Fast sell:
It’s Mad Max meets Dawn of the Dead as the apocalypse goes down under in the year’s darkest, most hilarious zombie splatter-fest!
It’s a zombie movie with a twist, as Barry (Jay Gallagher) tools up for a mission to save his sister from a mad scientist – and battle hordes of the undead in the Australian bush!
Key talent:
Starring
Jay Gallagher (TV’s All Saints)
Luke MacKenzie (Perfect Sense, TV’s Wentworth Prison)
Bianca Bradey (Wrath)
Leon Burchill (Stoned Bros, TV’s My Place)
Brett Dier (Grace, TV’s Ravenswoods)
Directed by
Kiah Roache-Turner (debut feature)
Written by
Kiah and Tristan Roache-Turner
Synopsis:
A post-apocalyptic zombie invasion turns personal for Aussie mechanic Barry (Gallagher) when a team of sinister gas-masked soldiers abducts his sister Brooke (Bradey) for a mad scientist’s flesh-eating experiments.
Teaming up with fellow apocalypse survivor Benny (Burchill), Barry must lock and load to battle through the undead and save Brooke!
We like it because:
Having been done to, erm, death, the zombie genre has been waiting for a film like Wyrmwood to come along, all guns blazing.
With its tongue wedged firmly in cheek and a dark Aussie sensibility, Wyrmwood has reinvigorated the zombie flick. All while keeping what makes the genre so popular – gore, scares, and flesh-hungry monsters. Imagine an Aussie Shaun of the Dead, with the extreme turned all the way up to 11.
It’s a blistering feature debut from the brother writing team of Kiah and Tristan Roache-Turner, who have created a world that not only puts original, innovative twists on zombie lore, but also mashes up elements from horror and post-apocalyptic science fiction – all set against a retina-burning Australian landscape, with Mad Max-influenced design and a splattering of inspiration from Peter Jackson’s Bad Taste and Braindead.
Wyrmwood is also a triumph of DIY horror, held together by glue, gaffer tape and a pure love of gore. Produced over four years – and exceeding the brothers’ original budget by $130,000 – the props and costumes were made by Tristan and his friends, while the crew doubled up as zombies.
Wyrmwood also drew on social media for much more than just promotion and funding. “We not only built an online fan base but were able to source locations, digital artists, poster designers, key cast and crew, a cracking composer, make-up artists and, most importantly, zombies!” says director Kiah. “Fans not only follow the development of a film these days but can get involved! We were able to post a request for a ‘para-military-looking four wheeldrive’ for a scene in the film and have someone message us within hours with just that very prop truck! Anytime we wanted we could post that we needed zombies for a particular day and we would be flooded with responses – we had to turn heaps of people down!”
The result is a deadpan bloodbath like you’ve never seen before (emphasis on the “dead”, of course). Not to be missed!