‘Already Dead’ is a short documentary about recovering zombies. Fifteen years after a zombie outbreak (ZE Day) Zombies live among us, working 9-5 jobs, holidaying in Barbados and living “life” to the fullest.

A documentary crew have been given exclusive access to a group of Zombie’s day-to-day “lives”. But have we truly come to accept Zombies?

Written and Directed by Michael James Dean and starring Darren Ruston; ‘Already Dead’ is a reflection of modern society and the prejudice and hatred that individuals struggle with each and every day.

Director’s Statement

I wanted to give my take on the Zombie genre. I’ve seen many different takes on the genre over the years, from the gruesome to the romantic and I wanted to explore what it would be like to see a set of zombies living their lives in our world and how they would interact and integrate into today’s society.

Hatred and prejudice towards race, religion, sexuality and gender are all strong subjects in today’s society. Thanks to the Internet it has become far easier for those to spread a message of hatred to the masses. ‘Already Dead’ is about a group of individuals struggling to live in a world that is unable to accept them for more than what they can see, victimised because of main stream media and misrepresented stereotypes.

The film also touches on the idea of the undead being a disease, one that the individuals have to maintain and battle with in their daily lives. I myself have experience first-hand how many forms of disease can destroy lives, both for the victim and others around them. Many of the themes are based on my personal interactions with alcoholism and the struggle that recovering alcoholics have to fight through each and every day. Much like those who are abused because of their race, religion, gender or sexuality; alcoholics are stereotyped. However the reality of the situation is they are coping with a serious mental addiction.

My hope is that Already Dead will entertain and make my audience laugh at a much loved genre but at the same time I hope that some will enjoy the deeper ideas behind this short.