The Terror Experiment was recently released on Blu-ray/DVD, and I had a chance to talk to director George Mendeluk and his son Alexander, who worked together on this film. Continue reading to learn more about the challenges of making a low-budget zombie movie, their inspirations, and their next project.
Thank you for taking the time to talk with Daily Dead. How did this project come about and what made you interested in telling a zombie story with so many already available?
George: The project came to us, because I was setting up another movie and an investor shied away from it. When this came up, I was intrigued as a director to take on the challenge of working on a limited one-set situation and pull it off. The claustrophobia and building became a challenge to work with. I hope it wasn't obvious, but the building was only 2 floors and the rest was computer generated.
I liked the fact that it was a new twist on the zombie genre. If you're going to present a familiar genre to people, you want to give it a new angle. Alexander introduced me to 28 Days Later, which inspired me, as well as Die Hard. It was the maiden project of our company MKM Entertainment and we wanted something that was going to be a popcorn movie with a twist.
There is a difference in how the infected act compared to most movies and it reminded me of the infected in The Crazies. From the beginning, was it always the plan to have these types of zombies?
George: Alexander clued me in a lot to this. For example, he suggested that the zombies have this guttural sounds instead of sounding like fools. I spent days mixing the actor sounds with elements of bats, dolphins, and other animals. This would let our zombies have a new quality and be more human, which I find more scary.
Also, all of the zombie effects are practical, not CGI. I know that isn't always the case, but we only used CGI on the building and bullet hits and left the practical effects to the make-up and hair people. We're dealing the universal emotion of fear, so you want to make people wonder if they would look or sound like the zombies.
Alexander, your father mentioned that you were a big source of inspiration for the zombies in this film. Aside from 28 Days Later, what other zombie movies and games do you enjoy?
Alexander: I've always been a fan of zombie movies, especially Dawn of the Dead. I also grew up playing video games and loved the classic Resident Evil games. They used to scare me when I was a kid and I'd have to play them in the morning because they freaked me out so much. Naturally, when this script came around, I was familiar with the world.
We've said 28 Days Later a lot, but it is one of my all-time favorite films. I loved the way they created a zombie that wasn't traditional. You had to run from them at full speed, because they were right on you and they were terrifying. I remember the scene in the stairwell was very claustrophobic and I was inspired by how they created that. You didn't really see them. You saw glimpses and heard the sounds, but it wasn't really in your face. Working on this movie made me realize that it is really difficult to create that.
George, you mentioned that you took on this project because of the challenge it presented. What did you learn in the process?
George: When I first came to Los Angeles, I met Roger Corman and was influenced by him. We never had a chance to work on a movie together, but I admire the B-movie genre, because a tight budget forces you to be inventive. You can't throw money at the screen to fix your problems and have to use family and ingenuity to solve your problem. It teaches you to be a better filmmaker.
Alexander, you mentioned that you love zombie movies and games. How did it feel to take that love of zombies and bring it into acting, camera work, and stunts on this movie?
Alexander: I've always loved this type of stuff and I've always wanted to play an action hero-type character. Who wouldn't want to grab an M16 and blast zombies? It was a great time being able to do that.
I don't think most people realize what it takes to turn a low budget movie into something that is even watchable. I think IMDB said that we had a budget of $5 million, but we did this for under $1 million. It was a father and son team and we pulled favors, shot this thing and had a blast. It was a great learning experience working with my father, not only being directed by him, but also working behind the camera. It was an awesome learning experience.
Thanks again for taking the time to talk with me today. The last thing I wanted to ask about was sequel plans. If the Blu-ray/DVD release is successful are you interested in a sequel? What's next for your new company?
George: I thought of a sequel when I was polishing the script. It all depends on how the picture does, but I'm open to directing a sequel. What we're developing now is a sea creature movie that may be in 3D. I've always loved Roger Corman's classics like Humanoids From the Deep and The Creature From the Haunted Sea. This movie will sort of pay homage to him and I'm very excited about it.
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