An interview with indie filmmaker Hilton Ariel Ruiz and his 'Zombie with a Shotgun' movie

Aaron and Rachel of Zombie with a Shotgun

MH: I watched your first clip on Zombie with a Shotgun. I was impressed. Lately, I have tried to find some good zombie shows on ROKU. What I found was a handful of campy pictures with bad actors and horrific special effects. Before I watched your first clip, I expected the same. I am glad to have found out how wrong I was. Like yourself, I am a zombie fan. I fell in love with the genre after watching Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead by George Romero. I now follow the Walking Dead and Z-Nation. So I found you on Twitter and had to learn more about your Zombie with a Shotgun flick.

Hilton Ariel Ruiz: I'm so excited to answer these questions. I'm pumped for it to be shown to a lot more people and possibly help me with my campaign. I have to say that I do agree about it being difficult to find good zombie projects. That's what led me to my own interpretation of the zombie genre. I'm glad you enjoyed it. It makes me feel good when people enjoy the projects I create.

Q: What inspired you to make this film?

As a teenager, I always wanted to make my own zombie film. I have noticed that modern zombie story lines have never changed. They all had the same premise of humans running from mindless zombies. When I had an opportunity to make my own zombie film, I wanted to make sure it stood out. That's when I decided Zombie with a Shotgun was going to separate itself from other zombie films.

Q: Is it also a graphic novel?

Yes. The comic’s first issues will be released this summer. Fortunately, I found artist Simone Guglielmini, who is also responsible for drawing the popular Near Death comic (Image Comics). Simone and I met on social media and respected each other's artwork. We clicked immediately on how Zombie with a Shotgun should go for its first issue. We're both so excited to see the result. 

Please click here to read the entire interview.