In the first scene of the documentary Zombie Girl: The Movie, 12-year-old Emily Hagins is asked if she has prepared a shot list for the feature-length horror film she is about to shoot. She appears confused by the concept. Emily would prefer to just start shooting the scene, which stars her father and a few of his co-workers, as soon as possible. The sense of urgency likely comes from the fact that Emily is still in sixth grade, balancing the full-time job of making a movie with the everyday life of school, homework, and friends. Little does Emily know (or maybe she does) that the film in question, Pathogen, will go on to become a cult classic.
The folks at the American Genre Film Archive (AGFA), especially when paired with duo Annie Choi and Joseph A. Ziemba from Bleeding Skull, are known for digging up long-lost genre films, giving them beautiful restorations, and re-releasing them through Vinegar Syndrome with beautiful packaging and some amazing special features. Treating these low-budget gems with so much care and attention adds legitimacy to films that were likely overlooked upon their release, and most definitely ignored in the subsequent early years of the internet when film criticism was at its most toxic. This 2006 zombie flick from the mind of a middle schooler fits snuggly in with the rest of AGFA’s catalog.
The film follows a group of four or five pre-teens as they fend for their lives after an outbreak in the water supply leads to a zombie invasion within their town. If you drink the water, you get zombified. It is an entirely genuine idea that could only come from an innocent mind influenced by early access to and love for horror lore. With the help of family, friends and parents’ coworkers on weekends and school holidays, Hagins crafted the Austin, TX set film from the ground up, all while being followed by a documentary crew intrigued by her audacity. The film eventually premiered to a sold out crowd at Austin’s Alamo Drafthouse when she was 15-years-old. While Emily does not deny the fact that the film has its flaws, the film is still a wildly entertaining look at undead cinema through the eyes of a young filmmaker. It will surely make all other directors wonder what they were doing at age twelve instead of making their first film.
The Blu-ray transfer, preserved from the original digital video master, serves as the film’s first-ever wide release since its premiere in 2006. The special features include a commentary track from director Hagins and Bleeding Skull’s Annie Choi offering insight from the now 29-year-old Hagins into her adolescent filmmaking methods, a cast and crew Q&A from the 2006 premiere, an additional short film entitled Party Killer directed by Hagins only a year after Pathogen’s release, and the entirety of the documentary Zombie Girl: The Movie. It is a release constructed with as much care as Pathogen itself and it would be a worthwhile addition to any media librarian’s horror or DIY film collections.
What type of library programming could use this title?
This release could be used for a program on the filmmaking process due to its inclusion of both the final film Pathogen and the making of documentary Zombie Girl: The Movie. It would work well paired alongside films like American Movie, Burden of Dreams, Hearts of Darkness, or Lost in La Mancha. This title would work well for a public screening during Halloween, especially with other zombie films.
What ages would this children’s film be suitable for?
While this film contains some light violence and adult themes, the fact that it was made by a 12-year-old with her friends makes it mostly suitable for most children, perhaps even having the ability to inspire them to make films of their own.
What kind of film collection would this title be suitable for?
This release would fit well in a public library collection focusing on DIY horror, alternative filmmaking, or young auteurs.