Courtesy Tiffany Janssen, Hanna Hardin, Hallie Martin star as zombies from Zomburbia in ‘Z: The Zombie Musical.’ Oddly, Zomburbia is based loosely on Pflugerville, because when we think of a town where zombies would live, we think of Pflugerville.

A singing, dancing, philosophizing ..... zombie? You might not have thought of it, but Austin filmmaker John McLean certainly has. San Antonio will soon get a taste of his recent film, “Z: A Zombie Musical.” The Alamo Drafthouse will host a special screening on Tuesday, July 29. McLean chatted with 210SA before the movie’s showing and let us in on the secret to his otherworldly success: a $20,000 budget and lots of makeup.

How did this idea evolve, or, should we say, mutate?

A couple of years ago ..... I wrote this short film about this zombie couple, and it opened with this zombie guy reading “War and Peace.”..... Then the wife comes home with a bag of body parts from the grocery store. ..... The zombies are erudite and educated. ..... From there, it’s a very small step to go, “Well, what if they all sing and dance?”

That doesn’t sound like the typical zombie flick.

What happens in most zombie movies is it’s about humans. They’re just doing nothing really, and for whatever reason zombies start infiltrating their society. ..... They’re boring. That movie “28 Days Later”..... it was great, but after awhile it was like, “What would these people be doing if this wasn’t taking place?” I didn’t really care if they lived or died. The zombies were more interesting. They were like vampires. They were immortal. They could do whatever they wanted.

You could have picked anything as fodder for your musical. Why zombies?

It was really more about appearances. It was really more about how they were presented: inarticulate. ..... It would be amusing if they could be philosophical and talk about God or whatever.

This was your brainchild, so what part did you play in the actual making of this fine film?

I wrote the movie, and I directed it and edited it. I wrote all the lyrics for the songs. I didn’t compose the music. ..... It was a big process; it was basically like making an album and making a movie. It’s a little more involved than a regular movie.

You filmed “Z” in Austin, but where is the movie set?

Zomburbia is modeled after Pflugerville, Texas. They live in suburbia and have parties and get together and dance and do whatever they want to do. They have regular jobs. They go to work. ..... When the humans are around, they still act like zombies so their image wouldn’t be too threatened.

What’s your favorite scene in the film?

At the end of the first act, there’s a big dance number introducing the zombie community. ..... It’s about a seven-minute-long number. ..... Dancing and singing and so on. At the end, you’re almost exhausted. You’re like, “Whew, wow.” I love musicals, so the musical numbers are my favorite parts.

So what other musicals have you dug up for personal enjoyment?

I like original movie musicals. ..... “Singin’ in the Rain,” I think, is the best one that has ever been made. I like the quirky ones, too. Have you ever seen, “Cannibal! The Musical”? It’s just bizarrely funny, and it’s based on the true story of Alfred Packer ..... It’s just got silly dancing and silly songs, and it’s set in the Wild West. ..... I like silly stuff.

Will the undead rise again in your future films?

I don’t make zombie movies. I make comedies. This one was a musical comedy. It just happened to have zombies in it.

Jennifer Lloyd | 210SA