Any woman who can go head-to-head with flesh-eating, super-subhuman, running, jumping, ceiling-scaling zombies, or one-hundred-year old undead cannibalistic Confederate soldiers can surely handle being transformed into a hyena and starring opposite acting vets Michael Madsen and Vinnie Jones in an adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe?s Ligeia. So it?s no surprise that Christa Campbell, 2001 Maniacs? Milk Maiden, has become a real favorite among genre fans.

Recently, we got a chance to speak with Campbell, just before the Tuesday April 8th DVD release of her Day of the Dead, but of course she didn?t just chat about that film! Besides telling us she did all her own stunts and went through a gruesome (but we assume quite awesome) zombie training camp before doing Day of the Dead, she clued us in on some details about 2001 Maniacs: Beverly Hellbillys, and her upcoming films like Hyena, Blood: A Butcher?s Tale, Ligeia, and Unraveled!

Could you sum up your character in Day of the Dead for us?

I play Mrs. Leitner, and basically I am a mother whose child goes crazy and kills a nurse in the hospital. I guess, without giving it all away, I get sick.

And what was it like getting into all of the make-up and working with the Special Effects?

Dean Jones was amazing. He worked on Pirates [of the Caribbean], and they really mapped out the process. I only had to go through stage one and stage two of the make-up, which was pretty extreme and stage three was really extreme. It was a three-hour process, and it was a little uncomfortable to be in the make-up. It was really fun and cool. I definitely scared a lot of people on set.

Did you get to see anyone else go into stage three make-up?

Yeah I got to see Bub go into full make-up, and a few of the extras. It was pretty wild and disgusting. I took some great photos, but it was a pretty intense process.

I imagine there was just a ton of people on set in full on zombie make-up?

There was and it was fun but it was kind of like, ?Alright, everyone stop staring at me.? I think maybe I was the first character to be in the make-up too.

Without giving too much away, what was the most exciting thing you had to do for this film?

There?s a scene where AnnaLynn McCord comes up and she finds I have eaten my husband?s stomach out and then she turns around, and it?s pretty much a crazy fight scene between us. I did all of my own stunts for the movie, because Steve Miner wanted to get a lot of close-up shots of the make-up. So I went through a window and had bruises from head to toe by the end of that day.

Had you ever done your own stunts before?

That was the first, but I have done some since. It?s so fun and you do as much as you can without getting injured. They wired me up and I flew across the room. It was fun and it helps with the acting. To do a movie without action is kind of boring.

So you?ve done some of your own stunts since?

Yeah, I just finished an action film with Christian Slater where I did most of all of my own stunts. I did as much as I could but some of the falls I didn?t do. I did pretty much everything, like swinging on a chandelier across a room. I?m pretty much protecting him because I?m in the FBI so I do most of the action.

Were you a fan of the original Day of the Dead, or of George Romero?s other films?

Yeah, I mean I?ve met George Romero and he?s amazing. I definitely think our film is an original. It has the same name, but it?s an original film that kind of stands on its own.

Did you refer to any of Romero?s films for inspiration or ideas?

Well I don?t think there are any female zombies in the original. Not really, because I knew Steve Miner had his own vision with it, and the zombies are much different. So we had full zombie training in Bulgaria. We had a guy fly out to teach us how Steve wanted the zombies to move and act, so it was much different from the original.

What exactly is included in zombie training?

[Laughs.] It?s the way they want you to have your mouth and to lead with a certain part of your body. You?re supposed to lead with your mouth because you?re hungry. The way you move your body you?re supposed to be stiff, but they?re not too stiff because they are sort of superhuman.

Well, that brings up the age-old question of the zombie subgenre. Do you prefer fast or slow zombies?

Well, I watched the film yesterday and it was exciting. It was amazing the things that the zombies could do, and I was screaming because it was great. When they?re fast, it helps with the action and becomes a full-on action film, which is really cool. You?re on the edge of your seat the whole time, freaking out. And if they were slow we could run away from them.

In Day of the Dead you go for the stomach, but personally, if you were a zombie would you go for the brain or the heart first?

Probably the heart.

Are you a fan of the genre?

Oh, I?m a huge fan, and I became even more of a fan when I realized how dedicated the fans are!

Genre fans probably first fell in love with you as Milk Maiden in 2001 Maniacs. What will it be like to return to that role?

I can?t wait! I think it?s going to be great! I call that movie the warm-up for us. We were just getting into our characters and getting to know each other. Now we can really expand that and do a lot more. The second film will be more like??You know the characters now let?s see what they can do!?

Any idea what we can expect from Milk Maiden in the sequel?

Yeah, instead of being the Milk Maiden and having just one character I think you?re going to see me change into different characters in different outfits and kill in different ways. I mean I already revealed the assets [of Milk Maiden] so now it?s going to be like, ?I?m going to do something different.?

Last time we checked in, it seemed like you guys were going to start shooting in May?

Well, depending on Robert Englund?s schedule, I think they are looking at June. He?s just crazy booked, but I think he?s confirmed for June.

You have a ton of horror projects coming up. What can we look forward to?

I have Blood: A Butcher?s Tale, which Anchor Bay is putting out, which we shot all green screen. They took it to India and made it like 300, so it?s the first time that you can see a horror movie that?s all shot green screen.

And the adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe?s Ligeia with Michael Madsen and Wes Bently?

Yeah, we just finished that in December and they did some shots in Russia. I?m not really sure when that?s going to be released but that should be a really cool film. I play Cary Tagawa?s wife in that movie, so I have some scenes with Wes Bently where he?s coming to the school and my husband gets killed. It?s a really cool film. The girl that plays Ligeia, it was her first time acting, and she has a really cool look. It will be a really cool movie with some creepy things in there.

And another survivalist horror film, Unraveled?

Yeah, we haven?t shot that yet, and I?m not quite sure what?s happening with it, but I told them I would love to do it depending on when they shoot.

I guess playing a strong character in a survivalist film is something that you?re generally attracted to for a role?

I like playing strong characters. When people say ?Ohh, horror movies,? I?m always like, ?Well, I always play the killer; I?m never the victim.? Instead of one of those girls getting killed, I?m definitely attracted to the strong characters. It?s exciting to get to do something instead of just being killed.

What?s going on with Hyenas?

I think they are looking for distribution now. But I play Wilda, the lead Hyena bad-girl leader of the pack, and I do a lot of killing for that movie!

What was the make-up process like for that film?

The make-up process was so intense because she morphs back and forth so they actually hired a stunt double just to do the make-up. It was just too much to have the make-up on and then take it off. It was too much of a process. Thankfully I didn?t have to be in that make-up for more than one day.

What is your biggest fear?

Probably being attacked by spiders or something.

Well thank you so much for talking with us today!

Sure. Thank you very much!