Unlike its American counterparts, British zombie movies aren’t usually set in malls. Nina Romain talks to two Brit zombie-meisters who chose to have their heroes taking on the undead in UK shopping centres – despite their zombies attacking the offspring of British acting icons
Attacking the UK cinema market last week, the newest Resident Evil instalment sees the freshly-reanimated taking on humanity in many confined spaces: a hospital, a lift, an underground sewer – all playing on the human dislike of confined spaces. The hapless hero Bryan Hodukavich also battles nightmarish creations in many deserted open spaces, including desolate snowy wastelands, deserted forests, urban streets, and generally anywhere where he is exposed and without shelter. But he never tries a shopping mall in the doomed Raccoon City, despite this being a popular genre location.
George A Romero, for example, set his 1978 classic Dawn of the Dead in Monroeville Mall in Pennsylvania. Similarly, Zack Snyder’s 2004 remake (or “re-envisioning”) is also shot in a mall offering shelter from the decomposing. If you’re American, you tend to dodge the undead by running somewhere you feel protected and somewhere familiar – a shopping centre or mall. So why doesn’t Bryan try that, where there would be warmth, endless food and a supply of weapons in the hardware department?
If you’re in a Brit zombie movie, you’re usually going to head to the Winchester, or try to survive in a city (28 Days Later) or even a forest (Zombie Diaries). So what appeals to American directors about the idea of shooting in the confined spaces of a mall?
Aaron Truss, British director and co-writer of upcoming zombie horror-comedy feature, Employee of the Dead, starring Ray Winstone’s daughter Ellie Raé Winstone, believes there are many reasons why directors could choose to shoot in a shopping centre.
He explains: “With [shooting] the Kickstarter promos for Employee of the Dead, we were extremely lucky to have access to the Mercury Mall in Romford, through Spencer Hawken and Natalie Bays. We shot for three hours after the mall had shut, so we didn’t have nearly enough time as I would have wanted. But the atmosphere was eerie.
“Filming the promos in an actual mall was a fantastic experience. It’s a large open space with lots of depth and detail, as we had two floors to shoot on. You have shops, escalators, elevators, so many toys to play with. So the possibilities are endless.”
Truss, who helped found Q Cumber Films, adds that despite the time constraints of shooting in a working building, a shopping centre was “perfect” for his undead attack in Employee.
He adds: “You find yourself moving away from your storyboard because you find new and far more interesting ways to shoot on location. When you throw zombies into the mix, it genuinely feels like a movie. I think we have Romero to thank for that…zombies and malls go together like cheese and crackers.
“The only people in the mall were the cast, crew and security – including a few late shoppers who got to see Ellie Raé Winstone getting attacked by a zombie!
“When the mall was almost empty, it felt unsettling. It’s a location we’re used to seeing during the day with shoppers, but when you strip it of life, it becomes something else entirely. It’s perfect for horror scenes. I look forward to returning to the Mercury Mall to film the actual movie next year.”
Spencer Hawken, director of zombie mall feature Death Walks (2016), also shot in the Mercury Mall. He agrees there are advantages to having the living dead invade a shopping centre.
He says: “While there’s a lot of freedom [to shoot] to a degree, the downside is it has to be overnight. For Death Walks we started shooting on floors that were closed to the public after 7pm, but then did the main shooting after midnight and before 6.30am – leading to [actors] struggling to stay awake and remember lines!”
So when Bryan cuts through the devasted Raccoon City, how would his chances have changed if he headed for the 2026 version of Monroeville Mall? Will future Resident Evil heroes see their hometowns overrun by the undead from on top of a shopping centre?
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