Author Tess Gerritsen tells a cinematic horror story with Island Zero

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

Best-selling author Tess Gerritsen, best known for writing the series of novels that serve as the inspiration for the TNT television series Rizzoli & Isles, has teamed with her son Josh Gerritsen, a professional photographer and documentary filmmaker, to craft a horror film reminiscent of the classics she loved in her youth – something more along the lines of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS than a teen slasher movie.

Filmed in Maine and self-financed with a budget of around $400,000, the movie the Gerritsens are making together is called ISLAND ZERO. The story they're telling has the following synopsis: 

Inhabitants of a fishing island off the coast of Maine find themselves mysteriously cut off from the outside world after the ferry suddenly stops coming. All the phones have gone dead and every boat sent to the mainland fails to return. When dead bodies turn up along the water’s edge, the hardy band of survivors must find out who, or what, is killing them.

Laila Robins stars in the film, which was directed by Josh from a screenplay written by Tess.

ISLAND ZERO is now making its way out into the festival circuit and a trailer has been released online to mark the occasion. While the low budget is apparent at times, the trailer serves as an intriguing glimpse at a film that sounds quite interesting to me – I like the synopsis, and I look forward to seeing how this self-financed family affair turns out.