An Old Woman. Alone. At night.
Director’s Statement: I liked the idea of restricting a Hollywood movie’s worth of stunts, thrills and spectacle to about thirty yards of floor space. Instead of focusing on the big moments — explosions, jumps, crashes — I set out to create and sustain tension through small, seemingly arbitrary details — reloading a gun, descending a flight of stairs, opening a door — all at a fraction of the pace of a big budget set piece. A breakneck pursuit in slow motion. But while I enjoyed attempting to subvert the home invasion thriller and action movie, the core draw for me was the character of Grandma. My own Grandma had just recently passed away prior to filming, and in a way, this was how I payed my respects to her legacy: her wisdom, mischief, and ruggedness that could only have been earned by living a long and full life.
Production: Grandma’s House was filmed over the course of two weekends (three days total) on a shoestring budget at a single location in Los Angeles. Director Joshua Giuliano discovered the actress who played Grandma, Lana Locke, when she responded to a flyer he had posted in her apartment complex. She had never acted before.
Festival Run: Grandma’s House enjoyed a healthy two year run on the international festival circuit, which included a screening at the 2018 Cleveland International Film Festival.
Director: JOSHUA GIULIANO is a Los Angeles based writer and director. Hailing from the cornfields of Indiana, Giuliano began his filmmaking career directing several short horror films in the Hollywood area during his early twenties, including two years at the prestigious American Film Institute Conservatory, where he received his MFA degree. Giuliano’s short films ASLEEP & AWAKE and THE FLESH OF MY LOVERS have screened in numerous film festivals worldwide. THE FLESH OF MY LOVERS, in particular, won a handful of awards, including “Best Horror Short” at both the Las Vegas Film Festival and HollyShorts Film Festival. He is currently in post production on his latest horror project, IN SOUND, WE LIVE FOREVER, and has multiple feature screenplays in various stages of development.
Director’s Website: joshuagiuliano.com
Categorised in: horror short
This post was written by Nadia Vella