Arkansas Filmmaker Weaves Real-Life Emotions Into Zombie Film

What started as a coping mechanism for a shocking terminal diagnosis grew into a lifelong dream of Brit and Diana Sellers. The mother-daughter duo spent years carefully curating novels, which they later made into a film, spending the last of their moments together combining creativity with optimism.

Diana Sellers was diagnosed with cancer in 2020, which started the creative process. What started as a private creative outlet soon became a shared project.

“I started channeling all of my negative emotions and all of my fears into the book, ‘Blood Brothers: Life Harvest,'” Brit Sellers said. “It’s about two brothers – one of them gets bitten by a zombie – and how that transformation affects the family, the fear they all go through, the hope. It was a parallel to what was happening with my family.

Diana Sellers

“When my mom started feeling better, I read it to her,” she said. “She loved it. She said, ‘I really see this as a movie. We’ve always wanted to make a movie; let’s see if we can.’”

Sellers said that her mother was determined to see this project turn into a reality.

“And so we did,” Sellers said. “We had so many people come together on this. It was so amazing. And we managed to pull it off.”

With the help of the local community, friends and family, the production started soon after. Sellers surveyed her followers and asked if they had any ideas for filming spots, which was met with people offering their homes for filming and even those interested in being extras.

“I put out the word on Facebook,” Sellers said. “People volunteered their homes. The mayors of Cotter and Mountain Home gave us permission to film in town. We even had people just walk up and say, ‘Hey, can I be a zombie?’”

The community rallied around this project in a multitude of ways. Sellers said that local food trucks would come out and feed the hordes of zombies.

Bobby Batson, a 17-year-old actor from Conway, played the brother counterpart in the film. Batson has an impressive resume, from his part in “The Fifth Wave” to working with Hayden Christiansen in “90 Minutes in Heaven.”

“My mom kind of acts as my local agent,” Batson said. “She got me the role in ‘Blood Brothers.’”

Batson said that during the filming of “Blood Brothers: Life Harvest,” he switched to online classes to accommodate his busy schedule.

For Batson, this film offered something Hollywood sets could never provide.

“In bigger movies, you can kind of feel like a number,” he said. “With ‘Blood Brothers,’ it felt good to be part of something close-knit. Everybody knew each other, and it was all about the community.”

Five years after its first spark of inspiration, “Blood Brothers: Life Harvest” is now available on Tubi and Prime Video. The film, written, directed and largely shot by the Sellers, has already earned praise from horror publications for its emotional depth.

“One critic said we’re not trying to rewrite the zombie genre, but we’re bringing something that was much needed, the family focus,” Sellers said. “You know how in most zombie movies, someone’s loved one gets bitten, they scream, shoot them and move on? That’s not realistic. We wanted to show the emotional side of that loss.”

What started as a daughter’s attempt to cope with her mother’s diagnosis now lives on as a finished film, a reflection of both heartbreak and hope. Through “Blood Brothers: Life Harvest,” Brit Sellers not only fulfilled her mother’s dream but created a story that proves creativity can thrive even in the face of loss.