Cockneys Vs Zombies: James Moran Interview

It’s the product of the deranged mind of James Moran ( Doctor Who , Torchwood: Children Of Earth , Severance ). James spoke to SFX for issues 225 and 226 (on sale now), but here’s a little more from the C vs Z writer:

SFX: What’s the balance of comedy and drama, and what sort of humour are we talking about?
James Moran: It's a black comedy, and it all comes from character and situation, rather than quips - the fun will be in the bizarre situations the characters get into, and how they react. There are some fun zombie moments that I don't think have been done before. There's a lot of heart to it, too - I call it a feelgood horror comedy. You end up really rooting for the characters, hoping for the best for them. Apart from "Mental" Mickey, who's a nutter.

What are your favourite zombie movies? And did any of them influence your writing, whether in terms of homage or deliberately trying to do something different?
Night Of The Living Dead , Dawn Of The Dead , and Day of The Dead - Romero is lord of the zombies. They're the best. I love loads though: Zombie Flesh Eaters , Return Of The Living Dead , Shaun Of The Dead , Braindead - all the usual suspects. The Dead was another brilliant recent example. We didn't homage movies deliberately, so I binned several scenes because they felt similar to others. But the characters are aware of zombie movies, and they know what zombies are – there’s no timewasting, "Oh my god, how do we kill them" nonsense. They're zombies! Get on with it!

Ian Berriman has been working for SFX – the world's leading sci-fi, fantasy and horror magazine – since March 2002. He's also a regular writer for Electronic Sound. Other publications he's contributed to include Total Film, When Saturday Comes, Retro Pop, Horrorville, and What DVD. A life-long Doctor Who fan, he's also a supporter of Hull City, and live-tweets along to BBC Four's Top Of The Pops repeats from his @TOTPFacts account.