500 Zombies to Invade Avenue at White Marsh

Disasters are rarely ever as thrilling as Hollywood portrays them to be.

Such is the message behind the new independent film, "My Boring Zombie Apocalypse," about a teenage boy's experiences in the throes of a massive zombie invasion. 

The zombies are slow, easily killed and far less intimidating than their Hollywood-generated counterparts. The main character, a disenchanted 17-year-old named David, records his observations on a blog titled—you guessed it—"My Boring Zombie Apocalypse."

But before the zombie invasion begins, David, played by Baltimore actor Charlie Dreizen, fantasizes about a larger-than-life video game-style zombie battle, where he emerges as the hero. This scene, which calls for about 500 zombies, will be filmed at the Avenue at White Marsh at 11 p.m., Friday. 

The shopping center was an obvious choice for Kevin Perkins, director, writer and joint producer of the upcoming film. He began working with The Avenue several years ago, coordinating preview movie screenings at the AMC Loews White Marsh movie theater. 

"The Avenue is designed to look like small town USA ... except it's very controlled and we don't have to get permission from homeowners to use it," said Perkins, a senior account executive with Allied Integrated Marketing and a White Hall resident. "It's almost like a little set." 

The film is inspired by his own fascination with the 1970s zombie apocalypse films of George A. Romero. Those "old-school" zombies, Perkins said, would be less impressive to today's jaded teenagers who have been saturated with more recent Hollywood versions. 

Production is funded largely "out of my own pocket," Perkins said. "We shoot as much as I can afford. A big part is just me calling in favors. We get by pretty cheap." 

Volunteer actors help reduce filming costs. Months ago, the production team released a call for zombie extras on the film's Facebook page.

The response, Perkins said, was overwhelming. Five hundred people with pre-approved release forms are now expected to attend the Friday night filming. They have been encouraged to arrive in dirty or ruinable clothing and zombie-style makeup, if possible.

"There will be chaos," Perkins said with a laugh. "It makes me a little nervous. There are always opportunities for things to go wrong." 

Individuals without release forms or anyone intoxicated will be asked to leave, according to the Facebook event page. 

Restaurants, bars and businesses will keep their normal hours during filming, said Lisa Geiger, The Avenue's marketing manager.

Production is expected to be completed by the end of the summer.

"Then we'll try and hit the sci-fi and horror film festivals. We'll send it to some studios," Perkins said. "We hope it sells."