LEGLESS CORPSE:  Zombie Cats From Mars is a genius concept! You’re taking the 2 most popular subjects on social media and blending them together to create a film. How did the concept of ZCFM come about?

Montetre: Well, you’re exactly right. The concept was born out of the pairing of those two ideas. Ryan Cloutier did a wonderful job executing the script, which turned out to be very hilarious, heartfelt, but mostly satirical and silly. I mean…I mean it’s silly and by silly I do mean awesome.

LC: What were the biggest challenges in creating a picture of this nature? I mean, it’s pretty far out there.

M: Working with cats is the obvious answer, right? It’s also the correct one. It is far out there, yes, but that’s the ticket, how it goes sometimes. If you want to make an omelette, you have to break a few eggs. Man oh man and coming up with creative cat reveals. There’s only so many ways that I could naturally think of ways to visually show the cats, without running the risk of repeating the visual jokes. But then I began thinking, well, this shot series, is it or rather, is there a theme? I get in on that, coming up with creative angles….Then I remember, it’s a goddamn cat movie. Does anyone care enough for me to lose sleep over this? Then I give it my best, anyway.

LC: I know you currently have a kickstarter campaign going, is that for completing the film or is it just strictly a chance for fans to pre-order the film?

M: The film is indeed complete. The funding is for pre-ordering, but most importantly, to get the picture out there. The funding covers the expense of theatre distribution and the production of the DVDs and Blurays.

LC: There is a famous saying in the industry, never work with kids or animals. How was it working and directing a film with cats?

M: We actually did work with cats, kids and a mouse. It was insane. It was insane. I’ll say it again. It was insane. Can you imagine letting the minutes tick by because a runaway cat has to be chased down? I can imagine it, because I had to chase the star cat a few times, because I was willing to fight through bushes and get scratched by thorns or whatever, just to get that cat back on set. Burning daylight, as they call it. Gotta fight that schedule.

LC: I’m sure within the film there are some scenes where real cats aren’t and couldn’t be used, did you go with practical, or digital effects for the film?

M: Practical all the way. There are some puppets used, yes, but the gags work. No way is there a digital cat. I wasn’t about to allow this movie to become any more difficult to make than it already was. On set, anytime I heard the phrase, “I can fix that in post,” I go mad and this goes the same for any set, but especially my own. It’s like watching your playback. Who does that? Get your shot in the can while you’re there. Get it done. Move on. Make life easy for your future self, that’s why you’re there. Some effects have their place. We make our Zombie Cats’ eyes glow red in post, but that’s the extent of our fakeness.

LC: For those of us that like a good horromedy, is there plenty of gore and blood, or is it more of a light-hearted fun tale?

M: It’s both. It’s very cerebral at times, a lot of the suspense building, but that thrill comes out quite comically… I mean, it’s hilarious, and that’s when I feel it’s right to show off the gore. I try to keep gory stuff hidden when the frights are present. That’s all better when imagined by the audience.

LC: Now that you’re finishing up ZCFM, do you have any other projects forthcoming you can tell us about?

M: Yes, I would love to promote a favorite of mine, the whole reason I got into this cat business. I’m working head-on with Glare. It’s a romantic horror, beautiful action and sci-fi elements. It’s sort of a new genre, I guess, in that it’s very stand-alone. Sort of a 60’s Acid-Trip Movie, like a Jordorowsky film, but it’s as dark and as sincere as a pulp novel. Glare is so very colorful and full of rich characters, sort of a graphic novel in scope, but put to screen. It’s inspired by many different avenues and cultures, too. The core cast and crew are all present for Glare, and more can be found at www.glaremovie.com Unfortunately, Glare is in funding stasis, but it’s our hope to be in production before summer begins. You never know, a proposed budget could be filled by the end of the week. In this business, you never know, but it’s nice when people take a chance.

 

Interview With ZOMBIE CATS FROM MARS Director Montertre’