New York Mills Casting Call Seeks Zombie Extras for Indie Thriller

Joel Trujillo needs an army of the undead, and he's recruiting in New York Mills.

The writer-director of JFT Film Productions has announced an open casting call for Darkness, his upcoming independent zombie thriller, set for Thursday, April 9 from 6 to 9 p.m. in Room 108, the Media Center at New York Mills High School. Adults 18 and older are eligible. No prior acting experience is required, and selected participants will be notified within 24 hours.

Darkness is a "character-driven survival thriller" set in a near-present world where a recent pandemic has triggered an outbreak that reanimates the dead. Trujillo is casting primarily for zombie background extras but also has a handful of limited speaking roles available, along with makeup and crew positions for anyone with related experience or interest.

On filling out the undead ranks, Trujillo was blunt: "We can use lots of zombie extras, more zombie extras the better. I mean, it's a zombie movie, why wouldn't you have enough zombies to show up?"

Residents can come to the April 9 call as they are; Trujillo said a simple showing of what they can do is sufficient, though bringing a photo and contact information is helpful when possible.

Principal photography is scheduled to begin in late May or early June, with shooting planned across central Minnesota: New York Mills, Wadena, Staples, Perham and the Otter Tail Lakes region. One scripted scene places a survivor at Otter Tail Lake itself, where a zombie pulls the character into the water, a sequence the production team matched to the area's wooded shorelines.

For anyone drawn to the behind-the-scenes work, the casting call also serves as the entry point for makeup and crew roles. A feature film credit, even for an independent production, can carry real weight in a professional portfolio or on a college application, and opportunities like this one rarely surface in central Minnesota without a long drive.

The production's shooting schedule will route crews and vendors through the region for weeks, bringing with it the short-term spending that follows any film shoot: location fees, meals, lodging and local hires. For New York Mills, the casting call on April 9 is where that economic activity begins.