[7] After the completion of his feature The Corpse Eaters, he sold his drive-in and bought a hotel in Florida before drinking himself to death at the early age of 36.
[9] According to Caelum Vatnsdal's book They Came from Within, The Corpse Eaters was produced in 1973 by a teenaged Zazelenchuk[10] with a meagre budget of $36,000 culled from the proceeds of his drive-in.
[10] Because his first and only feature film had such a small budget,[11] Zazelenchuk couldn’t afford his ideal star, John Carradine.
Instead, Zazelenchuk brought local bums and high school friends together to make what is essentially Canada’s first gore film.
[17][18] The film faded into obscurity for years until Encore Home Video released it on DVD in 1993, claiming to have transferred their copy from the only known surviving print.