A boy declares his love for his girlfriend, only to die the same night. He is brought back to life by his mother as a flesh-craving zombie, who sires more teen undead while trying to control his, er, appetite for his beloved.

BD: There was a lot of hype for BOY EATS GIRL a few years back, why did it take so long to get a release here in the States?

SB: The film was released for the first time in Ireland in September 2005 but it had a difficult birth as it was originally banned by the Censor’s Offfice there. The producers had to appeal the ban to get a release certificate. It eventually received a relatively relaxed 15A certificate, meaning that under 15 year-olds needed to be accompanied by an adult to watch the film in Irish cinemas. However, that decision by the Irish Censor’s Office took alot of the momentum out of the film’s release in Ireland and around the world. Fortunately Lionsgate bought the North American rights in 2006 which ensures that after a tricky start the film is going to be seen widely. I think the other issue with the delay has been the huge number of horror films lining up for release. I remember when BOY EATS GIRL was screening at the Cannes Film Festival in 2005 it was one of 286 new horror films at that market alone.

BD: Were there any extra features that didn’t make the release?

SB: Unfortunately not. As the film had a fairly low budget the extras for the DVD take a back seat when it comes to allocation of resources.

BD: How did you end up involved in BOY EATS GIRL?

SB: The producers of the film, Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe, gave me the script at the beginning of 2003 (it was then called Zombie Love) and the mixture of comedy and horror appealed to me. We did a lot of re-working of the script in order to get it financed and eventually started shooting in July of 2004. I wanted to do something completely different to my first film SWEETY BARRETT which was also produced by Ed Guiney and starred Andy Serkis, Brendan Gleeson and Liam Cunningham (with Cillian Murphy in his first film role). That film was a sort of art-house drama so it was a big change to plunge into comedy-horror.

BD: When the film was made zombie movies were getting quite popular again, did you try and stay conventional or do something unique and different?

SB: Slightly frustratingly, we were actually already filming when SHAUN OF THE DEAD came out so it seemed like we were following the crowd but were actually just slightly and unluckily behind with our timing. My main aim for BOY EATS GIRL was to make the horror traditional without digital effects and to have one climactic sequence that nobody could possibly forget. Nobody does! Once Bob “Hellraiser” Keen signed on to do the FX I knew that we were in good hands.

BD: In your own words, how bloody is this movie?

SB: Bob Keen told me that he had never used so much blood on a film set before. I took that as a badge of honor!

BD: What separates your film from other zombie films?

SB: BOY EATS GIRL is unusual because it mixes comedy with gore. In addition the zombies are fast and agile with added threat. I know this doesn’t appeal to every zombie expert. Vive la difference!

BD: Would you say your film is also a comedy?

SB: Absolutely. Obviously it appeals to some senses of humor more than others!

BD: What was your favorite part about shooting this?

SB: Definitely the climactic confrontation with the zombies. The garden of that house was pristine when we started. Oops.

BD: Did you look to any other horror films for inspiration when filming BOY?

SB: Many others but my anchor influence was, perhaps surprisingly, AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, in terms of switching between laughs and gore.

BD: Was it difficult giving zombies a personality?

SB: Not when you have such good young actors who bring all their own perverted personalities to them!

BD: Do you see yourself doing any more horror in the future; is there anything on your plate now? If so can you tell me about the projects?

SB: No horror in development just at the moment. I am writing a thriller set in France during the Second World War, an idea which came to me when I was living in Los Angeles at the beginning of 2006. I’m not sure what the connection was!

Greetings to all at Bloody-Disgusting.com…..

Stephen Bradley, 12th December 2007