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On February 16th, 2008 the FGCU Film Club played host to a movie shoot where a mob of flesh-eating zombies raided the area searching for helpless students to satisfy their hunger. Members of the FGCU Film Club had been promoting the film Body Farm on campus this past month, and called out to the student body to participate in the shooting; anyone who dressed the part could play the role of a bloodthirsty zombie..

Coastal Beat's former intern and writer, Nicole Richards, took part in the movie. With her expertise in zombie cosmetics, she volunteered as makeup artist for many of the participating students [read her CoastalBeat.com article on zombie makeup here]. Nicole got involved with the project through Facebook's social networking system, after one film club member had seen that on her profile she listed zombies as one of her interests. “I love doing this gore stuff,” she said while dressing up one staff member.

Originally, the film called for a mass of about 100 zombies In the two hours of setup and preparation, the event had collected about 40 different zombies, each with a full-set of makeup, torn clothing, and pale, deadpan gaze. “We didn't get as many as we'd like, but the ones that came look great,” said producer Alex Pena. “Not only do they looked great, but they acted the part exceptionally well for a random mob of extras. I couldn't help but notice that some of them got really creative with their roles; during one take I looked down and saw a zombie crawl in front of my feet, uttering this low, violent moan up at cameraman Max Soto. I remember thinking to myself: Good God, this is brutal!”

The two filmmakers that sought to create this film, director Cord McConnell and producer Carlos Calante, were driven to make a striking tribute to all zombie films from the past. McConnell, a communications student set to graduate this spring, plans on always being in film-making, no matter what. When asked what his favorite B-movie is, McConnell has almost no doubts: “Evil Dead... no, wait! Evil Dead 2! For a good B-movie, it needs a perfect blend of horror, gore, and comedy.”

Calante, a business major at FGCU, has been into producing films and other media projects since he was 15 when he started his own production company, Shugzar. “I have always been into web development, but now I do film-making in addition to that.” Overall, this is the ninth film the club has produced since they started last semester, in the Fall of 2007; a sign of a busy, driven group of students if you ask me.

The making of this film was inspired by the opportunity that legendary zombie-genre filmmaker George Romero has offered to all directors and producers: Romero himself will be selecting from an array of 100 films, four short zombie movies to include on the DVD release of his latest work, Diary of the Dead. Producer Calante is hoping that his film will stand out from the others and win the contest. Romero encourages mocking other zombie films, but that they were, “gonna be original, and he's gonna love that.”

The public voting of all film submissions has already started; anyone can access it through MySpace. To cast your vote in on this film, go to the producers MySpace page, see the video, and vote either Booyah! or No Way! Unfortunately, it really isn’t easy to just cast a vote, and even worse, to view the film. This system doesn’t help the contest at all, nor does it aid the filmmakers.

I’ve seen many of the FGCU Film Club’s pieces before, and this latest is their best yet. Each production they’ve published is an example of their talent and passion. Even if their careers don’t end up in the studios of Hollywood, most of these students made it very clear that they’ll be practicing this art for the rest of their lives; and for that, I’d be glad to support them in the process.

If you'd like to find out more information regarding the film, go to Shugzar.com, which provides links to the movie's MySpace page, as well as more contact information for members of the team.