Now available on Digital HD, Dead screened just last weekend at Arrow Video FrightFest to wonderful reactions. The film is a paranormal comedy, which sees a young stoner, Marbles (Thomas Sainsbury), team up with a recently deceased cop, Tagg (Hayden J Weal), to try and uncover the identity of Tagg’s killer. Although told within the world of horror at its core, Dead is a heartfelt buddy cop movie. It also harks from New Zealand and has that same comedic tone that has made the likes of Come to Daddy, Housebound, and the works of Taika Waititi, so popular.
We at team THN thoroughly enjoyed the film (read our review here) and couldn’t wait to speak with writer, director, and co-star, Hayden J. Weal. Dead marks Weal’s second spot in the director’s chair, but Weal has been working within the film industry for a number of years. In addition to writing, directing, and acting, Weal has also tried his hand at editing, helped out with lighting and photography on a couple of projects, and most notably worked as Daniel Radcliffe’s stand-in on Guns Akimbo, and as a picture double in the Hobbit films. Weal clearly used his times on other sets well and with Dead, he has crafted a beautifully quirky, and thoroughly entertaining horror-comedy. Here’s what he had to say when we caught up with him about the project.
Dead recently screened at FrightFest in the UK. Have you had a chance to look into the reactions, and if so how are you feeling?
We have been loving the reactions from FrightFest! Our sense of humour seems to have landed with Britons more than it has with North Americans — maybe it’s the dryness, or the fact that New Zealand and the UK have been inured to harsh truths like death and guilt? Whatever it is, we’re thrilled that audiences are enjoying it — I just wish I could be there in person.
How did the idea for Dead come together?
Tom (co-writer/Marbles) and I met in 2016 and fanboyed each other, and I roped him into a coffee meet purely because I wanted to be his friend. There’s something about his gentle optimism that I find really enlivening, and he likes the fact that I have a Labrador’s personality. We decided to do something together, completely on spec, for the love of it, and we threw a bunch of ideas at the wall and ghosts and a police officer in undies stuck. The rest of the script just kinda came together over a couple of months of trying to make each other laugh. I think I blacked out for a while then suddenly the script was written and we thought, ‘well – we’re making this then’.
Were there any films or filmmakers that influenced either the look, style, or feel when you were creating it?
Hugely. Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg’s partnership has been a huge inspiration for me since Shaun of the Dead’s release in 2005. Of course, some Hot Fuzz homages have been snuck in there too. Slacker detective comedies like The Big Lebowski and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang were both wonderful good comparables while writing, since they have the buddy element. And I watched Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Zootopia and jotted down the beats and turning points, since they have the detective buddy element to them too. In terms of the look, Tammy Williams (DOP) made the decision at the outset that we shouldn’t be afraid of darkness, considering the context of death and murder, and I love her for that.
As well as writing and directing the film, you also star in it, when you were writing did you always know you’d be playing Tagg?
Ha! No, I was originally going to be Marbles! We filmed a test scene early on, where Tom played the cop and I played the stoner, and it was good. It worked, just felt… off, somehow. One of the producers said, ‘Hayden, you struggle to play lower status to Tom. Tom, you seemed to just want to be dominated.’ So we swapped, and it worked an absolute treat. Except for, you know, having to wear only underwear in the middle of winter.
You did opt to give yourself an interesting choice of costume, what was the thought process behind Tagg being trouserless for the movie?
I actually have no idea why we made that decision. Originally Tagg had half a bong sticking out of his neck after a drug bust gone wrong, but somewhere along the way that idea changed into him being trouserless. It was freezing. But worth it. I think.
You and Thomas have great on-screen chemistry, is that something that comes from being friends?
Yeah, I’m his biggest fan. He makes me laugh all the time, and his everyday demeanor puts me in a great mood. I make him laugh a lot and I’m still not sure if it’s because what I’m saying is genius, or pathetically stupid. Either way, it’s nice.
I loved the way Dead looked, can you talk a little about how you approached the visual style of the film?
Tammy Williams had shot a bunch of shorts and documentaries before, but never a feature length story, so we had many discussions and made mood boards, and even did a few tests. We knew we wanted it to be dark, and blue, and I love the colour purple so we put lots of that in there. Tammy stumbled upon the idea of the violet true streak filter (the purple flare) as a visual marker of being in the ‘ghost world’, which was a stroke of genius. In terms of the shot choices, that depended on location and blocking. I didn’t have a storyboard or shot list — I much prefer to find the most natural movements on the day with the actors, then figure out how to cover it afterward. I also had the rule that we would film it true to emotion. So, if Marbles is scared, let’s shoot it like it’s scary. If he’s feeling intimate, let’s light it romantically. That way we never fell into the trap of shooting it like your standard comedy.
The film is an absolute blast, I know you were doing multiple jobs, but it must have been a fun shoot. What were your favourite scenes to shoot?
The gay heaven sequence (spoiler). The fact all these dudes turned up willing to whip their clothes off, get coated in baby oil, and rub against each other was just such an honour. I had the biggest smile on my face all day.
New Zealand filmmakers seem to have a very specific type of humour. Taika Waitiit’s films being an obvious example, but also Ant Timpson’s Come to Daddy and Gerard Johnstone’s Housebound have had me, and other Brits, in stitches. I felt that Dead was very much cut from the same cloth as those films. How would you describe the humour and why do you think it works so well for British audiences?
That makes me really, really happy. I’m a big Housebound fan, and Taika’s a big jewel in Aotearoa’s cap. So thank you for saying Dead fits into the same pool. I think British audiences are more used to a dry comedy, like Monty Python’s straight faced absurdity and Stephen Fry’s language-based comedy. Maybe that’s it? I think there’s a nice understated quality to British comedy that doesn’t beat you over the head, whereas there’s the flipside in other countries where the comedy screams at you, which makes it unfunny.
Dead has a very strong queer story component. It’s something you don’t see that often in most films, let alone genre films, and the film helps to make some great strides in terms of both representation and inclusivity. Do you think that the media society is starting to get a little better at dealing with these topics?
Aw thank you! I’m glad you feel that way. From what I’ve experienced, the next generation is a lot more switched on than we are, and we’re a lot more switched on than the generation before us. Hopefully it just keeps getting better, and soon all the young people will be in the media industry so things will keep improving. I acted in an ad here in New Zealand made by Rainbow Youth called ‘If It’s Not Gay, It’s Not Gay’. We all did it for free and our country’s leading network donated a bunch of airtime. I don’t think that would’ve happened twenty years ago, so I take the optimistic view that the media is getting a lot better at dealing with these topics.
We should also let anyone reading this interview know to not switch off when the titles kick in as they’ll miss one of the best moments in the film…
Yes! Stay for the credits.
Are there any plans for yourself and Tom to collaborate further?
We’re actually both acting in a new horror film right now. Tom’s directing this time, meaning I’m free to just turn up and muck around all day while he stresses out and worries about the end product. It’s lovely. The film is called Loop Track and is about a man suffering a breakdown in the New Zealand bush, and he thinks that maybe there’s something after him…
Finally, what are viewers going to get, or what do you hope that they’ll get, from watching Dead?
I want people to enjoy themselves watching Dead. That’s kind of it. If you laugh, or if you feel warmth toward the characters, then it’s done its job.
Dead is available on Digital HD now.
