2012 is turning out to be a big year for independent horror filmmaker Devi Snively (pictured). Not only are her acclaimed shorts and new feature TRIPPIN’ heading for their DVDebuts in April (see story here), but she’s on her way to the Sundance Film Festival next week with her prize-winning script LOVE IN THE TIME OF ZOMBIES.

A horror/comedy described as a cross between SHAUN OF THE DEAD and a John Hughes film with a steampunk aesthetic, LOVE actually won two honors in the Park City, Utah festival’s Table Read My Screenplay competition. “It won for best horror script as well as the grand jury prize,” Snively tells Fango. “So they’re flying me out for the first weekend of Sundance, and will stage a reading in Park City with professional actors while I’m there. Not a bad start to the new year!”

LOVE IN THE TIME OF ZOMBIES focuses on a love-wary teenage girl, whose doubts about her boyfriend grow when an undead apocalypse causes both her and his true colors to come out. “It’s actually an allegory for my first year in LA, during which I found myself surrounded by a bunch of zombies—not nearly as fun as they make it seem in the movies, alas.  Fortunately, it made for great screenplay fodder, and I’ve learned that life post-zombie-apocalypse rocks. The story also has a fun ‘Willy Wonka meets steampunk’ subplot that I believe is a first for a zombie film. It’s positively begging to be shot in 3D. I’ve also been encouraged to turn it into a YA novel, which would be an interesting new adventure. But rest assured, if I do opt to go that route, I promise my zombies will not sparkle.

“I’m always pleased when a horror script wins an honor like this,” she continues, “because our beloved genre is so often maligned in festivals and competitions that do not specifically cater to genre films. Naturally, I’m particularly pleased in this case, as it happens to be my script!”

Snively has talked with several producers about putting LOVE IN THE TIME OF ZOMBIES into production, but no plans have been finalized as of now. Stay tuned for future developments, and look for a Notes from the Underground piece by Snively in a future issue of Fango.

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