Remy Grillo, having previously acted in short films, has now directed his first feature, The Resurrection of Charles Manson. The Indiependent spoke to Remy about The Resurrection of Charles Manson and making a different kind of Manson movie.
The Indiependent: So Remy, how did you find the general process of this film?
Remy: It was quite a bit of work, you know? It was shot out here in the desert, which was a little bit difficult, but the project was fun. It was my first feature and it came with a lot of challenges that I wasn’t expecting. But overall I’m happy with the turnout and people seem to be enjoying it, which is nice.
With it being your first project, how did it compare maybe to your expectations going into it?
It’s a good question. I had done a lot of shorts and a lot of student films and when you do that, everyone’s kind of doing a little bit of everything. I didn’t think that that would be the case here, but it kind of ended up being the case when we were doing the film. It was a little overwhelming at times; everyone had to do a couple of different jobs at the same time, which isn’t ideal, but when you’re doing a small film and everyone wants to make the day as productive as possible, you kind of have to jump in at different positions. So yeah, that wasn’t really something I was expecting. But you know, you do what you got to do and everyone was great, and I had a great team behind me, so I was very fortunate.
You mentioned the team you had around you for The Resurrection of Charles Manson, how did you go about creating that, whether it be casting actors or getting producers and other people on board with you?
So I came in kind of late. Josh Plassey, the writer and producer and he’s also in the movie, he and I have been friends for a couple of years, and he had had this script, and a director was already attached, and he had asked me if I would just kind of give feedback on the script and give him notes. And we worked together for like six months, and then the director dropped out and I got to step in, I interviewed with all the people and eventually got the job. So the cool thing was like I was already coming in to a pretty complete process producer wise and crew wise. And then with hiring the cast, it was a lot of people that we had known or come across. Obviously my dad had jumped in at that point, but it was a cool, young group that we got to work with. So everyone hit it off pretty quickly, but it was a lot of friends and a lot of you know, who’s willing to do a favor for what we’re working with.
What was it that enticed you about the script, particularly with it being about Charles Manson and The Family? What was it about that that interested you?
I liked that it wasn’t a traditional take on Charles Manson. You know, you’ve seen so many movies the last couple of years about the Cult and about Manson and then about the killing of Sharon Tate. And this didn’t really have anything to do with that or Charles Manson like you know him. He was kind of the through line of the story, but he’s not in it. You don’t have anything about the 60s and 70s. I liked that it was this new kind of ‘what if’ take on the story and on the Manson family. So it was a fun topic to play around with.
How much research did you have to do about the topic itself?
Oh, I did a lot of research. You know, I’ve always known the name Charles Manson, and obviously what he did. But I didn’t know a lot about him as an individual. So I did a lot of research. I read a couple of books, I watched all the interviews that I could about him. And it got to the point where I was really into him. I felt like, ‘Oh, he’s fascinating and you understand why he had this charm over all of these young people.’ And it was kind of cool to have that process because I’ve never had to really research a figure like that in the past. But I definitely got a little too deep into it at some point and had to had to step away. I was watching Mindhunter and Manson’s in one of the episodes and I thought, ‘Oh no, that’s not how he would act.’ And I was like, I got to step back because I’m defending Charles Manson. It’s a little bit of an issue.
Your role primarily is behind the camera. What is it that made you want to go into that sort of thing, and not follow your dad into acting?
I just love the puzzle that is putting together a movie. I love working with all the different groups and getting to put everything together, whether that’s costume or makeup or lighting. I kind of like leading the team and and just putting together what the movie is going to look like and where we want to go, and then getting to work closely with actors to bring that to life. But I’ve always loved the behind the camera aspect more. It’s just been more fun, it’s a big challenge and every day you got to kind of overcome something that does go wrong. And then once you kind of figure that out, it is a very fulfilling kind of feeling.
READ MORE: ‘The Resurrection of Charles Manson’ Review: Raw, Menacing Performances All Round
What were the biggest challenges you faced while shooting The Resurrection of Charles Manson? Obviously COVID being one of them.
COVID was a big one. COVID was probably the biggest one. On the first day of our second week we got shut down for a week, which kind of ended up being a blessing in disguise because we had more time to prep on some areas that we were lacking in. But we also shot in the desert, which in itself is very difficult. There’s crazy winds, and at the end of the movie there’s a whole fire sequence, and we got shut down the first time we were doing that and we had to do it again.
But I’d say COVID was probably the biggest one, because we didn’t have a high budget. So there’s always the worry of, are you gonna be able to come back? Are you gonna be able to find that money, and come back and finish the movie? And luckily we did.
On the topic of Manson, were there any Manson films that you found you drew inspiration from?
Not really. I wanted to kind of veer away from any other Manson films just because when you talk to people about the title, you hear his name and there’s such a stigma. I didn’t want it to fall into the category of just another Charles Manson film. So I watched a lot of old school B-level horror, like, you know, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Hills Have Eyes. I watched Kill List by Ben Wheatley, which was one of my favourites. I kind of just drew inspiration from more of these serial killer cult films because that was the direction I wanted to go. I wanted to give it more of a gritty look and not fall too much into the stereotype of what a Charles Manson film has become.
What does the future hold for you? Do you have any projects coming up?
You know, in trying to work on a couple of things, ship a couple other like for, you know, staying in the horror genre, you know, another script around. We’re going through a writer’s strike right now out here, so it’s kind of putting stuff on pause. But the hope would be to at least by the end of this year get into prep for another film. Um, like I said, I’ll be staying in the horror thriller genre for at least another couple of them.
Interview conducted by Jamie Rooke
The Resurrection of Charles Manson is available on digital download now.
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