A Conversation with Rodney Hill Jr. Director of "As Though Dead"

Tauseret:

Would you tell us about your film”As Though Dead”?

Rodney:

I started writing the script last year. I wanted to make a horror film about the rapture event but I also
wanted to do my own version of a zombie film so I decided to put them together into one film and you
have “As Though Dead”. It's one of the few horror films about the rapture event. “As Though Dead”
takes place in present day in a small rural town in Texas. The story follows five people on a journey
that starts at a Church. “As Though Dead” shows the rapture event in a way that has never been seen
before. It's a true horror film with great suspense but it differs from most horror films because it's a
real human story about faith. So you are asking how do I get zombies and rapture into the same
movie. During the rapture process, the soul is pulled from the body and the soulless body left behind
becomes this zombie like creature that attacks anything with a soul. It's a great film with some very
dramatic scenes but still gives you the jumps and scares you expect from a horror movie.

Tauseret:
Why did you include a Biblical reference to your film, ?

Rodney:
I wanted to do a horror film with a Biblical theme because I haven’t seen many out there but I also
wanted to incorporate a story of faith. I wanted to give my audience a true horror film with some
meaning. I believe horror films can be scary but also provide some kind of message whatever that
message may be but religion plays a huge part in all our lives and I wanted to make a film that touched
on it but still be highly entertaining.

Tauseret:

Who are the actors featured in your film?

Rodney:
We have a very talented cast. Christopher Weaver, Kalah Roberts, Cheavis White, Dustin Divelbiss,
and many more did an amazing job. I can't thank them enough. I really think people will be amazed
with the quality of acting in this film. I wanted to cast strong honest dramatic actors that could show
and play their character's inner objectives but still stay true to the objective of the story.

Tauseret:
Did you have any other sources of inspiration for your film?

Rodney:
One of my first and most important inspirations is my family. They have supported me from day one
but my grand mother was a great story-teller and when she used to tell us horror stories we couldn't
sleep for days. The way she told them with passion made me want to be a great story-teller. As for
inspiration for the film I had a vivid dream one night that sparked me to write the script for “As Though
Dead”. I also got tired of watching bad horror movies of recent. It seems to be all about blood and
guts and no storyline. “As Though Dead” will give you the blood and guts but it's a creative story with
a mind blowing ending. You will not be disappointed.

Tauseret:
Where was “As Though Dead” filmed?

Rodney:
We filmed “As Though Dead” in Shreveport,La Minden,La, Bossier City,La, and East Texas. We got
some creative locations that really adds to the tone of the film.

Tauseret:
Were there any difficulties or obstacles in filming there?

Rodney:
Just a few with any project trying to find locations it is hard when you are on small budget but we
had some great people help us out. The other obstacles filming here is finding crew people when you
are on a low budget but we had some great crew people step up and donated their time to help up make
this movie a success.. Christopher Dickerson, Chris Morgan, Rick Workman, Matt Hanna, and Jeremy
Spring,Alonzo Brown, and Ginger Cerio did an amazing job as crew.

Tauseret:
I understand you are a self taught film maker, how did you teach yourself film making processes?

Rodney:
I'm a self taught film maker because of the lack of film making education in the area. Number one I
watched tons of movies. I have watched at least one movie per day in the last five years. I believe its
very important to watch movies and know what style and types you like. The other tools I used to
teach myself film making is reading tons of books, researching tons of articles about film making and
the most important tool of education for myself was just going out there and doing it. Hands on
experience is the best. Oh yeah and those online tutorials you find on you tube and Vimeo helped.

Tauseret:
What was the first horror film that you saw?

Rodney:

I have seen a lot of horror movies. I love the horror genre but the earliest horror filmed that I can
remember watching is “Friday the 13th” the first one. I actually remember watching it with my parents
at a drive in movie theater. I was 3 or 4 I think.

Tauseret:

Why do you think that zombies have such an appeal to audiences?

Rodney:

Why do I think that zombies have such an appeal to audiences? I really don't have an answer for that but I guess we are alittle bit sick in the head.

Tauseret:

What is your favorite zombie or horror film?

Rodney:

There are many great horror movies that I love. I think my style resembles Rob Zombie,Danny
Boyle, and Quentin Tarantino but my all time greatest horror movie would be The Exorcist because its
one of the few horror movies that still scares the hell out of me and just the fact that something so evil
possessed something so innocent is scary.

Tauseret:

What other productions were you involved in?

Rodney:
I wrote and directed a short filmed called “Killer's Path” about a group of friends that have an insane
passion for serial killers. It's currently at film festivals.

Tauseret:
Do you have any upcoming projects?

Rodney:
I want to do another short film early in 2011 and later that year I'll be doing the full length version of
“Killer's Path”. Be ready for that one because it's a perfect example of controlled insanity. But please
go see “As Though Dead” when it comes out it's one of those rare films that will answer some questions,provoke many questions,start debate, but in the end its a film that will take you on a journey
that you have never experienced.

We at LivingDeadMedia would like to thank Mr. Rodney Hill for taking time to interview with us.