YDKS Movies Exclusive: An Interview with Director Emily Hagins

Over the past month, I've done two articles (which you can see here and here) on young Austin, Texas director Emily Hagins. At the age of 12, Emily made a feature length zombie film called Pathogen. By doing this, Emily became the first teenage girl to direct a feature film in the United States. 

Emily and the making of Pathogen became the subject of Zombie Girl: The Movie, a well-made documentary that followed Emily's struggles to produce a film at such a young age and how it shaped her relationship with her mother.

After ordering Pathogen in the mail, I became encouraged by a hand-written note Emily did on my receipt to contact her via email. Over the past week, I have corresponded to her over email and she has been gracious enough to respond each time.

As the week passed, I asked her if she would do an interview just for YDKS Movies and she agreed. Just to show you how awesome Emily is, she answered all of these interview questions a day after she got four of her wisdom teeth cut out. 

Yeah, she's hardcore. Enjoy my interview with Emily below.

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YDKS Movies: Hey Emily. Once again, thanks for doing this interview. It means a lot.

Emily Hagins: No problem! :)

YDKS Movies: The first question I’d like to ask is, now that some time has passed since Pathogen was made, how do you feel about the movie? A lot of filmmakers (myself included) have trouble watching their own work, especially their earlier projects. Is it hard for you to watch Pathogen? Are you happy with the way it turned out? Are there some things you’d like to change?

Emily Hagins: Since it's been a few years, it's actually gotten a little easier for me to watch Pathogen. It definitely has its flaws, but I wouldn't change them now because I think they add to the film's "character." It is what it is, which is a zombie movie made by a 12-year-old. As long as I've learned from the experience, I'm happy to move on to the next project.

YDKS Movies: While on the subject of Pathogen, there were some interesting aspects of that film I’d like to ask you about. As the film unravels, a lot of the characters (which are sixth grade children) get into certain moral dilemmas and don’t always make the “right” choice. The characters abandon their friend who is being attacked by zombies, there is a big betrayal at the end and one character has to kill another character to be on the safe side of things. For a film made by a 12 year old, these are some big moral moments. At such a young age, were you trying to make any kind of social commentary? Some of my favorite zombie films (Dawn of the Dead, Night of the Living Dead) have been used to make social messages as well as entertain. Did these two films influence you at all or possibly inspire you to put in these moral dilemmas in the last half of Pathogen? I realize that this may be stretching but I found these moments interesting when I was viewing your film for the first time and I just wanted to see what you had to say about it.

Emily Hagins: Night of the Living Dead was definitely an inspiration. I think moral dilemmas keep things interesting and real, but as far as social commentary goes I'd like to leave that up to interpretation.

YDKS Movies: Lastly, just to cure my personal curiosity, what happened to the character of Researcher Sue in Pathogen? We saw the fate of Cameron but there weren’t any clues as to her whereabouts by the end of the film.

Emily Hagins: I get that question a lot, haha. I wanted her to disappear because it would leave an open end that may lead to hope- she might not be dead, and there's still an option that she cures the infection later down the road. But the kids were the focus of the story, so I wanted to end on their fate.

YDKS Movies: As you continue to make films, what would you say your biggest influences are? In Zombie Girl: The Movie, Undead seemed to be a big inspiration to you in the making of Pathogen. Are there any other movies that continue to inspire you and your more recent work? Is there a certain director that you admire or that has inspired you?

Emily Hagins: In general, I learn from most films that I watch (good or not so good). For The Retelling, I was mostly inspired by an old Japanese folk tale called Hoichi the Earless (or Earless Hoichi...it's translated both ways) and the Otto Preminger movie Bunny Lake is Missing.

I have a few favorite directors that inspire me pretty different ways: Danny Boyle, Robert Rodriguez, Guillermo Del Toro, Peter Jackson, Jon Favreau, and Quentin Tarantino.

YDKS Movies: Just out of curiosity, are you still using iMovie to edit? And are you still using that Sony camcorder you used in Zombie Girl: The Movie (the very camera I started out with oddly enough). After seeing footage from The Retelling, it looks like you are using different equipment.

Emily Hagins: Now I'm using Final Cut Pro, which I bought pretty soon after I finished Pathogen. The camera we filmed The Retelling on was a Sony HDR FX1. I learned a lot more about equipment and working with a crew from that production.

YDKS Movies: Is there any way to see some of your short films? I am particularly interested in seeing Party Killer. I’d like to see your take of the slasher genre after seeing your vision of a zombie film.

Emily Hagins: I have a YouTube channel (zombiemoviegirl), but I haven't put Party Killer up yet. I'll try to do that soon because it's been a few years since I made that one.

YDKS Movies: Would you like to tell us a little bit about your newest film The Retelling?

Emily Hagins: Charlie Mason and his family take a summer trip to take care of his blind and ill grandfather in small town Texas, but Charlie soon discovers a weird presence that seems to be following his grandfather. With his new friend Anne, they unravel the mystery that may include them more than they think.

YDKS Movies:  Even though The Retelling is a ghost story, there seems to be more elements of drama in this film as compared to Pathogen. Do you want to stick with horror as you continue to make movies? Would you like to branch out and make other kinds of movies?

Emily Hagins: There is more drama with Retelling, and it actually turned out to be more of a murder mystery than a horror movie. I'd like to try out other genres, as long as they feel like something I can do. For example, being 16-years-old I don't think I'd feel comfortable making a gangster movie right now. As long as I can stick roughly to a subject or age group that I know, all I want to do is tell a good story.

YDKS Movies: While we are talking about horror, I was wondering how you felt about the state of the horror genre right now. Many people feel that horror is dead in a mainstream sense and that the only films produced in the genre right now are “torture porn.” Do you agree with these assessments? Are there any horror films released recently that you really liked? For example, did you see Rob Zombie’s Halloween II that was just released? I bring this film up because it has really caused a stir of hatred among many horror fans and critics alike… but it almost seems unjustified at times. I was just wondering what your stance was on this particular film (if you got to see if that is).

Emily Hagins: I've heard some people claim the torture porn argument too, and I haven't seen Halloween II (or Rob Zombie's first Halloween movie). I feel like a lot of these "jump scare" horror movies are made just for entertainment, and not because they had a good horror story to tell. However, I think they are starting to lose their entertainment value when the gore and scare tactics take over. I think it's easy to claim that horror movies are driven by these factors, but just like any other movie you need to have some kind of story that's just as entertaining and engaging. I'd say that District 9 is the most recent horror movie that I've seen and really enjoyed, even though it's about as much of a horror movie as it is a sci-fi movie.

YDKS Movies: Do you have any plans for your life after high school? Would you like to attend some kind of film school or do you plan on just jumping into filmmaking like you have been doing?

Emily Hagins: I definitely plan to keep making movies, which may include film school or not. I'm keeping my grades up to hopefully have film school as an option, and I want to have an open mind about it.

YDKS Movies: With the release of Zombie Girl: The Movie, you have received a lot of press and exposure. Now, at just the age of 16, you have your own Wikipedia page and IMDB listing. That’s pretty astounding. How has this kind of exposure changed your life? Do you get recognized a lot? Have there been any negative aspects to this kind of exposure that you’d like to tell us about?

Emily Hagins: It's actually been pretty encouraging. When people want to see my movies, I feel inspired to make something better than my last one. I'm constantly learning, and I always want to put that to the test. I don't get recognized very often. I guess one of the main negative factors is trying to find a balance between school and making movies. They're both important, but every once in a while I have to put one over the other and I wonder if I made the right decision. However, one of the other things about all this that's changed my life is that I'm learning to follow my gut, especially with those kinds of decisions.

YDKS Movies:  After Zombie Girl: The Movie’s release, who is the coolest celebrity you have gotten to meet on the festival circuit? Have you gotten to meet any of idols or people that you respect?

Emily Hagins: Actually, out of all of those directors that I mentioned in the earlier question, the only ones I haven't met in person are Jon Favreau and Peter Jackson. From that list, the one I met most recently was Danny Boyle, who was very nice and articulate. He knows what movies he wants to make, and what he needs to get there.

YDKS Movies: A lot of Zombie Girl: The Movie really confronted the issue of the digital filmmaking age that is starting take off. It is a revolution in film that both you and I are apart of. There were many pros and cons to this new type of filmmaking revolution that were weighed upon in the film. Basically, many people see this movement as a bad thing because anyone can make a movie now, regardless if they have talent or not. Plus, there is the whole argument over digital movies not looking like movies made on film. How do you feel about this issue? Do you think it’s necessarily a bad thing that anyone with a camcorder can make a movie these days? Also, how do you feel about the issue over the look of film compared to digital movies?

Emily Hagins: I don't think it is necessarily a bad thing that pretty much anyone can make a movie these days, and I have a couple of points behind this reasoning:

1) I don't think anyone can make a movie. It may look like one, but it takes more than just having a camera to put a movie together. That's not saying that you need all the professional gadgets, but there's as lot of competition now- so a good story stands out above anything else.

2) Now that the technology is out there, it gives people of all ages a voice. This results in tons of different perspectives that the world can now see, especially through outlets such as YouTube.

As far the difference between the aesthetic quality of film versus the digital look, I think they're getting closer to making this difference less noticable (especially with developments such as RED). However, I think the digital look serves a purpose too. It creates a sense of "real" and even has a slightly voyeuristic quality because it doesn't have as much of a professional look as film. This is an interesting technique for films such as The Blair Witch Project, In the Loop, or District 9.

YDKS Movies: For many people (myself included), you have been a big inspiration to make independent films. What would you say to struggling filmmakers out there? Is there any advice that you have?

Emily Hagins: Perseverance is just as important as any other quality for a filmmaker. Without it, you're not a filmmaker until you finish your project. There will inevitably be set-backs, and things won't go as planned all the time. You can't let those things get you down, because sometimes they will be the happy accidents that are the most memorable part of your movie for the audience. Just get through it, learn from your mistakes, rinse, and repeat.

YDKS Movies: Would you like to express anything else? Anything at all?

Emily Hagins: I guess I'd like to mention that I'm working on a comedy now, but we're still very early on in the script-writing.

YDKS Movies: Thanks again for your time, Emily. I look forward to seeing The Retelling, your upcoming comedy project and seeing how you continue to grow as a filmmaker.

Please visit Emily's site CheesyNuggets.com to purchase Pathogen and keep up with what new projects she has in store.