Pathogen (film)


Pathogen is a 2006 zombie horror independent film written, directed, and produced by Emily Hagins, who was twelve at the time of the film's production. Pathogen is one of the most well known examples of a movie made by someone under 18. The film was released on March 25, 2006, and focuses on several middle school students who discover that an infection is turning people into zombies.

Plot

Fourteen-year-old Dannie has been getting reoccurring cryptic and somewhat unsettling nightmares. She later finds out that a waterborne disease caused by bacteria begins to spread, but believes that the disease is somehow linked to her recurring dreams. As the disease becomes an epidemic, it's revealed that the disease not only kills those it infects but also turns them into zombies. Dannie and some of her middle school peers: Sam, Christine, Stacey, and Cameron try to find the solution to the disease while having to fight zombies along the way. Stacy is turned into a zombie during a fight at Dannie's house and after fleeing the house the group comes across a woman named Sue, who worked for the company that accidentally created the infection by trying to create a cure for cancer. Sue and a begrudging Cameron go to a convivence store to get supplies while the rest wait. They take a suspiciously long time so the group goes to find them. At the store they find a dead Cameron and missing Sue. An argument among the group leads to the revelation that Christine is a traitor and that Sam has carried the infection all along. Sam kills Christine so that she can't hurt anyone and Dannie is forced to kill and decapitate Sam, her best friend to save him from turning into a zombie. Not long after fleeing the store, Dannie is attacked by a swarm of zombies, leaving everyone in our cast dead.

Cast

Production

Hagins completed the film's script in 2004 and despite the adults around her trying to get her to shorten it to be more realistic for a 12 year old to film, she insisted it be feature length. She cast characters from her friends and classmates and held auditions for some of the uncast parts in her basement with the help of Rebecca Eliot Filming took place in Austin, Texas after school and on weekends using various locations such as a school and hospital lobby. Filming eventually had to pause because of Emilys homework. After the pause, she got permission from a local convenience store to film her final scene there. She excitedly counted down to this date, referring to it as "Zombie day." Unfortunately, most of the footage from Zombie Day got taped over but she was able to successfully reshoot the scenes needed. In 2005, after filming ended, she received a grant from the Texas Filmmakers Production Fund for post-production work, which she used to partially replace equipment necessary for post-production work that had been stolen during the shooting. A documentary entitled Zombie Girl: The Movie followed Hagin's filmmaking process. This documentary got a brief theatre release in Emily's hometown, letting more and more know about her movie.

Release

The film was released on Blu-ray on March 29, 2022.

Reception

Dread Central gave Pathogen four out of five blades, commenting that "Although this film was seen as a learning experience, many indie film-makers could learn a few things from it."