The zombie apocalypse is everywhere these days, to the point where it may seem like you've seen all there is to see. And then a movie like Cooties comes along and scratches an itch you forgot you had. It's about a bunch of teachers who find themselves at ground zero of a zombie outbreak after their school unknowingly serves a virus-infected batch of chicken nuggets. 

There's a catch, though. The virus, which turns its host into a raging, body-munching psycho, only affects people who haven't hit puberty yet. 

Cooties stars Elijah Wood, Alison Pill, Jack McBrayer, Leigh Whannell, Nasim Pedrad, Jorge Garcia and Rainn Wilson, who plays Wade, a macho gym teacher who will do whatever it takes to survive. We spoke to Wilson, who is truly great in the movie, earlier this week about how he got cast in this inspired, hilarious, twisted horror-comedy that isn't afraid to go some dark but funny places.

On how Cooties was pitched to him

"The first thing that was really said to me about it that immediately piqued my interest was that it was written by the cocreator of Saw and the cocreator of Glee. It took me a second. I had to pause, take a deep breath, and think about how that could be really cool. So that was the lens through which I saw the movie and I loved it. It's gruesome and freaky; scary, bloodthirsty children was something I had not seen before. And the ensemble cast, everyone is given some really funny moments.

On Leigh Whannell's constant scene stealing

"Let me just say that's not really fair. He's the writer and he wrote himself all the very best lines. So that's the key, aspiring filmmakers who are also actors. Write yourself the best stuff. He truly does shine in it. He's hysterical. He wrote right to his strengths. He's a great writer and actor and a director too."

On what people get wrong about movie casting

"People always ask actors why they chose to do something, but so much of it is just getting offered the right thing at the right time. When I did House of 1,000 Corpses, I had been unemployed for a year. It's not like I was being very picky and choosy, [like] 'I think the next thing I do will be a really cutting-edge independent horror film.' I auditioned, they offered me the job, I said, 'Hell Yeah!'"

On his Cooties character becoming an easy Halloween costume

"All you need is a blue track suit and cowboy boots and a biker 'stache. Get a visor and a hockey stick and it's an instant costume."

But he definitely didn't grow up dressing like movie characters for Halloween

"When I grew up in the '70s, Halloween was a very different thing. It was not this big thing where people get fancy costumes. In the '70s, you went down to the drugstore or you cut out a sheet with holes in it or you made a pirate costume with a bandana and a leather vest. There was not this over-the-top planning of costumes months in advance. Everyone was a ghost or a pirate or a zombie, and girls were princesses and that was it. So, no, I did not dress up as movie characters."

On finding Wade's heart amid all the zombie chaos

"He is ridiculous, truly ridiculous, but also touching. There are some really touching moments where you get to see his love for Alison Pill's character, you get to see his love and respect for what teachers do. He's got that really lovely monologue about what great work teachers do. And when you're given a character like that on the page, it makes the rest of the work a lot easier to do."

Remembering Almost Famous, one of his first movie roles, which turns 15 this week

"That means I've been in Los Angeles for 15 years. I got it right after I moved out here. The thing I remember most of all was how incredibly cool Cameron Crowe was compared to so many other directors and producers. He was so humble and approachable and kind. He was just genial. He was such a good-hearted person. I remember going into the audition, Cameron Crowe came into the room – he'd just been nominated for an Oscar for Jerry Maguire – and he came in and sat cross-legged at my feet. I'd never been in a movie before. I was just some weird theater kid from New York, but he sat at my feet and just got to know me. We read some stuff and he filmed some stuff and it was amazing. When I read that first full screenplay of Almost Famous, I was blown away. The really long, first draft version of Almost Famous is like nothing I'd read before or since."

On the crazy, inspired-by-a-true-story Nicolas Cage movie he's in next

"Army of One is an interesting melange movie. It's Nicolas Cage playing a real-life person who took eight trips to Afghanistan with a samurai sword to try and kill Osama bin Laden. It's directed by Larry Charles, the director of Borat. It's semi-improvised. We shot in Morocco. I play a CIA agent with Denis O'Hare. It's a small role, but I really wanted to get back to Morocco, where I shot Sahara. And I really just wanted to work with Nicolas Cage, who is one of my all-time heroes. The guy is a legend. People don't look at the breadth of his work. It's astonishing. He's one of the greatest actors of all time."

Cooties is in theaters on September 18, 2015.