Halloween may be more than a month away, but it’s never too early to go zombie hunting.

A new, 57-acre attraction in South Surrey is billing itself as an immersive, zombie-fighting experience. Dressed up in tactical gear and armed with paint guns, you and your platoon must fend off wave after wave of the undead under the cover of thick forest.

And, judging from the photos, these aren’t your garden-variety, dress-up zombies. The production is the work of local special effects master Ron McCall, who has worked in big-time horror and thriller flicks, according to a recent article in the Vancouver Sun.

Ghouls with bloodied and battered faces stalk you from every direction, while a soundtrack of gunfire, air raids and blood-curdling screams blares. Smoke, pyrotechnics and splattered blood add to the chaos.

The highly scripted, 45-minute experience is more live theatre than paintball. Combatants are part of a critical military mission to rescue a group of trapped scientists who are frantically trying to find a cure for the zombie plague. After a briefing by a soldier, you and your troops are sent into battle, with limited ammunition and only the faintest idea of the zombie-filled mayhem that awaits in the Surrey forest.

Zombie Combat Zone starts this Friday, Sept. 14, and runs Thursdays through Sundays until Nov. 15 at Panther Paintball, located in Surrey at 19022 16th Ave. Because of the vivid nature of the experience, participants must be 16 or older, unless accompanied by a parent. Advance reservations are required at zombiecombatzone.com. A one-person tour is $95; but if you get a group together the price is as low as $50 per person for a group of 12.

If you’re looking for something a little less intense, you can also check out the Gauntlet of the Dead ($20 per person), which opens closer to Halloween. It’s a tour through a zombie infested forest where “the only thing to do is survive till the end!” Fun for the whole family!

Anyone been zombie hunting yet? What did you think of it? Let us know.