Exclusive Interview: Aaron Truss on ‘Employee of the Dead’

A new British independent horror film is preparing to rise from the grave, but Employee of the Dead isn’t quite the zombie movie audiences might expect. For writer-director Aaron Truss, his film is more than just another indie horror project. In many ways, it is the culmination of nearly two decades of memories, grief, friendship and filmmaking obsession, all wrapped inside a zombie comedy with a surprisingly personal heart beating beneath the gore.

At first glance, the plot seems simple and a little chaotic: a frustrated supermarket worker secretly shoots a no-budget zombie movie during his night shifts while desperately trying to become a “real” filmmaker before turning 40. But according to Truss, the roots of the story are entirely genuine.

“This is based on a true story,” he explains. “In 2008, I was at university and our lecturer set us an assignment to go away over the weekend, shoot and edit a short film.” At the time, Truss was working nights at a Sainsbury’s supermarket in Chislehurst. “I thought, well, why don’t I use the supermarket and do it on a night shift?”

Together with friends including actor Joe Acres (co-writer and producer)  and Harry Potter star Rob Knox, Truss secretly shot a zombie short film inside the supermarket overnight, sneaking onto the shop floor after closing time and filming before the store reopened the next morning. “We stormed the Sainsbury’s just before closing time,” he recalls. “We shot this 10 to 12 minute zombie movie where the store manager eats some bad shepherd’s pie… and it turns him into a zombie.”

Remarkably, they got away with it. “We cleaned up any blood, any mess we made and that was it,” Truss laughs. “We went back to Ealing, edited it, and showed it at the pub and it was a right laugh.”

But the story took a devastating turn only weeks later when Rob Knox was tragically murdered. “Rob never saw the film,” Truss says quietly. “It was actually the last time we ever saw him alive.”

For years afterwards, Employee of the Dead became something Truss found difficult to revisit emotionally. “Anything involving that, I was just like, I don’t want to understand it. It was really hard.”

The project remained dormant until horror filmmaker Jake West entered the picture. After watching the original short during a Christmas gathering, West immediately saw something bigger hidden within it. “I was really embarrassed,” Truss admits. “I was cringing and thinking, ‘Oh God, the guy from Doghouse is watching my shitty Sainsbury’s zombie movie.’ But it was the complete opposite reaction. Jake loved it.”

West’s suggestion fundamentally reshaped the project. “He said, ‘What if you did a film about how you made the film?’” Truss recalls. “Then I was like, oh, well, that’s a comedy, and I’m bang up for that.”

That pivot transformed Employee of the Dead from a straightforward zombie movie into something far more self-aware and personal: a comedy about aspiring filmmakers desperately trying to make a horror film while their lives unravel around them. “It’s been an almost 20-year journey,” Truss says. “Unbeknownst to any of us, that we would take something we did when we were 18 and bring it to audiences now.”

One of the biggest misconceptions Truss is already keen to address is the inevitable comparison to Shaun of the Dead. “People started saying to me, ‘Oh, you’re making a zombie film like Shaun of the Dead,’” he says. “And I’m like, no, no, it’s much more detailed and heartfelt than that.”

Instead, he describes the film more like School of Rock filtered through horror fandom. “As long as you believe that Hooban is a true horror fan and he’s making a horror film, then that’s all that matters.”

That meta approach extends directly into the structure itself. Truss reveals that audiences will actually see the low-budget zombie movie being made inside the film, complete with shifting aspect ratios, grading changes and a completely different visual style. “The letterboxing would come in, the grade would change, the music would change, and we would see them acting in a horror movie.”

Those sequences will carry a very specific influence too. “I said to Jake, I want to have that early Razor Blade Smile feel like Club Death,” he says. West has now come aboard not only as producer but also as director of the “film within the film” horror sequences. “It’s not about egos or anything,” Truss explains. “It’s about what’s best for the film.”

One of the film’s biggest talking points will undoubtedly be the casting of Dani Harmer, forever associated with Tracey Beaker, in a horror comedy packed with gore and genre references. Truss is fully aware audiences will initially latch onto the contrast. “People kept saying to me, ‘Oh, you’re doing Tracey Beaker versus zombies,’” he laughs. “And I was like, no, but keep saying it because that’s a good marketing hook.”

Yet Harmer’s involvement goes far deeper than novelty casting. She previously worked alongside Rob Knox, and the emotional connection to the project resonated strongly with her. “When we had the conversation, we were laughing our heads off,” Truss says. “I just put it to her like, ‘Do you want to be involved?’ And she was like, ‘Hell yeah.’”

Crucially, Truss says Harmer immediately understood the emotional core beneath the horror references. “Despite all the horror references, she saw the heart of the story.”

The growing cast also includes Nicholas Vince, who appears in a deliberately unexpected comedic role, and Ellie Rae Winstone, whose audition tape alongside father Ray Winstone left the filmmakers stunned. “Her tape floored us,” Truss says. “We were absolutely awestruck by her performance.”

Now, with the IndieGoGo campaign preparing to launch in June, Truss and his team are hoping horror fans will rally behind the project and help bring the feature fully to life. The campaign itself has become a major production in its own right, featuring multiple promo videos, behind-the-scenes content and extensive fan interaction.

“We don’t want it to just be, ‘Thanks for the money, see you in two years,’” Truss explains. “We want to include people.”

Supporters will be invited directly into the filmmaking process through digital Q&As, production updates, personalised on-set messages and behind-the-scenes access. “They’re not just giving money,” Truss says. “They’re actually part of the journey.”

For Truss, that sense of community feels entirely appropriate for a project born from friendship, collaboration and a lifelong love of horror cinema. “I’m just incredibly lucky to have so many people who want to see this film come to life,” he says.

The Employee of the Dead IndieGoGo campaign launches on 30th June, the promo video is prepped (and looking fantastic), and there will be new exclusive content dropping across the film’s social media channels from 30 May onwards. Film fans and supporters can follow the project on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, with a mailing list also launching soon for updates, exclusives and campaign access.

And we will be sharing more exciting news about this release as it comes.