SPANISH FORT, Ala. — BayFest might have drawn the crowds last Friday night, but Spanish Fort’s Premiere Cinema proved its flair for the dramatic, transforming 40 otherwise normal patrons into the staggering undead, hungry for something more cerebral than popcorn and Junior Mints.

The “Zombie Walk” — brainchild of theater director Will Sanders — invited participants to dress in traditional zombie garb before lurching across the grounds of the Eastern Shore Centre from Moe’s Southwest Grill to the theater’s 7:30 p.m. showing of “Zombieland.”

With a pickup truck of movie-inspired zombie hunters chasing the irregular parade of the undead through the maze of upscale shops, patrons throughout the shopping center were all treated to a bit of a show.

“He scared me half to death,” said Paula Hardin of Daphne, caught off guard by zombie David Donaldson of Loxley, who lumbered erratically at the unsuspecting shopper during his stroll.

“Mrrraaahgggghhhh,” said Donaldson in his defense.

Sanders, a self-professed horror genre enthusiast who has hosted 17 similar events in cities across the country before relocating to Spanish Fort earlier this year, did set a few ground rules before setting the zombies loose.

“No biting, and try to get a feel for how close is too close for some people. This is supposed to be fun,” he said.

The event, which coincided with the national release of the horror/comedy flick, was designed to provide a little non-traditional family fun while addressing some of the area’s most critical needs.

“It went over well, I thought. As long as our guests have a great time and we can be part of the community, that is all that really matters,” Sanders said.

Premiere employee Emily Drain of Daphne said the event was unlike any other she could recall.

“This is the only job where I could paint people in fake blood and makeup and not get in trouble for it,” Drain said.

And Sanders said he is confident the event will grow in popularity once word of it spreads, but in the short term, he is pleased with the charitable contributions the first-ever Spanish Fort event yielded.

Billed as the “Night of the Giving Dead,” the zombie walk benefited both Prodisee Pantry and LifeSouth Community Blood Centers with both Eastern Shore organizations on site to collect donations.

“I want to thank (Premiere Cinema) for scaring up awareness of the horrifying thought of people facing hunger. It’s nice to know even ghouls have compassion for the community and find hunger ghastly,” said Prodisee Pantry Executive Director Deann Servos.

At press time, Sanders said the event garnered about 30 canned good items for the pantry, but Premiere still intends to make its own donation to the community emergency food and disaster relief organization based in Spanish Fort.

LifeSouth, he said, actually had to turn a few donors away because of the time constraints for getting the blood donations tested and logged in a timely fashion.

Sanders said a LifeSouth representative told him the 12 donors for the night outpaced some day-long events by as much as three times. In turn, Sanders said Premiere will partner with the blood mobile a second time for a three-day event to coincide with the release of “Saw VI” in the coming weeks.

Sanders said “Zombieland” was the theater’s second-highest grossing film of the weekend, coming in a close second to the family friendly “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.” Nationally, the film took the top spot with more than $25 million in ticket sales.