Guts, brains, and a cinematic statement on what it's like to be trapped in a town are the tenets of an upcoming short film called Draino. This Denton-made film is written and directed by Cody Smith, who utilized a talented pool of Dentonites to bring his vision to life.

Two key ingredients to making a successful zombie film are enthusiasm and great makeup. Andy Arrasmith, who has collaborated with Brett Bentman (twice the recipient of a Texas Filmmaker of the Year award), was tapped to bring his makeup skills to Smith's vision. Zombie extras were rallied through an open call for auditions and largely consisted of those in the production team's friendship circle.

Travis Barton, the male vocalist of I Am Man, I Am Monster, stars in the lead role. In fact, his band's own concert at Andy's Bar was filmed for the opening scene in which Barton's character takes home a lady he meets that night. For the rest of the film, they're fighting through underground tunnels to escape zombie hordes.



Principal photography took place throughout March and April, and Smith expects to have the film completed by the end of summer. It was filmed in collaboration with Bane Joseph Cook of Mildly Distorted, LLC. Until the film is completed, all that can be seen is a short teaser that shows influences of comic books and grindhouse films. Stay up to date on the film's progress on their Facebook page.