One of the first 'zines I truly enjoyed was Infiltration: The 'Zine About Going Places You're Not Supposed to Go. Documenting the urban exploration of various locations, Toronto was always featured prominently since it was the home of author Ninjalicious, who died in 2005. In Deadgirl, which had its second screening yesterday at the AMC, most of the action takes place in the boiler room of an abandoned psychiatric hospital. As the main characters walk through the hallowed halls of the hospital, my mind was jumping at the thought of finding a location for a film like this and learning about the secrets it might hold.

For co-directors Gadi Harel and Marcel Sarmiento, finding the right location was almost as dificult as casting the titular character. They researched databases of abandoned buildings and followed plenty of urban exploration blogs to find a space that would look fresh in every scene. Not even set on finding a hospital per se, they even considered an abandoned military base, but ultimately settled on a hospital in Los Angeles where -- get this -- the pilot for ER was shot.

The good thing here is that it works; the majority of the film is spent in that dark concrete room, and the directors were forced to come up with inventive ways of showing the progression of the story without making you feel as though you're always staring at the same four walls.

Click here for my interview with Gadi and Marcel, where they discuss the challenges of finding the perfect location. If you haven't seen it yet, Deadgirl is screening one final time on Friday, Sep 12, 9pm at the AMC6.