Exclusive Interview: Kenny Scott Guffey & Jake C. Young (A Night Of The Undead)
Tyler Aucoin wrote the script for A NIGHT OF THE DEAD, what of the script appealed to you to make this film?
KSG: I actually approached Tyler to write the script. Jake and I were in process of developing the story, and we were searching for the right writer to adapt it, and everyone we saw wanted to change it in some way. Tyler was perfect for it.
JCY: we had an overall good concept that Kenny Scott and I came up with, however, after several renditions of the story we finally established one that was what we wanted to run with. We sent it to Tyler and his excellent skills to bring it to life.
How would you compare this to other A NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD inspired movies?
KSG: This film isn’t so much a retread of the same material. The original film’s events very much exist in our story. They have passed into, as most things tend to, myth and conspiracy. Some believe it happened, some believe it was a hoax.
JCY: This one separates itself from the pack by being a direct sequel from the original Night of the Living Dead film. This isn’t your typical zombie movie.
What was your biggest challenge filming this project other then the pandemic?
KSG: Definitely when one of our actors actually did get Covid during shooting. Having to scramble and work around that was a headache, but it forced us to get creative, and I think we pulled it off.
JCY: The biggest challenge wasn’t so much of the pandemic itself, because we were just coming out of it, it was the extreme heat and the long hours. But, I really have to give it to the actors for coming together to make a project we’d be proud of.
What was your favourite scene filming?
KSG: Definitely the decapitation. It was so much fun to do—and to watch it all come together—in a single take—was wild.
JCY: Everyone was doubting me, even Kenny Scott about the decapitation scene… But I had an idea of what I wanted to see, and being in the film industry for a bit, I knew exactly how we could shoot it. Once we shot it, we made a piece of cinematic art that got a standing ovation during both premiere screenings!
You have both worked on various different genre of film, what is your favourite genre to film?
KSG: I love doing any type of film, but the horror genre lends itself to some pretty fun experiences and visuals that other genres don’t typically tread into. So, I’m going to say horror and suspense.
JCY: My favorite is not just horror but action and suspense films.
What would you say is your dream project that you have created or perhaps is still waiting to happen?
KSG: I’d love to do a modern-day Bonnie & Clyde, and we have been developing a horror version of Gatsby for the past couple of years that may or may not happen.
JCY: Can you come up with lots of passion projects? Of course you can, but we have really been dead set on creating new forms of art based on old tales and old stories.
What are both of your Top 3 horror films from any decade?
KSG: The original Night of the Living Dead, The Blair Witch Project, and I guess Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
JCY: John Carpenter’s Halloween, Prisoners, and the original Night of the Living Dead, as well as the 1990 remake.
Do you feel the market is over saturated right now with zombie films due to the popularity of The Walking Dead? And if so what could people do to stand-out when creating a zombie film?
KSG: I would say so. You can’t just continue doing the “zombies are coming after us” trope. You have to mix it up, and that’s definitely what we tried to do here.
JCY: Well, it’s definitely over saturated with zombie films and the repetitive killing zombies. Our film differs, because we focus more on the emotional aspect, and relating with the characters and them all turning on each other, rather than just killing a horde of zombies. I told Kenny Scott, the only way I would come aboard to do this film was if we didn’t make our film like all the rest of the current zombie movies.
For any budding filmmakers out there, what is the best piece of advice that you could give them?
KSG: Never give up the dream. Don’t quit, because there are days that you will want to.
JCY: If you can make movies make them. Even if it’s in your basement or backyard, keep making them because we all have to start somewhere.
Finally, what projects do you both have coming up? Any horror?
KSG: The Dark Room is what we’re currently shooting. It’s a bit different than the other things we’ve done, and then I also was recently pulled aboard my friend Adam Freeman’s project Scream Dream to help produce that.
JCY: The Dark Room is a horror suspense thriller that pays homage to the 1970s genre films… And then we got a few others in the works… Possibly an anthology coming up which we’re both pretty excited about.
Interview by Peter ‘Witchfinder‘ Hopkins
VIPCO & BayView Entertainment have released A Night Of The Undead on Blu-ray (Region FREE) in the USA and on digital platforms worldwide such as Prime Video, Vudu, Tubi and Plex.