A new documentary follows two friends with Down syndrome, Sam Suchmann and Mattie Zufelt, and their ten-year project to storyboard, script, produce, cast and star in their own zombie movie. After meeting in the Special Olympics during elementary school, the two Rhode Island natives became fast friends and started their film project in 2006, inspired by their shared love of horror movies.
Mattie explained:
âWeâve always been into horror movies and zombie movies. âSawâ and âPurgeâ were always my favorites.â
In 2016, they finished their masterpiece, âSpring Break Zombie Massacre,â which gained national attention and even earned them an appearance on Conan OâBrienâs show. The 45-minute film follows a pair of brothers who save the world after the devil starts a zombie apocalypse.
The two never expected their movie to reach such a wide audience, but they enjoyed the attention it received. Now, with the release of the documentary, theyâre excited to be in the spotlight again.
Peter Farrelly, a fellow Rhode Islander, is the executive producer of the documentary on the friends. Farrelly has produced films such as the Oscar-winning âGreen Bookâ and âThe Ringerâ, which had 150 extras with Down syndrome. He has cast actors with special needs in his movies for many years and encouraged others in Hollywood to do the same. He said of Mattie and Sam:
âTheyâre a whirlwind of energy and happiness. These guys are really sharp and they knew what they wanted. Our job was to help them but not get in their way.
This is about what anybody has to do in life to get a movie made, or do anything in life that is hard to do. People shouldnât see their movie because two kids with Down syndrome made it. They should see it because itâs a da*n good movie.â
Farrellyâs documentary, Sam & Mattie Make a Zombie Movie, was released on Apple TV on Tuesday, April 6, 2021.