Abe Forsythe on "Little Monsters" and How Lupita Nyong’o Got Taylor Swift to Help Their Zombie Flick

"How would you protect a class of kids from a zombie attack and stop their minds from being corrupted?"

Little Monsters writer-director Abe Forsythe didn’t set out to write just a zombie film.

Rather, as he tells Student Edge, he wanted to capture a contrast between the innocence of children and the horrors of the real world, and inspiration struck during a school excursion where Forsythe was chaperoning his son and 24 of his classmates.

"I thought, 'What if there was a zombie outbreak?' How would you protect a class of kids from a zombie attack and stop their minds from being corrupted?"

"I wanted to convey how children see the world and the worst of human behaviour, and you can’t have one without the other," he adds.

"Zombies seemed like a way to represent the horrors of the world in a fun way."

The film (which is now in select cinemas before becoming available on Foxtel from 29 November) stars Alexander England as Dave, an obnoxious failed musician who chaperones his nephew Felix (Diesel La Torraca) and his classmates on a school trip to a petting zoo in the hopes of impressing Felix’s teacher Miss Caroline (Lupita Nyong’o). Due to a military mishap, Dave, Miss Caroline and Felix’s class end up at the zoo amid a zombie outbreak. To make matters worse, they’re stranded with children’s entertainer Teddy McGiggle (Josh Gad). Together, the adults attempt to shield the kids from the carnage through the guise of a game as they look for an escape. 

The Australian filmmaker, known for the controversial 2016 film Down Under, a black comedy set during the aftermath of the Cronulla riots, didn’t set out to write a zombie film as such.

"It just kind of happened," he says.

The motivation behind the film is Forsythe’s son, who, like Felix in the film, suffers from a range of health conditions including life-threatening allergies.

"It was difficult for me to hand over my son to his teacher when he started kindergarten," Forsythe says.

"He had never been out of my care before and I was scared of having to give responsibility for his health to someone else, but his teacher was incredible. She opened his eyes to a world outside of me. It made me realise just how important teachers are, so the film shines a spotlight on them as heroes as well."

Oscar winner Nyong’o takes on the role of Miss Caroline with dignity and strength, enforcing Forsythe’s notion that teachers are "special".

It took six months of editing to find the correct balance for the film, ensuring that both sides of human behaviour were represented.

"There’s such innocence in the way a five-year-old perceives their surroundings and I wanted to articulate everything a child can teach us about the world and ourselves," Forsythe says.

"Even in the more profound parts of the film, you’re always drawn back to the truth and beauty through the eyes of a five-year-old."

Dig a little deeper and there is potential to find even more in Little Monsters according to Forsythe. But he prefers the audience to make their own meaning.

"Subtext is important for film… for example, Night of the Living Dead is about racism and Dawn of the Dead is about consumerism," he explains.

"I like films with layers, it’s always interesting to see how the audience interprets them. One interpretation I came across for this film was the idea it was actually about border protection."

A more obvious theme is the way in which people are just as capable of transforming into monsters as they are capable of redemption and compassion.

There is also a wonderful cultural reference to Star Wars through Felix’s obsession with dressing as Darth Vader as a way of finding courage.

"Like the character of Felix, my son found his confidence from dressing up as Vader, so it was important to include that in the film," Forsythe says.

Music also plays a big part in the movie, with Abe even securing the rights to Taylor Swift’s "Shake It Off". After working for months to get the rights to the song, he found the fee exceeded what they could afford. Luckily, Lupita saw the song as crucial to the script and wrote a letter to Taylor Swift. The rights came through a few days later.

"Music has a wonderful way of uniting people which is seen in the film. I was really grateful to Lupita for helping us secure the rights," he adds.

Little Monsters is now in select Australian cinemas. It will be available to rent on Foxtel from 29 November.

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