios are content to crank out sub par remakes and teen romances disguised as horror. The true horror fan finds himself looking more and more to independent and low budget films to find anything that isn’t a retread or a Twilight rip off.

The latest low budget horror film to come to my attention is Zombie Girl Diary by writer director Mike Pine.  According to the movies official Facebook page, Zombie Girl Diary is the story of a mother and daughter fighting to survive during the zombie apocalypse.  Along the way they encounter other survivors and come together to attempt to survive in a world turned upside down.

Zombies are all the rage right now, in large part due to the success of The Walking Dead, so Zombie Girl Diary should have a large potential fan base.  However The Walking Dead has also set the zombie bar pretty high.  While not all horror fans are crazy about the show, it is better than a lot of what we see in theaters.

The cast of Zombie Girl Diary includes the beautiful Vanessa Rae Bent as Sara, Tessa Wagaman as Sara’s mother, model Eliza Jayne as the zombie tree girl, and just announced Jimmyo  Burril, of the Chainsaw Sally show, as Mark.

Word is spreading about Zombie Girl Diary and I can’t wait to see it.  This week I sat down (figuratively, honestly I have just always wanted to say that) with director Mike Pine for a quick interview.

Lord Dixie: So what about Zombie Girl Diary sets it apart from other films in the zombie genre?

Mike Pine: Well I am taking it in a way I really haven’t seen before where all the zombies have to follow the rules of nature. Like in winter they freeze and in the hotter months they decay faster and die.

LD:  So are these slow zombies, fast zombies or a combination?  I have heard the natural rules aka rigor mortis, rot, etc. used in arguments for both sides.

MP:  A little of both faster for the ones that just turned and slower for the ones that have been turned for a while.

LD:  Will the for the most part follow the "Romero rules" head shot to kill, eating flesh vs. just craving brains?

MP: Well yes head shot to kill, eating flesh, but it might not have to be from the living, and that’s where I will leave that.

LD:  Fair enough and you have me interested in that. Actually that’s something that always bugged me about zombies, but I will wait till I see the film and we can discuss it.

 So what movies influenced you and what is your favorite horror or zombie movie?

MP:  Well a lot of movies.  Of course all of the Romero films, Dawn of the Dead is one of my favorites, as well as the Phantasm films, and I could just go on and on.

LD:  So where are you at in production, and when can we expect to see Zombie Girl Diary?

MP:  We start filming next month and should be released later this year.

Hopefully I can catch up with Mike again once filming is underway and chat more about the film.   But for now be on the lookout for Zombie Girl Diary and help support independent horror.  It’s where it’s at!

Find out more at the official Facebook page.