I wanted to dig a little deeper into Dug Up (pun intended), so I reached out to Dustin Rikert, the film’s director, his co-writer William Shockley, and lead actor Paul McCarthy-Boyington (Kill or Be Killed, Altered, The Human Race). I discovered that Dug Up was a true labor of love, not to mention an inspiration for aspiring indie filmmakers.
Check out their individual statements below, followed by the synopsis and trailer for Dug Up at the bottom of the article. Try not to fall over laughing—especially at the Pet Sematary spoof!
Dustin Rikert: “Dug Up represents one of the funnest summers I’ve ever had in my 18 years of filmmaking. The whole idea of the film was to craft a purposely campy “Zomedy” that pays homage to the kinds of 80’s horror classics like Friday the 13, Dawn of the Dead, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre that I loved as a kid. You could write a book about the adventures we had behind the scenes. It was Indie-filmmaking at its best and worst. A small group of people coming together to make something fun and memorable. It was one of the hottest summers on record in Vermont, but somehow everyone banded together. We had no money, but lots of ambition. My brother did the creature FX, my Mom the catering, and the cast we assembled based on the sheer belief in the script was incredible. Paul McCarthy-Boyington IS Trever Bo Chesney!! There hasn’t been a week that’s gone by in 7 years that someone hasn’t contacted me wanting to know when the film is coming out. I’m so glad that the world will finally get to see this delightful little labor of love! Thank you, [Executive Producer] Vince Morella from the bottom of my heart for resurrecting this film from the dead!”
“We got pulled over by the cops and lied our way out of a ticket, broke down in the middle of some small town where a biker-preacher man fixed the truck for free, drank beer on the lift of the grip truck in a parking lot of a town that didn’t serve alcohol in the restaurants, drove through a torrential blinding rainstorm on a pitch black night almost crashing more than once, found religion, lost our minds, and ended up making a classic stoner-stripper-T&A-zomedy. And that’s just the beginning of the story!”
“William and Dustin were great to work with. They wrote a fun script and created a wonderful environment to really expand on. We were able to play, which would lead to some organic improv. I gotta say working with them, the crew, the other actors, the Rikert family, on their farm, in that beautiful environment, was just a magical time and experience!”
Synopsis:
Chaos takes over a rural town after a trio of residents accidentally conjure a zombie outbreak.
Are you a fan of raunchy, irreverent, stoner horror comedies? Are you excited to check out Dug Up when it hits VOD this Tuesday? Sound off in the comments below or on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram!