Review of The Making of 'Dance of the Dead'

This short (23 minutes), yet still compelling and illuminating documentary offers a neat behind-the-scenes glimpse at the making of the terrific horror comedy blast "Dance of the Dead." Among the things we learn from this documentary are that director Gregg Bishop and screenwriter Joe Ballarini first met while attending the University of Southern California, Bishop proved he could tackle a feature film assignment after making his first movie "The Other Side" for a mere fifteen thousand, finding the right location proved to be especially difficult, the townspeople of Rome, Georgia were extremely cooperative and even appear as zombie extras in the picture, the mainly adolescent cast was largely made up of age appropriate thespians, the immortal line "But I don't know how to shoot a machete" was specifically written for actress Carissa Capobianco after she said it in her audition, the role of the gravedigger was likewise written precisely for James Jarrett, the cast did most of their own stunts and underwent extensive physical training prior to the principal shooting of the movie, make-up artist Toby Sells made the zombies a cross between the comical and the realistic, and Justin Wellborn relished playing the role of rowdy redneck roughhouse Kyle. Moreover, we also get some nice details on not only the prom dance scene and tongue eating gag, but also the film's theatrical premiere at the Alamo Drafthouse. Essential viewing for fans of the flick.