STACK #126 Apr 2016

DVD & BD

FEATURE

making films in the first place.” Indeed, the lengthy production process to bring Wyrmwood to the screen echoes Jackson’s own four- year journey to complete his low budget cult classic. “It took about four years in total,” says Tristan. “The first year we only shot one or two scenes; second year, maybe three scenes. I think we’d shot about 60 per cent of the film by the final year. Our production value went up a lot, and our actual filmmaking skill got a lot quicker and a lot better.” The film’s budget was supplemented by funds raised online via an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, attracting a great response. And let’s face it: an Australian zombie movie does sound like a good investment. “We raised about fifty grand through crowdfunding,” Tristan reveals. “We did a push for production itself, and one a couple of years later to raise funds for post-production. We were really lucky; we got a lot of people really interested.”

The recent resurrection of the zombie’s popularity means there are now more zombie movies and TV shows out there than the walking dead who populate them, so the brothers knew they had to come up with a unique hook that would differentiate Wyrmwood from the rest of the pack. Fortunately, Tristan experienced a “Eureka!” moment. “It just came to me one night. I was watching a documentary that had cows hooked up to a methane generator and I thought, ‘why don’t we have our zombies

• Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead is out on April 2

from them next?

breathe out this methane gas and run the car on the methane?’ That’s never been done before, let’s do it!” Following its 2014

“We’ve got a few offers from Hollywood,

but to be honest with you, we’re really keen to stay in Australia for our next film,”

premiere at Fantastic Fest in Texas, the positive buzz surrounding Wyrmwood gathered momentum online. And a recent, one-off Friday the 13th screening across 74 Australian cinema screens put the movie

Tristan says. “We want to do another genre project. It’s going to be a ghost story – if you can imagine an R-rated Ghostbusters that’s freakier and scarier. We want to go with the horror aspect but keep a lot of action in there as well, so that’s what we’re hoping to do next; we’re very excited about it. “I think Australia can make great genre movies,” he adds. “Hopefully we’re at a tipping point where we’re going to get some really cool stuff coming out in 2015 and 2016, as well. There’s been some awesome ones lately like The Babadook and 100 Bloody Acres .” Add Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead to that list.

in sixth position on the Australian box- office chart for that week, establishing the Roache-Turner boys as local talents to keep an eye on. So what can we expect

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