The strange, frightening world of the undead has been a perennial favorite among fans of horror thanks in large part to the hit AMC series THE WALKING DEAD, plus many other fondly remembered movies like NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (both the original and later, lesser remakes), DAWN OF THE DEAD (and its remake – which was effing bad ass), WORLD WAR Z (which was effing terrible), and comedy/horror hybrids like SHAUN OF THE DEAD.

Web series have also contributed to that popular horror sub-genre, and the latest to continue that trend is the new web series SMELLS LIKE DEAD, created by Chris Fequet and Alexander Potvin of Montreal-based Swing And A Miss Productions. The series’ first season of 8 episodes will stream on its soon-to-be launched official web site (see link below), and both its creators say that the series will launch either later this November or in mid-December.

SMELLS LIKE DEAD takes place in the dark, uncertain days of a zombie apocalypse and follows the lives of two immature, uncouth slackers: Dominic Evans (played by Fequet), who’s unemployed and heavily dependent on his girlfriend Emily (played by Sam Olson), and Roger Swanson (played by Jeremy Lacombe), a guy who constantly strikes out with the ladies due to his obnoxious behavior, but embarks on his many romantic escapades with the best of intentions. After a long night of drinking, Dominic’s life takes a frightening turn the next morning when he wakes up to find that his kitchen has turned into a bloody crime scene – leading to Dominic fearing that he may be a killer, and Roger trying to help him make sense of the situation in comical fashion. As they soon find out, what they’ve seen may only be the beginning of a more frightening scenario. The series also stars Delphine DiTecco as Kate Butler, a resilient, caring but mysterious woman who assumes leadership of her now-Senator father’s large pharmaceutical corporation – and who soon figures prominently in the series’ larger story.

SMELLS LIKE DEAD hopes to accomplish the same goals of the popular TV series that inspired it, bringing viewers an upfront, in your face experience that features edgy horror mixed with comedy and memorable characters. As Potvin explains, fans deserve to see that distinctive style of storytelling on full display. “After I watched the first season of THE WALKING DEAD, I realized just how good a zombie series could actually be. It was realistic and brutal, but also character driven and engaging. Until that show came around, I personally think fans of the genre have been subjected to nothing but letdowns. So it got me thinking about borrowing the same intense atmosphere, and applying it to characters loosely based on me and Chris.”

Originally developed as a feature-length movie inspired by, and in the vein of THE WALKING DEAD, Potvin and Fequet say that SMELLS LIKE DEAD almost never got past the development stage – in large part due to the harsh realities of the business of indie filmmaking. “Alex was actually in the middle of writing a similar story to SLD (SMELLS LIKE DEAD) when he approached me with the idea he had for a comedic style WALKING DEAD feature film. After I had read what he had so far, laughing the whole way through, I was totally on board. About six months together writing it, he sat me down and explained his growing concerns that the project was becoming too much of a distraction on his real life, especially since it realistically won’t be picked up. That’s not to say he didn’t think it was good enough, it’s just how the business works. So he proposed we dissect it, make it a web series and do it all ourselves. Two years later, here we are,” Fequet says.

In order to find the series’ ensemble cast, Potvin and Fequet took advantage of a combination of social media outreach and old fashioned face to face auditions; the former helping them to find their leading lady, DiTecco. At first, the task of finding her male counterpart was a challenge, but became less daunting thanks to the show’s on-set leader. “At the suggestion of our director (Jonathan Dubsky) we went to the Montreal School of Performing Arts and sought out non-union actors who specifically fit what we were looking for in terms of the role. We then held a second round of auditions for the male lead only, which is where we found Jeremy Lacombe on the very last audition! We also used some of the actors who had previously auditioned to fill minor roles for the series,” recalls Fequet.

Even though the series’ filming had its share of ups and downs, the camaraderie and teamwork among its cast and crew contributed to a memorable experience for all involved. As Potvin remembers, “I can honestly say it was probably the greatest time of my life so far. Everyone that worked on SLD became a close family member and each day on set was an amazing and hilarious experience. As a producer though, it was hell. Film production is kinda like watching Murphy’s Law in action. From the stress of waking up every day at 3am, equipment constantly breaking or lost, crew dropping out or unable to work on specific days, location scouting, the weather, you name it. It takes its toll. Luckily everyone believed in the project enough and kept their sites on the goal and we worked through whatever problem came our way. And I couldn’t be more proud of the end result and everyone involved.”

While both Fequet and Potvin hope to achieve greater success with SMELLS LIKE DEAD, their biggest goal is to provide viewers with a series that’s scary, edgy and yet hilarious with characters and stories that will instantly resonate with fans of the zombie sub-genre. “Above all else we want to make people laugh. But we also want the audience to feel the true unbearable sorrow and desperation life in a ZA (zombie apocalypse) would actually bring. Like what if you were forced to put a bullet in a loved one’s head after they turn? It would be heartbreaking to say the least. So when writing it, we focused a balance of the two. The story’s comedy comes from its characters and how they naturally interact with other characters, but the situations are just as intense and harrowing as if it were real life. We like to think it’s not like anything else out there. Hopefully fans of the genre will at least acknowledge the effort,” Fequet says.

For the show’s primary characters, Dominic, Roger, Emily and Kate, the name of the game is survival. For Fequet and Potvin, it’s also what SMELLS LIKE DEAD is all about. Says Potvin: “Even though we’re making a survival comedy series, the thematic sense of the show is quite the opposite. It’s kinda dark and probably not one people can easily just accept. With blurred lines of right and wrong, when we’re pinned against a wall and forced to do unspeakable things to survive another day, it fundamentally changes who we are. We’re forced to become something else entirely. And what that means isn’t necessarily moral or just. We can be selfish, or we can be selfless. Lose our humanity to save our humanity.”

(The series is not yet closed-captioned, but both Potvin and Fequet say that they will work to make that feature available to deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers before the series debuts.)

ON THE WEB: www.smellslikedead.com (launching soon)

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Smells-Like-Dead/468310503186608

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/SmellsLikeDead