Zombies star in DV grads' new horror film

By Anya Tikka
MILFORD — Three recent Delaware Valley graduates have teamed up to document the evil forces, "seen and unseen," that lurk in the dark, Pennsylvania woods.
Their new zombie horror movie, "La Veglia" ("The Vigil"), will premiere Friday night in a free screening at the Milford Theatre.
Fernando Irizarry, who made the film with Nathanael King and Elias Johnson, described their film as "very dark." It takes place in a secluded cabin where the main characters are drawn to and grapple with those elusive malevolent forces.
The three young people wrote, filmed, and produced the movie with the help of a friend and volunteer cast.
Fernando and Elias sat down with the Courier while Nathanael, like any jet-setting filmmaker, participated via Face Time on his phone, since he'd just landed at JFK airport after a trip visiting relatives in Denmark. Nathanael directs and edits; Fernando, writes, edits, and composes music; and Elias acts and does make-up. But all share different tasks.
“All three of us worked on this together," Fernando said. "I did the first draft of the script in high school. I tried to figure out what I would like to do. It started as an experiment to see what I like doing.”
He'd started a film club in high school that showed movies, mostly horror, after school. The Delaware Valley school system lacked programs for students interested in a film career, he said, so he just made the best of the situation. The school provided the space for the screenings, though. But after an original flurry of enthusiasm that filled the screenings, they fizzled out.
"La Veglia" is a reworking of their film “Dusk of the Dead,” released two years ago, which the trio hurriedly put together in a few weeks.
Nathanael is now studying film in college in Utah.
“It takes typically a long time to get a film ready for release, with editing and giving it the final touches," he said. "We’ve learned a lot since first releasing the 'Dusk of the Dead.'"
Nathanael and Fernando spent the last four months editing the original film so that it was "not so much as tribute to horror movies,” but to stand on its own as a complete horror movie, Elias said. The work was done online, with Fernando in Milford and Nathanael in Utah both editing.

A scarier movie emerges

The new version uses much of the old footage, but with the scenes rearranged to make them more chronological. It also features some new footage and a completely new soundtrack composed by Fernando on synthesizer that retains the original's '70s- and '80s-type sound.
Elias said "La Veglia" has been re-edited with new color processing to "give it a different atmosphere."
Originally hired as a make-up artist, Elias also acts in the movie. He first met Fernando at a haunted hayride at the Black Walnut Inn.
“I was scaring people,” Fernando said with a smile.
Nathaniel and Fernando already knew each other from school, where they'd met in ninth grade.
Fernando said the original Frankenstein movies still have an enormous influence on horror films. Nathanael said the “seen and unseen forces” refer to zombies — “the seen” — and to satanic practices — “the unseen."
Fernando promises that the new version, "La Veglia," is much scarier than the first one. It spooked his own mother when she watched it.
The trio all plan to make careers in the film industry, and have already started on their third movie. They hope to raise money from donations at the Friday screening.
The Milford Theater is located at 14 East Catherine Street. Doors open at 7 p.m. Donations are welcome. Refreshments will be available.