Producer Hilarie Burton on how some folks from AMC’s The Walking Dead: Dead City helped bring horror-comedy Bloody Axe Wound to life.

The recent comedy-horror film Bloody Axe Wound just dropped, courtesy of RLJE Films, and it’s set around Abbie Bladecut, a young girl caught between the grim heritage of her family’s violent profession and the gentle feelings of her first love. In the small town of Clover Falls, her father, Roger Bladecut, has earned notoriety for filming actual murders and distributing the footage to willing buyers. As Abbie immerses herself further into the family’s gruesome enterprise, she starts to question whether it’s time to change the course of their dark legacy. It has some jokes, quirks, and a few familiar visuals, which, as it turns out, isn’t a coincidence either.

In a recent interview with Screen Rant, the film’s producer, Hilarie Burton, discussed a few behind-the-scenes details about Bloody Axe Wound, revealing that the film’s makeup department consisted of talented professionals from The Walking Dead: Dead City series (in addition to star Jeffrey Dean Morgan). This essentially brought a sense of familiarity and trust to the production, ensuring that the film’s visual and special effects were of the highest quality.

The Walking DeadImage: AMC Networks; Bloody Axe Wound | RLJE Films

“Bloody Axe Wound” Producer on “The Walking Dead: Dead City” Connections

Burton explains to the outlet, “Our makeup department came from Dead City, so they’re a part of The Walking Dead family. And that felt really good because we knew, as producers, going into it that we had the best of the best working with us, and they were doing it because they believed in the script. They believed in [filmmaker] Matthew John Lawrence, and they believed in this story. Honestly, just from a production standpoint, we had to carve out the budget for that before anything else, like before actor salaries, before music, before post-production. Making sure that department got what it needed was the most important piece of this.”

With the indie release Bloody Axe Wound out now, Burton’s insights provide a glimpse into the meticulous planning and dedication that went into its passion-fueled production. For those who have seen Bloody Axe Wound, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.