From Shaun of the Dead to iZombie, there’s a long history of zombie comedies and we’re adding Josh Monkarsh’s movie, As We Know It, to the mix.
Starring Oliver Cooper, Mike Castle, Pam Grier and Chris Parnell, As We Know It is set in 1990s Los Angeles, and begins with a threat of a zombie apocalypse. Specifically linked a contaminated brand of soy milk.
James (Castle) is a struggling writer who just went through a tough breakup, and when his friend Bruce (Cooper) races over to tell him about the zombie threat, James initially isn’t particularly bothered.
Following an unexpected visit from James’ ex-girlfriend Emily (Taylor Blackwell), they’re stuck inside, but are trying to take on the zombies, with As We Know It leaning into buddy comedy moments, mixed with some romance and more heartfelt elements.
“It’s tricky, especially if you’re trying to introduce a zombie film, to throw in heartfelt elements, because typically your avid zombie film lovers, they’re not maybe used to seeing these,” Monkarsh told Yahoo Canada. “I just was pretty confident that if we found these characters, and through casting, … if we cast the right actors for the characters, it would be easy in terms of creating that dual dynamic.”
Oliver Cooper is Bruce, the reliable BFF, that is, of course, unless he’s snacking on food when you’re getting attacked by a zombie… then you’re in trouble.
Watch him in the all new zomedy film, #AsWeKnowItMovie now streaming on Amazon Prime and Vudu pic.twitter.com/GMgJwzpm7Z
— As We Know It (@asweknowitmovie) December 29, 2023
‘Once the zombies got introduced, then it was, game on’
Interestingly, when Monkarsh first developed the script, there weren’t actually any zombies in the story.
“About six years ago I optioned the script … and basically it was a cautionary tale, kind of mixed with a buddy comedy/romance, but there were no zombies,” Monkarsh explained. “But I liked the characters, that much I knew, so I just sat on it for a couple of years.”
“It was actually during COVID when I was just going through my inventory and I was like, we’re quarantining right now, this is so relevant, especially with these characters and this dynamic. How can I create a twist? … There were definitely inspirations from COVID for that, because when COVID started we didn’t know what was going on. So there was definitely a lot of that in the script, or at least in my revision of the script. Once the zombies got introduced, then it was, game on.”
When Monkarsh was working on the revision of the script, he had Cooper in mind for Bruce. Cooper is also friends with Castle, which made things “easy,” as Monkarsh described.
Legendary Pam Grier had people rushing for autographs
One notable addition to Monkarsh’s film is Jackie Brown star Grier, playing James’ neighbour.
“Everybody obviously knows Pam Grier and so it was one of those things where people were rushing her for autographs and stuff, so there was a lot of kind of crowd control at first that we had to do,” Monkarsh said.
“In terms of working with her, she was incredible. So easygoing, definitely intimidating at first because I grew up fascinated with her and her films. It was one of those things where she made it super easy for us on set. … We got one day with her and we definitely made it count. We shot her out until literally the final second of her time and it was great. She was great.”
‘We knew we had to eliminate cell phones’
While films set in the ’90s have been particularly popular in recent years, Monkarsh’s movie uses it as a way to allow the story to unfold in a more “antiquated environment,” with a killer soundtrack as well.
“I knew I did not want cell phones in this movie,” Monkarsh said. “For me, as a storyteller, I think it just kind of, at times, gets in the way, unless it’s a critical part of the film.”
“So we knew we had to eliminate cell phones, which made it difficult to set it today. … It kind of grew and took on a life of its own, once I started going back to my own childhood and throwing in elements from my childhood.”
The pandemic brings Josh Monkarsh back to filmmaking
In terms of Monkarsh pursuing a career in filmmaking, he’s always been someone who loves movies.
“As a kid, I just remember there were the swim parties and stuff happening outside, and I was literally just watching Star Wars in the living room, because that was my place, that was my safe space,” he said. “When I got to film school, … it was early 2000s, it was one of those times where, as an independent filmmaker, it was tough, especially to make a feature and compete with, at the time it was Miramax and a few other bigs. There was no streaming.”
“I would say, in the early 2000s, after my experience making independent films, realizing at the time it was super difficult as an indie filmmaker to make it, because … it was just a theatrical market, and obviously later DVD, I took a break for a while. I still produced here and there, but it was actually not until COVID, when I was quarantining with my family, when I realized I really do want to give another shot at directing.”
For Monkarsh’s future work, he’s optioned another script, which he teased as a twist on “Romeo and Juliet.”
“I felt like it was fitting for my first real feature to have there be some of the elements that I loved as a kid, which were the zombie, the buddy comedy stuff,” Monkarsh said. “For the next one, it might be a little bit less comedic, but definitely will still have those same bits and pieces that I hope audiences like about As We Know It.”
“When you see the next movie you will definitely say ‘OK that’s that guy,’ at least that’s my goal.”
