The guys at Left Films, our distributors, have done a great job on capturing what the film is all about. It’s fun, it’s gory, it’s got zombies, it’s got boobs. It’s pretty much like Ronseal quick drying woodstain – it does what it says on the tin.

The DVD will be available in all good DVD retailers on January 9th. You can pre-order your copy on Amazon right now for just £8.99 or you can add it to your LoveFilm queue.

PLUS here’s some really exciting news for any of our overseas fans. The Stag Night of the Dead DVD will be a Region 0 release so it’s not restricted by territory. Provided you have a device which can play PAL discs, you’ll be able to watch the film. How cool is that?

So what are you waiting for? Head on over to Amazon right now and pre-order your copy of the 4 star rated, award winning Stag Night of the Dead. It’s a comedy. It’s a zombie film. It’s a B-movie. It’s a Zom-B-Com.

We initially met Jeff when we were putting together one of our short films, Reco Men. After completion, we started work on our first feature length film and knew that we had to have the big man on board. His enthusiasm was infectious and we knew that whatever our next project was, we wanted to have him involved.

The script for ‘Stag Night of the Dead’ was written to ensure that Jeff was going to be a pivotal part of the story line and that’s how it transpired. We cast Jeff as the uber villain in the film and he delivered as we knew he would.

We all wish he could be with us on January 9th when the film is released in the UK.

Jeff – Wherever you may be, we will raise a glass to you. Without you, this film would not have been possible. We’ll miss you.

I know it has been a long time coming but I’m pleased to confirm that we have signed a distribution agreement for SNOTD in the UK and Ireland and have another agreement for Worldwide sales.

We’re delighted to be working with Left Films and look forward to a long and successful relationship with them.

Helen Grace from Left Films (‘Zombie Women of Satan’, ‘Ninjas vs Vampires’, ‘Colin’) continues: “I’m very much looking forward to working on the release of SNOTD, having enjoyed watching the film and appreciated the appetite of zombie fans for something new in the genre“.

So, without further ado:

Stag Night of the Dead will be released on DVD and iTunes in the UK January 6th and discussions are under way for a release in the US later in the year.

A brand new teaser trailer for Stag Night of the Dead will also be released shortly. We’ll update this blog post with details of where you can see it as soon as it’s online.

We’d like to thank you for your patience. It’s been a long journey for everyone involved in the film so it’s great to be able to share this news with you at long last.

I’m off for a lie down. The excitement has been too much…

UPDATE

Fangoria, the world’s biggest website for horror hounds, has the WORLD EXCLUSIVE. You can now see the brand new teaser trailer as well as some pics from the film and an interview with The Guvnor over on the Fangoria website: Exclusive trailer and pics from Stag Night of the Dead.

Competition 1

It’s the usual bog standard Twitter competition where you simply retweet a message to go into the virtual hat. Here’s the message you need to RT:

Stag Night of the Dead, new comedy zombie movie out now for $1.99. Win a signed #snotd poster http://bit.ly/watchsnotd RT to win

The prize here is a signed limited edition version of the SNOTD preview screening poster. Now when we say “limited edition”, we’re not kidding. Only 10 of these bad boys were ever printed. It’ll be personally signed by Napoleon Jones, the director, with your own special message.

Competition 2

This one involves a little more thought and maybe, just maybe, having to watch SNOTD. With this competition we’re going to open up to you too, our lovely blog readers since we realise not everyone is on Twitter.

To win, you need to tell us how many times the word FUCK is said in SNOTD.

We’re a bunch of potty mouths here at Zomball Towers so you’ll need more than your fingers to count ‘em all!

If you’re on Twitter, tweet us with the number followed by the #snotd hashtag. If you’re entering via the blog, just leave your answer in the comments section below.

The prize here is one of the signed quad posters PLUS a signed DVD when it comes out, a signed copy of the SNOTD script and we’ll also throw in one of these rather fetching Stag Night of the Dead t-shirts.

DEADLINE: The closing date for both competitions is midnight GMT Friday 12th November 2010.

Best of luck, everyone. Now go get tweeting!

You can now watch the full length movie for just $1.99 by clicking on the Watch Now button just above you.

A big shout out to the guys at Dynamo Player who have been awesome in their support for the film and for helping us get the bugger out there at last!

We’ll be back soon with news on the DVD launch but in the meanwhile watch SNOTD online and let us know what you think.

P.S. To all of you folks finding us on Google via Stag Night of the Dead torrent or SNOTD torrent, don’t be such a cheap arse! It’s only a couple of dollars and you’ll be supporting independent filmmakers. We’re not some massive studio, you know. We’re just a bunch of guys who like zombie movies and, judging by the fact that you’re looking for a zombie movie for free, so do you. So come on, play the game guys.

It’s been a long time coming but everyone’s favourite comedy zombie movie* Stag Night of the Dead is finally ready to be unleashed.

According to the bigwigs over in Hollywood, you’re supposed to drip feed your film into the cinemas country by country meaning that people in Zaire see the film last of all after America (They do it alphabetically. Honest.). Then a few months later release a DVD in lots of different formats with regional encoding so the copy you bought in England won’t work when you’re visiting your granny in Canada. After that you get a chance to rent the film at Blockbusters Dave’s Video Emporium then it goes to PPV satellite or cable and then it goes…..Well, you know the story.

Now, at Zomball Films, we like to do things a little bit differently so we’ve torn up the rule book. We say PAH! to the old school way of doing things.

We’re going to let everyone in the world see the film on the same day at the same time.

Get ready for a treat with no tricks. Stag Night of the Dead will be available to watch online this Halloween anywhere in the world!

We’re really pleased to be partnering with those lovely folks over at Dynamo to present SNOTD in glorious technicolour over the world wide webs. You’ll be able to rent the film via our website and watch it on your computer whenever you want to. No more of that having to wait until some big cheese in LA decides when you can watch the film. You watch it when YOU want to watch it where ever you want to watch it.

Now doesn’t that feel like a more civilised way of doing things?

If you like the film, you can then buy the DVD when it’s released later this year. It will be region free so you can watch it on any DVD player anywhere in the world and will be loaded with tons of extras including behind the scenes footage, deleted scenes, bloopers reel and two featurettes on the making of Stag Night of the Dead plus what we’ve learned as independent filmmakers along the way.

And just to complete the whole arse-about-face way we’re doing things here, we’re also planning on taking the film out on a mini-tour to cinemas next year.

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Wasn’t the DVD supposed to be coming out this Halloween too?
Well, yes it was but we missed the deadline to get the film to the BBFC and, since it’s illegal to sell a DVD in the UK without certification, we’ve had to postpone the DVD launch. Much as we’d like to be able to offer you the DVD this Halloween, the thought of bumping into Big Bubba in the showers at HMP Pentonville fills us with terror so we’ve pushed the release date back.

So when’s the DVD coming out, Godammit?
Rather than give you a date and then welch on the deal (we’ve got previous for that), all we can say at the moment is that you don’t have to worry about what to buy Granny for Christmas this year. Besides, the extra time means we can cram even more SNOTD goodliness onto the DVD.

Who is distributing the film?
We are.

So you mean you didn’t get any offers from proper distributors, then?
On the contrary, we spoke with a number of distributors who were looking to take the film on but we decided, for various reasons, to take the film on ourselves and go down the DIY route. It’s all that Jon Reiss‘ fault, you know….That’s not to say that we won’t succumb to the lure of the Yankee dollar if someone were to offer us gazillions for the rights. (Note: if you do want to offer us gazillions, get your people to speak to our people, OK?)

How much will it cost to rent the film?
We’ve not confirmed the price but it’s likely to be about £3 ($4.50 USD) for a seven day rental.

Will you be offering a download to own version of the film?
Yes we will be. We’re in the process of finalising the platform for that and will let you know when it’s available. Follow us on Twitter or join our Facebook page and you’ll get the latest news about when the DTO version is available and where you can see Stag Night of the Dead on the big screen.

Stag Night of the Dead on the big screen? Squeeee! Tell me more!
Well since you asked so nicely, I will. We’re planning on taking the film to selected cinemas next year. Nothing has been confirmed at the moment for the simple reason that we want your input as to where to screen it. There’s no point showing the film at the Shetland Islands Picture House if nobody wants to come and see it so we’ll be asking you, the fans, where you’d like to see the film.

Does that include America?
If there’s enough interest then sure, we’d love to bring the film over.

What about Australia?
Strewth, cobber, if enough Bruce’s and Sheila’s want to throw a few shrimps on the barbie and see the film on the big screen then why not?

What about The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea?
Ermm…probably not.

Isn’t the way you’re releasing the film a bit backward?
Not really. If anything, the “traditional” way of releasing a film is the one that is backward. The fat cats in Hollywood seem to be ignoring the fact that things are different in the 21st Century. People are no longer prepared to wait to see a film until they’re told they can. They want to see it on their terms, not terms dictated by The Man. We recognise that things are different in today’s digital world so we’re removing some of the old school barriers. Over time we think you’ll see more films being released like this.

I’ve got another question….
Well I’m afraid we’ve run out of time so why not leave a comment below and we’ll come back to you on that.

Thanks for taking the time to read this monster length blog post. I know I promised not to write another one after the last time but sometimes I just can’t help myself. I was going to send a tweet but somehow 140 characters just didn’t seem enough…

Yours,

The Mascot

* – well it’s my favourite comedy zombie movie, anyway. Although I did quite like Shaun of the Dead too…

It’s been nearly 9 months since we last updated the blog. That’s, like, enough time to have a baby and everything. Where has the time gone? Why have we foresaken you? Where’s the old trailer? Why are there no links on the menu bar any more? Whatever happened to the likely lads? Who killed JFK?

The answer to these, and many more questions, will be answered shortly* but first let me tell you that Stag Night of the Dead has a pencilled release date.

Yes, that’s right. Stag Night of the Dead – everyone’s favourite comedy zombie movie (or it will be when the fucker finally gets out there) will be available to own, cherish and buy from the Taiwanese woman down the pub any day soon.

Corky! Exciting news, eh?

So why has it been so long? After all, we had the cast and crew screening back in August last year. Well the truth is that it comes down to a number of factors.

We had a few issues with the picture quality which needed to be fixed. Taking on board advice from a number of the distribution companies who attended the screening, we took the decision to completely remaster the film. Now although the film isn’t Lord of the Rings in terms of length, this still meant going back through the film frame by frame and making changes. For those in the know, the film was shot 25fps so that’s 25 frames for every second you see on screen. Multiply that by an 85 minute running time equals 127,500 frames which needed to be fixed.

Great. So why so long?

Well once we’d tidied up those 127,500 frames, we then needed to take the picture back to our digital FX guru, Simon Fortescue, to put the SFX back in. I can’t remember the exact number but there are over a thousand digital effects shots on the film and these things take time. Literally painting in each effect frame by frame.

We then hit a bit of a roadblock over one scene. I don’t want to get into potential litigious grounds here so let’s just refer to it as the scene where a guy in a grey cardigan sings (badly – sorry Doug) 5 seconds of a cartoon theme song. Well the owners of the rights to the “song” wanted a ridiculous amount of money for us to use this. Basically we had to cut the scene BUT this then meant a change to the underpinning score…

To date, I believe we have burnt out three full spec computers on the project. The processing required to render the files was simply too much and they stuck their legs in the air and died.

On top of that, The Guvnors latest beast of a machine (more power than it took to fly man to the moon) decided it didn’t want to play any more and the hard drive threw a wobbly. Only a very expensive trip to a data recovery company meant we didn’t have to go back up to Bentwaters and start shooting all over again…

Now remember, everyone working on SNOTD is doing it for little or no money. We’re not making a “worthy” film so there was never any chance of the UK film funding agencies investing in us so this has all been self funded.

The fact is that paid work comes up which takes us all away from the project. Everyone involved in the making of this film is doing it because they love the film and believe in it. However, bills still need to be paid.

Oh and remember that 9 months baby thing I mentioned earlier? Well The Guvnor, or perhaps more importantly The Real Guvnor, had a baby boy during all this. The endless hours of dealing with the sleepless nights, the shit everywhere, the constant need for attention took it’s toll on The Guv…and then James arrived (9lb 6oz for all the ladies who’ll want to know). Needless to say, The Guv’s priorities were changed somewhat.

There’s been lot’s of other stuff going on in the background which I won’t bore you with but, sufficed to say, we’re now on the closing stretch and the film will be out in the immediate future.

So. What next?

Firstly we’re revamping the website as you can see. All of the links to the old pages have gone and we’ll be looking to get a brand new website online by the end of June. It will contain a lot more info about the film as well as more stuff to keep you folks entertained.

Secondly, we’ve taken down the old trailer for the film. Why? Because it sucked. It was cobbled together so that The Guv and I had something to show when we took SNOTD to Cannes and, in truth, no longer reflected the quality of the film. So we’re just finishing off the new trailer and it will be available within the next 10-14 days which leads me on nicely to my next point.

Thirdly, we’re in the process of beta testing our new Facebook Fan Page. The idea behind this is to consolidate everything into one place and make it easier for you to interact with us. We won’t be stopping our Twitter account or stop blogging but we wanted to create a space that rewarded everyone for their participation and involvement with the film and for being fans of the movie. So we’ll be setting up a VIP area which will give you:

• First access to all of the latest SNOTD news including the new trailer, dates of the films release and where you can see the film
• Behind the scene photos
• Discount coupons for the DVD
• Exclusive SNOTD merchandise

Our new Facebook Fan Page will not only give you first access to any SNOTD information but will also allow you to interact with other SNOTD fans so you can join up with the beta version of the page by going to facebook.com/zombiemovie.

For those of you not on Facebook, we’ll also be setting up an email distribution list which will give you the same perks. We should be getting that sorted within the next few days.

Fourthly (is there such a word?), in recognition of the fact that everyone we speak to about the film refers to it as SNOTD, we’ve ponied up for a new domain name so you can either access the site via www.stagnightofthedead.com or www.snotd.com. Either way, you end up in the same place but I know how tough it can be to remember domain names. You’ve had a drink…she looked hot…she gave you here URL…yadda, yadda, yadda…

Fifthly (definitely no such word), we’ll be reaching out to all the SNOTD fans and zombie movie fans over the next few weeks to help us get the film out there. For those of you lucky enough to get to the screening, and here’s a review of Stag Night of the Dead if you weren’t, you’ll know that we’ve put together a potential gem of a zombie movie which will appeal to both zombie and non-zombie fans alike. However we’ll need you help so become a fan on Facebook, subscribe to the SNOTD blog and follow us on Twitter. Rest assured that you will get your reward in Heaven. Or Hell. Your choice.

Thanks for getting to the end of this lengthy blog post. (Mental Note: Must not leave it nine months between blogging) I know it’s been a massively long wait for those of you involved from the outset. Please be assured that the end is nigh! Soon Stag Night of the Dead will be out there and we can continue with our plans for world domination!

Yours,

(an ever so slightly deranged) Mascot

* – Dunno the answer to the JFK one, to be honest.

After nearly four years in the making, Stag Night of the Dead had it’s first public airing last weekend as the ODEON Covent Garden hosted the pre-release screening of our new zombie comedy film.

Over two hundred people joined us for the screening and the after party at Verve including most of the cast and crew. We were also joined by the lucky winners of our Twitter and Zombie Times competitions.

We’ll be posting a review of the night later this week but, in the meantime, here’s a video of the evening and you can also read a review of the film over at Zombie Command.

It’s less than a week until the pre-release screening of the new zom-com Stag Night of the Dead and to celebrate we’ve launched our new zombie movie merchandise store.

You can now pick up zombie t-shirts including an 80′s retro style “Zombie Say” tee (remember the old “Frankie Say Relax” tees?), Zombie On Board maternity t-shirts as well as stuff for the kids – When I Grow Up I Want To Be A Zombie – and a cute bib for the baby that wants brains. There’s even a cheeky little thong in there for those who like that kind of thing…

You’ll also be able to pick up Stag Night of the Dead branded gear including crew shirts, coffee cups, beer steins, notebooks, badges and lots more. Head on over to the SNOTD Merchandise Store now and pick up a bargain. You’ll be the cool kid on the street and no mistake.

We’re also selling a limited edition framed print of the UK quad poster for the pre-release screening. The framed print measures 19″x15″ and is only available until September 1st so if you want a copy you’d better scoot on over to the new store. It’ll look great above the TV!

Our friends over at Terror4fun are running a competition to win five pairs of tickets for the screening PLUS access to the after party via their excellent Zombie Times newsletter.

If you want to keep up to date with all things zombie, we heartily recommend joining the mailing list. Not only do they list all the latest zombie movies coming out and competitions to win zombie DVDs but they regularly feature films that are looking for zombie extras. We know. We placed an ad there and got over 100 zombies for our film!

So to enter head on over to the competitions page and whilst you’re there, subscribe to the newsletter.

CLOSING DATE: August 20th