In 2017, we ran a feature by Roman Smith on a local (eastern Pennsylvania) film festival – the Upper Dublin-based Greenfield Youth Film Festival which, on April 27, 2017, celebrated short films by teen filmmakers from all over the state of Pennsylvania. As the writer noted at the time, “Some of the most clever (and most awarded) films were horror films.”
One of those films – Perception – was directed by young filmmaker Graham Burrell, who won an award for Professional Film achievement. Seven years later, I noticed that a short film by Burrell was featuring in our local Southside Film Festival (in Bethlehem, PA). Burrell has graduated from Muhlenberg College and is a video producer and filmmaker based in the Philadelphia area, and he shared his entry and most recent film, Grampy, with us. We’re excited to offer a review of that film, as well as our interview with Burrell.
Grampy
First, Burrell’s latest short film, Grampy, which recently showed at the Southside Film Festival. Grampy is in part a dark comedy about a date gone very wrong – opening with protagonists Jenny (Kerry Gallagher) and Cody (RJ Pennington) getting together after meeting at a grief counselling group. Jenny has come to Cody’s home (during a storm) for dinner, and things quickly veer into a date-from-hell direction as Cody starts to reveal to Jenny the circumstances of his Grampy’s death, which were something less than natural . . .
Check out the trailer for Grampy – which will be available to stream in fall 2024:
Grampy has undeniable resonances of Hitchcock’s Psycho – a lonely couple, an isolated house, a storm, and dead relatives who are more ‘alive’ than they should be. Grampy is by no means, though, a rehearsal of the earlier film – and its strengths include some surprising twists and a thought-provoking exploration of death and of what it means to remember and keep ‘alive’ loved ones who die. One of the most striking parts of Grampy involves visual parallels between how Jenny remembers – and thus keeps alive – her dead father and how Cody keeps alive his Grampy. What are the similarities (and the differences) between entrenched memories of a person and taxidermy?
Grampy also does interesting things with the question of what makes us who we are. Our inevitable progression toward death is equally inevitably punctuated with moments (lots of them) in which we become someone other than we were before. Cody’s efforts are to preserve his Grampy in some ‘true’ form – efforts that include extinguishing the man who “wasn’t really my Grampy anyway” and bringing back (or possibly creating) what Cody thinks is the authentic Grampy. Who is the ‘real’ Grampy? The process of becoming something other than who we ‘really” are often begins before death (sometimes long before death) and extends beyond it.
At fourteen minutes, Grampy involves, then, both excellent storytelling via horror-comedy, great cinematography that weaves together Jenny’s and Cody’s very different (and yet sometimes eerily similar) efforts to keep loved ones alive, and a surprisingly (given the brief runtime) complex meditation on identity and death.
Interview with Graham Burrell
What would you like to say about your background? How did your degree from Muhlenberg College shape your interest in film-making?
I’ve been interested in filmmaking for as long as I can remember! When I was a child, my mom had a camcorder with which she would record birthdays or holidays for relatives. I was immediately fascinated with the camera and as soon as I was old enough to get my hands on it myself, I began experimenting with filmmaking (albeit in a very elementary form). I consistently created short films throughout my academic career; I was heavily involved in video production at Parkland High School, and I was lucky enough to win a number of awards in high school film festivals. At Muhlenberg College, I double majored in Film Studies and Media/Communication with a minor in Philosophy. I greatly enjoyed my time at Muhlenberg and really appreciated their focus on the ethics of storytelling and the “why” of filmmaking as opposed to merely the “how.” Muhlenberg is obviously a smaller liberal arts college, but I very much valued the intimacy of the smaller class sizes. All of my professors were fantastic and I felt like I got an abundance of one-on-one time with them.
What’s your job as a video producer like?
I work as a video producer for a facility maintenance company located outside of King of Prussia. I am the sole video producer for the company – a really unique experience. My role consists of making educational videos based around subjects such as landscaping, paving, and snow removal. Although that may sound disconnected from the kind of narrative filmmaking I pursue, I feel like my job as a video producer has really helped me in my creative endeavors. I’ve grown a lot over the past several years; my job has given me the flexibility to experiment with editing, color grading, sound mixing, and cinematography.
What are some of your favorite films?
I love films from a wide array of genres. Every Christmas Eve, my family watches It’s a Wonderful Life, and so I’ve developed a deep connection to that film. Raiders of the Lost Ark was another seminal film for me; I still remember sitting in awe as I watched that for the first time as a child. Probably my favorite series of all time is the Before Trilogy, consisting of Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Before Midnight. These films are incredibly minimalist, but the character work is unparalleled. Edgar Wright has really informed a lot of my early short films. Wright’s Cornetto Trilogy (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World’s End) was the first time I realized that a director’s visual style could become a character in and of itself. This was a revelation to me and I spent many of my teenage years trying to emulate Edgar Wright’s unique visual flair. Some of my other favorites include When Harry Met Sally, Paris, Texas, The Shining, and Misery.
You’ve made a lot of short films. What’s your process of film-making? What’s your favorite role (writer, editor, director)?
It’s difficult to pick a favorite role; my filmmaking process has always involved me wearing a wide array of hats. I enjoy working with a small cast and crew (mostly consisting of my close friends) as this always fosters a phenomenal sense of intimacy on set. I think my favorite part of the filmmaking process is creating specific moments. I love thinking up a specific scene that is either scary, funny, or memorable in some way, directing the moment on set, bringing it to fruition in the edit, and finally getting to share that moment with audiences to witness how they react.
Which of your films are you especially proud of?
Check out Burrell’s short suicide preventions film, Down, on his YouTube channel; it has 1.3M views and counting:
I’ve made a good number of short films over the years and they were all fantastic experiences. In high school, I made a film about suicide prevention that’s gained quite a following online; I’ve received some really heartwarming comments over the years from people who were personally affected by my film, and that’s unbelievably rewarding. However, my most recent film, “Grampy,” is far and away my most personal. I’ve been working on “Grampy” over the course of the past 3 years and so much has changed over that time period. I feel like I’ve matured considerably as a storyteller since initially conceiving the idea for “Grampy.” In a way, this film feels like my “coming of age.” When I thought up the initial concept, I had just graduated college; since then, I’ve spent years at my job, moved locations twice, adopted dogs, etc. I also lost two grandfathers since initially writing this short. Experiencing that grief really informed the story and made it much more personal; the film was initially a basic horror/comedy, but after losing my grandfather in September of 2021, I saw the thematic depth inherent in the story and I engaged in an intense re-writing process. The film became intensely personal. The unexpected loss of my remaining grandfather (with whom I was incredibly close) just last month has given this film a whole new level of depth for me. “Grampy” is the film that I poured my soul into and I suspect it will hold a special place in my heart for the rest of my life.
What do you find interesting about horror?
Despite growing up an absolute scaredy-cat, I’ve always been fascinated by the horror genre. I think horror can be a fantastic lens through which to process the world. Horror films and literature have tackled incredibly complex topics—racism, misogyny, trauma, mental illness, issues of class, complicated family dynamics, etc. The world is a scary place and I think that by telling stories of horror, we can explore and process the horrors of our own lives. With “Grampy,” what started as a goofy story about a stuffed man soon became a lens through which I could explore the idea of grief and “moving on.” I think I would have really struggled to write that story as a straight drama; however, in the exaggerated world of a horror movie, I felt somehow better equipped to tackle that theme. In addition, I think horror is a really fun genre for filmmakers to play with. So much of what makes a film scary comes down to the lighting, blocking, composition, and playing with pacing; I really felt a sense of freedom in trying to play with all of these elements in order to create tension. It really feels like a space in which the director can just go wild with fun, creative visuals.
What were specific cinematic influences on Grampy? (I couldn’t help but think of Psycho!)
Others have mentioned Psycho, but that was a subconscious influence that I recognized after completing the script, actually! My main influence was a film that has informed a lot of my personal style as a filmmaker–Misery. I think that film does an excellent job of balancing some genuinely disturbing horror with a fantastic sense of dark comedy. One of the things I appreciate the most about Misery is that both the horror and the comedy feel incredibly organic to the characters. It never feels like the story is forcing a specific tone; it all flows naturally from the characters’ responses to the situations that they are thrown into. In this way, the story never feels “cheap” or inauthentic. Instead, the varying tones all feel earned–both the tension and the uncomfortable laughs elicited. Another film that I think accomplishes this balancing act masterfully is 10 Cloverfield Lane, which I think is one of the most underrated horror films of the 21st Century.
Check out Burrell’s short film, Perception on his YouTube channel:
In both Grampy and Perception, you played with what’s real and what’s not (and blurring the boundary between them). Is this something you’re interested in?
I didn’t even really realize the connection between those two films! While that wasn’t entirely intentional, I guess a lot of the theme of “reality” comes down to playing with expectations: the tension in horror films really revolves around being intensely aware of how viewers are responding to the story in each moment. I tried to be aware of expectations while working on “Grampy”; I felt like I needed to subvert expectations while still delivering the payoff and catharsis that audiences are looking for. I think blurring the lines back and forth between what’s real and what’s not is a really interesting way to experiment with audience expectations.
What film are you dying to make?
I’m dying to just keep making films! I really enjoy making stories with a tone similar to that of “Grampy”–one that combines both genuine horror and dark comedy. I also love the idea of a “chamber piece” film–one with a limited cast and single location. Again, I think back to Misery and other Stephen King stories with that kind of a feel. I’m currently writing two short films that both have similar tones to “Grampy”: they both play with vacillating between horror elements and dark comedy. I’m also writing a feature at the moment which combines all of these elements–a horror/comedy with a small cast and limited locations. I’m incredibly excited to bring these stories to fruition.
Thanks very much, Graham, for responding to these questions – and I can certainly say that I’m looking forward to the films you’ll produce in the future.
You can find out more about Graham Burrell at his website, www.grahamburrellfilm.com and his YouTube channel, BlueDog Films. Grampy will be publicly available in fall 2024, so keep checking in on Graham’s website!
