Warm Bodies occupies a rarified nexus between genres – horror and comedy — that demands a delicate balance of tone and content in order to succeed.

One of the film’s stars, Analeigh Tipton (Damsels in Distress), tells Celebuzz that she and her collaborators were well aware of the responsibility they faced in making the movie both scary and funny, without emphasizing one too much over the other.

“We definitely had an awareness of the fragility of what we were dealing with,” Tipton explains. “Because it can go oh so badly.”

Tipton says that director Jonathan Levine gave them a compass to follow when trying to maintain the right balance. “[Jonathan] knows what’s cool,” she says.

“He is in himself just like a cool guy, like intimidatingly so. So you kind of guess, and if something was funny, he would laugh.”

In Warm Bodies, Tipton plays Nora, the best friend of Teresa Palmer’s character Julie Grigio. She says that was an additional challenge tackling a role that exists largely to help build the integrity of the zombie-infested world within the film, because she was required to both support another character and create a memorable and unique one for herself.

“Any supporting role, such as the best friend, can tend to go into a more stereotypical realm of what that is,” she says. “But Jonathan was great about allowing us the freedom to contribute some roundedness into [our characters].”

“He did that for me by letting me go into all of these great, different comedic tones, from compassionate comedy to a little bit darker,” she continues. “That’s a fun opportunity to get to do.”

Watch the rest of Celebuzz’ exclusive interview with Analeigh Tipton, as well as the theatrical trailer for the film. And then let us know in the comments section below – what do you think of the film’s balance of horror and comedy?

Young Adult fiction isn’t just a literary subgenre, it’s a cultural phenomenon. Since Twilight changed the moviemaking landscape, Hollywood has been hungry to get in on the action, trying to bring countless best-sellers to the screen in search of box office glory.

But while the stars of the upcoming zombie-themed romance Warm Bodies would love to see their film become the next big thing in teen entertainment, they also insist that they’re not trying to ride any of their successful predecessors’ coattails.

Teresa Palmer, who plays reluctant “girlfriend” to zombie R (Nicholas Hoult) who’s regaining his humanity via his interest in her, said, “We are embracing comparisons to these big franchises like Twilight and Hunger Games – because they’re hugely successful! But I think Warm Bodies does stand alone.”

“I’m really excited and it’s overwhelming, and at the same time I’m trying not to have huge expectations.”

Co-star Dave Franco explained that the film will certainly appeal to fans of those series, but it should also capture the interest of moviegoers outside their target demographic.

“I don’t think anyone expects anything else to have the success of something like Twilight,” he confessed. “If it does, that’s amazing, but I think what sets it apart is that it will take that audience, but then it takes a whole separate demographic that would never go to a Twilight movie.”

“This feels like it’s definitely going more towards guys and girls rather than just young girls in the sense that it feels more like a coming of age story.”

Watch the video above for more details from Palmer and Franco, as well as comments from co-stars Analeigh Tipton and Rob Corddry. And then let us know – how eager are you to see the film? Is it your next big fantasy-romance obsession? Discuss it in the comments below!