While chatting with newbie director Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. about his prequel to The Thing, we managed to squeeze out a few details about his zombie horror project Army of the Dead. And the details were absolutely horrifying.
How will this undead feature stand out among the recent crowd of undead films? With bizarre zombie rape scenes.
Last we heard about the Zack Snyder-produced Army of the Dead was that the film would be set in a quarantined Las Vegas, which is overrun with zombies. A young girl is trapped inside, and her father desperately tries to break the quarantine to save her life. Matthijs was set to direct Snyder's original concept, but it's been months since we've heard any sort of Army of the Dead update. Here's what Matthijs told us in our exclusive interview:
What's happening with Army of the Dead?
Matthijs van Heijningen Jr: I don't know. It was really close to being made in 2008, but the [financial] crisis broke out, and then it was put on hold. I don't know, it's a very expensive movie. Because it's about Las Vegas being taken over [by zombies] and the government builds a wall around Las Vegas [quarantining the city.] The city is torn to pieces, and a helicopter crashes in the Bellagio Lake. But it's a good story. I hope it stays alive.
Are you still attached to direct with Zack [Snyder] producing?
He's producing, so if the studio is interested it might happen.
Fast or slow zombies?
They are fast.
How long does it take for someone to turn into a zombie in this film?
There's an extra dimension to this zombie film, because they…. they…. I'm still wondering if I should tell this…. the male zombies rape human females. Yes. And they have human hybrid zombie offsprings. It's a new take on the zombie genre, which is crazy.
Yes, that is bat shit insane. Then again, it wouldn't be the first time we've seen a zombie baby (thank you, Peter Jackson). While the idea of zombie rape repulses us, we really want to see more films from Matthijs.
Top image by Deviant Art's *sayunclecomics (Joseph Bergin III)