Interview with “Detained” writer/director Jason Tammemägi

By John Reppion

Back in 2004 Dubliner Jason Tammemägi wrote, directed and produced an excellent zombie short entitled “Detained”. The film received rave reviews from the likes of www.allthingszombie.com and www.horrortalk.com and is now available to download for free from www.detainedthemovie.com.

Revenant’s John Reppion caught up with Jason to talk about the making of “Detained” and the differences between directing horror films and kid’s favourite Roobard and Custard Too

Rev: So, how does someone with a background in animation such as yourself come to write and direct their own zombie film? Have you always been a fan of the genre?

JT: I've always been a huge horror fan from my early teens on. I loved the “Nightmare on Elm Street” films and I think they hit just at the right time for me because they had that element of 'cool' that, at that age, I just couldn't resist. I wanted everything Freddy. Even back then, I was really interested in how they made the movies and would get any magazine or special I could that had behind-the-scenes shots. Some time during my teenage years I saw “Dawn of the Dead”. I was of course familiar with the concept of zombies but I think this was probably the first zombie film I had actually seen. Well, that film just stuck with me. It's brilliant. I don't know how many times I've seen “Dawn” at this stage. A lot. There's a strange beauty to the movie in the movement from those buildings early on to the gas station and then to the mall. The mall is a playground. It should be paradise. But at every stage, you're aware that it could fall apart at any moment. There's something special in that sense of fragility.

Even though I loved “Dawn”, it wasn't until adulthood that I really made an effort to track down other zombie films. I had seen “Night” at this stage, and the remake of that too. I hit my late twenties and just had to see more zombies. I find even the rubbish ones have something to offer. There is a sense of apocalypse with zombies, the destruction of society, that just creeps the hell out of me. Actually, maybe it's not the destruction of society - maybe it's that society hits a point where you no longer have a place. There's something huge in that.

So I had to do it at some stage - I had to make a zombie film. I had to put out my take on that society I guess.

Rev: When you were working on “Detained” was it a totally separate project from the work you do with Monster Animation & Design Limited?

JT: “Detained” was an extra-curricular activity but I got huge support from Monster. Gerard O'Rourke, the producer in Monster, knew it was something I really wanted to do and did absolutely everything he could to help out. Simon Crane, who did our make-up, was also actually an animator in Monster at the time. There was a lot of cross-over.

Rev: How does directing animation compare with directing real actors?

JT: Directing animation and directing live-action are very different in a lot of ways but the core is the same - portraying a scene in a way that is true. I think my animation work really helped because, in animation, so much of the directing is done in advance. You don't really edit afterwards in animation because it is just too costly to animate scenes and then throw them out, so you have to know what you are doing right from the start. The planning in animation has to be perfect before production starts. So I took a lot of that planning and applied it to “Detained”. Of course on a low budget shoot there are always things that are going to take you by surprise and require rethinks but I had a complete animatic of the short before we started shooting and it really helped keep me focussed.

There are major differences in actually directing the actors themselves though. Unlike animation, I can't get the perfect expression by asking them to make their eyes more centered or move their lips up a millimeter. I had to let them find their own ways to a large extent. In animation you have total control over every single line that goes into a production but, working with real actors, I had to learn that it's okay to hand that control over to the actors and just help steer by providing information or clues.

It was a massive learning experience.

Rev: Have you shown the film to any of the “Roobarb and Custard” people?

JT: I think I showed “Detained” to one of them if I remember correctly. I honestly don't think they were massively interested.

Rev: The film is incredibly professional looking, what was the budget and did you have trouble finding the money?

JT: The budget... well, really there wasn't one. This was a no-budget production. I felt I was on a creative mission and if I applied for this or that and had to wait I would lose steam and the thing would fall apart. So I just sort of told people 'look, I'm doing this thing. Can you help?' Most of the time, people did. I did end up spending money on it - mostly taxi and food money during the shoot itself.

But the people I got to help me were professionals. I knew this was my first time out directing live action and I would need all the help I could get. I couldn't find my feet while everyone else around me was doing the same. So I was lucky enough to recruit people who really knew what they were doing. Jarlath Conroy who played William McDermott in the original “Day of the Dead” upped the ante too. Once we found out he was coming over, everyone stepped up their game. It was like 'this is now serious stuff'.

Rev: Yes, I was going to ask about Jarlath’s involvement. He plays the part of a teacher called McAlester in the film, how did that come about?

JT: Getting Jarlath Conroy was a dream come true. I'm a huge fan of 'Day of the Dead'. The character of McDermott in particular really drew me into the film. But the thing is, McDermott is just about the laziest stereotype you could come across - a boozing Irishman. And yet Jarlath's performance brought something to the role, a reality, that for me made him a survivor. A real guy caught in the worst of bad situations. That was all Jarlath. When I was writing the character of McAlester, I always had the mental image of Jarlath in my mind. Older, with a whole different life story, but with that edge that Jarlath could bring. I didn't know at the time that having Jarlath play the character would be a reality.

I thought I'd give it a go. I mean, what did I have to lose? I managed to track him down and get him a message and, one night, he called me at home. I couldn't believe it. He read the script, liked it and told me that, if he could do it, he would. I was overjoyed. As it got closer to the time, it turned out he had a work commitment and it looked like he might not be able to make it. I was gutted. I lined up a replacement actor but, being honest, once I had it in my head that Jarlath might actually be able to do it, I just couldn't see the character working any other way.

At the last minute, I got a message from Jarlath - he could do it. He was coming over. It was full steam ahead. The man was brilliant. Such a great actor and he was so patient, which meant a lot to me. He knew this was my first time out and was so supportive and helpful with that. I guess everyone has to start somewhere and he still remembers that. He's a great guy.

I had in the script a moment where McAlester says 'Jesus' in shock. Somewhere in the early drafts, I had it as 'Jesus, Mary and Joseph' which actually really suited McAlester as I had imagined him. When Jarlath was playing that scene, I couldn't resist going back to the line as a tribute to “Day”. I'm not sure Jarlath appreciated it as much as I did!

Rev: How long did the film take to make, all told?

JT: Probably about a year. I know that sounds like ages for a 15-minute film but with all of the planning and then post-production being done outside work hours, it just went on and on. Once we had done the first shoot, it took me months to edit it and put the effects on. I did a massive amount of work myself in post-production and ended up recolouring just about every frame, adding light sources that weren't there when we shot, or even the odd depth of field trick that required frame by frame masking. It was a really long process. We shot the end seperately, many months later - those outdoor shots. I had wanted a bit of a downbeat ending but it just felt too small. Where were all the zombies? So we added those outdoor shots and that was great fun. I felt like that was real Romero stuff. We had our jawless zombie too, a little tribute to Dr.Tongue from “Day”.

Because I was doing some of this the hard way, every time I had to add new sections like this it ate up much more time than it should have.

Rev: There’s a pretty obvious “non-conformist” subtext to “Detained” and, as bleak as the film might seem to some viewers, I get the sense that it’s actually about following your dreams despite pressure to do otherwise, is that about right? Would you say that “Detained” is in anyway allegorically autobiographical?

JT: Absolutely. Much of what “Detained” is about is a snapshot of my thoughts at that time. It's a tale of fear I suppose. Worst case scenario. But the positive is in recognising where things are going and doing something about it - exactly what you're saying about following your dreams. This is where my children's cartoon work and my horror fixation actually go hand in hand: they are both about faith in humanity. I love making cartoons for children because entertaining a child is a wonderful thing to do. Giving a sense of positivity to a child, letting them know the world can be okay and that we really can all support one another and explore creativity and contribute to the well-being of those around us is how I try to make my hopes real. My hopes are that, one day (whether in my life time or not), we reach far beyond where we are right now. People are exceptional beings and can achieve so much.

But, when I look at the world we have created, it scares the hell out of me. I see people feeding on fear. I see horrific things. It gets to me. But the reason it gets to me is because I truly believe we are capable of so much better. So horror is a way of exploring my fears. That's one of the great things of the genre - often horror is a scrapbook of what fears humanity had at the time. Sometimes that can only be seen in context years later.

So with “Detained”, I was at a time in my life where I was seeing this weird corporate world and I didn't understand it. It seemed wrong to me - like one huge parasite. Yet we all exist in this world and take our place within that. I wondered why that is and, for me, it came back to school. That's where it all starts. This zombie outbreak? It has to begin in a school.

So Doyle ends up like someone like me at that time - someone who lives in a world of zombies, knows he lives in a world of zombies but ends up playing by their rules because to live outside of society would be much worse. He knew he didn't want to become one of them and, in ways he didn't, but maybe that's worse. Maybe he would have been happier living as one of them. Or perhaps, if he had truly resisted he might have had a better outcome. But can one man follow his dreams if the tide of a whole society is against him? Who knows.

But there is hope! The helicopter we hear at the end is a sign of hope. In many zombie films, helicopters are that last means of escape. If there are people in a helicopter, then there are people who have escaped this zombie world. So that's the last hint that there is still hope.

This was just where my head was at back then. It's kind of funny looking back at it all now. I'm just starting production on my latest children's show and I'm writing the scripts for that one and I can tell you that, as much as I love horror, children's stories are much better for the psyche! I sleep easier right now.

Rev: Irish film makers seem to have produced quite a number of zombie themed pictures over the last couple of decades (e.g. Zombie Genocide in 1993, The Eliminator 1996, Dead Meat in 2004, Boy Eats Girl in 2005), is there a deliberate “movement” that you are aware of or is there some other explanation?

JT: I don't think it's a deliberate movement but I guess Ireland is a small place and there are many shared experiences. The writer of Boy Eats Girl is a friend of mine and we would have talked about zombies a lot over the last ten years so that was going to be a natural step for both of us. Ireland has changed a lot in the last 15-20 years. I mean, huge changes. Maybe the stories of zombie outbreaks speak to us as a result of those changes and the fears that the changes are beyond our control. Or maybe we just think zombie movies are cool. Hard to know

Rev: You’ve recently made the film available for free download via the website [link will be inserted] was this a way of saying “I’m done with it, lets just get it out there for people to enjoy” or are there any plans to use the film as a show reel to try to raise funds for a feature length production? Have you any plans to produce any horror or zombie themed projects in the future? What does the future hold for Jason Tammemägi?

JT: That was pretty much it. I just wanted anyone who wanted to see “Detained” to be able to see it. A lot of people saw it at festivals but those numbers are still tiny in comparison with the amount of horror fans out there. It was time to just put it out there and let it spread. It's amazing how quickly it made it around. I spotted it the other day on Google videos or one of those sites. In general, it's had a great response.

It did get me some attention from the right people, which is great. As a direct result of “Detained”, interest grew in terms of what I could do with horror and I have recently got a project moving with Princess Pictures in Dublin. Still early stages but things are going really well with that. It's a full-length live-action horror. It's dark, creepy and I think it should strike a chord with a lot of people. No zombies but there are concepts in it that I think will speak to zombie fans. Unfortunately I can't say too much about that just yet but it's all looking good.

So right now I'm just getting stuck into the sweetest little children's show you could imagine and, if all goes well, this horror feature will follow it. After that, I have no idea! I have a few feature concepts and treatments lying around including a quite ambitious zombie epic but I'm taking things one step at a time.

Rev: Sounds great mate, please keep us posted about the film, best of luck with everything and thanks so much for the interview.

For more information on Detained and to view the full version of the film, please visit