Vampire Zombies…from Space!

Michael Stasko

Michael Stasko is a talented and award-winning filmmaker who has written and directed five feature films that have premiered at prestigious festivals and sold to major distributors. His films range from comedy to sci-fi, and feature stars like Ray Wise (Twin Peaks), Tom Cavanagh (The Flash), Fred Willard (Anchorman), Graham Greene (Dance with Wolves), Colin Mochrie (Whose Line is it Anyways?) and Kevin McDonald (The Kids in the Hall). He has also created and produced original TV shows for YTV and CBC. Michael Stasko is a versatile and visionary storyteller who always delivers engaging and entertaining stories for the screen. Works include Things To Do (2006), Iodine (2009), The Birder (2013), The Control (2018) and Boys Vs. Girls (2019). He is currently a film professor at The University of Windsor.

Director Statement

With „Vampire Zombies…from Space!“ my goal was to create a hilarious satire of a 1950’s drive in horror films; drawing inspiration from classics like „The Blob“, „Plan 9 from Outer Space“ and „Forbidden Planet.“ To do this effectively, it needs to play the part and look the part first, and then turn each scene on its head. I think the best comparable for achieving this would be Mel Brook’s 1974 classic „Young Frankenstein.“ If you just look at it from a visual style, the production design is fun, but beautiful, it works. And the black & white cinematography is gorgeous. But all this set up to allow the comedic performances and parody to work so well.