Zombie Comedy 'Deadheads' Staggers Home to Royal Oak for Good Cause

Royal Oak natives Brett and Drew Pierce know what it's like to grow up in a house of horrors.

The brothers were not yet 5 years old when their father, Bart, on special effects photography, and writer/director Sam Raimi were shooting the 1981 cult horror classic Evil Dead in their home. Brett wandered into the basement as the men were screening their shocking footage and he was forever changed.

At 7 p.m. Thursday at the , the Dondero High School graduates bring home their own horror film, Deadheads, to raise money for other student filmmakers. The romantic zombie comedy – a "road trip movie to die for," according to promotional materials – is about a guy and his friend who rise from the dead and go in search of one's former love.

The Pierce brothers – the writing/directing duo of FroBro Productions who now live in California – along with producer and fellow Dondero graduate Kevin Van Hagen, are donating proceeds from Thursday's screening of Deadheads to the Michigan Student Film & Video Festival, which takes place at the Detroit Institute of Arts in April every year to showcase the work of K-12 students.

The low-budget Deadheads, which was filmed primarily in Royal Oak, is quickly gaining cult status internationally, winning awards at Newport Beach, Traverse City, London, Toronto, Paris and Austin. Deadheads is climbing toward the top 100 at www.imdb.com, the popular source for movie, TV and celebrity content. Michigan filmmaker Michael Moore also selected Deadheads to be shown in July at the Traverse City Film Festival and the screening sold out in hours.

"It's a great blend of heart, humor and horror," said their former Dondero video production teacher, Kevin Walsh. "I was there during some of their shoots at Dondero (now ), in the woods of , and in the gym of . These guys have put everything into this effort and it really paid off.  Now they want to give back to other hopeful filmmaking students and help raise money for the festival."

Walsh, who lives in Royal Oak and is now video production teacher at West Bloomfield High School, is a board member for the festival's nonprofit group, DAFT (Digital Arts, Film and Television), which is comprised of filmmakers and educators from Metro Detroit who promote student exposure to the industry.

If you go

• What: Deadheads
• Who: Former Royal Oak residents Brett and Drew Pierce are the writers and directors, fellow Dondero graduate Kevin Van Hagen is the producer.
• When: 7 p.m. Thursday
• Where: Main Art Theatre, Royal Oak
• What else: The film is rated "R" so parents should leave their young ones home. Click here for a link to purchase tickets.