Tacoma’s 72-Hour Film Festival seemed to send out a clear theme message last May: mind the zombies.

Months later, along came an intrepid group of professional-style film makers creating Rock Zombie (www.rockzombiemovie.com) hoping to amplify that message, loud and clear, and to raise it to: no, really, zombies rock!

“They’re the thing of the moment. I don’t know what it is,” muses special effects talent Marcel Banks, who is currently swept away in the sea of zombie-ness on two zombie movie projects.

He speculates the current zombie trend might have something to do with the fact that movies carrying on the themes of films like “Day of the Dead” and “Dawn of the Dead” are “classic, easy to make, and fun to watch.”

In typical zombie fashion, the zombie-ness keeps on spreading. For the in-the-works film, “The Book of Zombie,” Banks, who worked as zombie special effects artist for Tacoma filmmaker Austen Hoogen on “Rock Zombie,” adds puppets to his repertoire.

These puppets aren’t the sweet and fluffy Elmo-like things you’ve seen on “Sesame Street,” but rather prosthetic heads stuffed with blood-filled condoms that explode in true gore fashion.

Banks’ exploration of the horror side of the zombie genre follows from his early film interests. “I started out loving horror films and practicing on friends,” he explains.

These practice sessions consisted primarily of Halloween makeup to complete friends’ costumes.

“Then I got linked up with Jason (Ganwich, one of the actors in the “Rock Zombie” project) on Rock Zombie.” He explains that that project was more a straight-forward “simple makeup … grease paint and cut off legs, and a shot gun shot.”

In the process of “Rock Zombie,” Banks was offered the job of special effects guy on “The Book of Zombie” (www.thebookofzombie.com), adding the puppets and buckets of blood to his repertoire.

Currently prep chef at a bistro, Banks hopes to retire the knives but keep the blood.

“I’d like to make a career out of this,” he explains.

With any luck — and a little community help — the “Rock Zombie” movie may be Banks’ big break. Hoogen, Ganwich and the rest of the gang at “Rock Zombie” are looking to launch their film into the world film competition circuit, but need funds to get there. While the “Rock Zombie” film works quite well on its own, the final touches like refining sound and converting in to the specific formats necessary for wide-scale screening take cash.

To that end, Banks will join Ganwich, Hoogen, et al on Aug. 25 from 2 to 6 p.m. for the Zombie Follies auction at Vin Grotto Café and Wine Bar in downtown Tacoma, where for $30 bidders can sample tasty wines and bites while bidding for items like blown glass by a local artist, a professionally produced commercial, a professional portrait session, and even the perfect Halloween scare art by Banks.

“I like doing different things,” Banks says with an evil laugh.

RSVP for the event by Aug. 21 at 206.274.4685, 253.202.2148 or at www.rockzombiemovie.com.