by Abhi Parasher
Remy Grillo’s The Resurrection of Charles Manson comes at a time when popular culture’s obsession with cult leader Charles Manson seems to be having another resurgence, with books such as CHAOS by Tom O’Neill giving new insight into the enigma, and Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood offering a revisionist account of the Manson Family.
Despite being a graduate of the New York Film Academy and the son of the leading man, it wasn’t smooth sailing for Remy.
“Everything that could have gone wrong got thrown at me,” shares Remy. “It was a lot of pivoting and figuring out how to change things in the face of obstacles.”
The Resurrection of Charles Manson follows a young couple who book a picturesque Airbnb that doubles as the perfect backdrop for a Charles Manson movie audition tape. However, the dark events of the audition material slowly slip into their reality as they find themselves intertwined in an occult leader’s sinister plot.
“I had initially met Josh Plasse (co-writer, producer and actor on the film) about the project about 6 months prior to coming on as a director,” recalls Remy. “When their director dropped out, Josh gave me the opportunity to pitch in front of the producers.”
With the pitching and deliberation taking a month, it was perhaps the easiest part of the entire process.
“COVID was a big problem because you couldn’t do anything,” says Remy. “I mean, me and my cinematographer [Parker Tolifson] got some much-needed prep time, but it was definitely the biggest obstacle.”
Remy is not new to the directing chair. During his time at the New York Film Academy, he was able to not only direct various short films but also dip his toes into other areas of the film production machine. Regardless, feature films are a whole different monster.
“I always tell people that my experience helps me a little bit, but feature films are a whole different animal,” he says. “I am used to working with 2 or 3 shooting days and everyone taking on multiple roles. Here, I had 2 weeks of shooting and a good amount of money. Which is great, but I didn’t realise how many decisions I was going to have to approve every single day.”
The last name Grillo may sound familiar; Remy is the son of The Purge actor Frank Grillo, who also plays crazed Manson follower Robert in the movie.
Having your father, an exceptionally experienced actor, to guide you through the process may seem like a godsend. However, it is evident that Grillo Snr. was far from easy on his son.
In an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, Frank Grillo said “my son screened the first cut of the film for me and my buddy Gavin O’Connor, who directed Warrior. And it was awful. It may have been the worst movie I have seen in my life.”
That interview is still a huge talking point in Remy’s life.
“People often ask me if it was really as bad as he makes it sound in the interview, and I say no, it was a lot worse,” laughs Remy. “It was the first cut, so I knew there were going to be problems. I had prepared myself for it to suck and by the end I was like ‘okay, I didn’t think it was going to suck that bad’.”
Despite his father’s initial reaction, Remy found the experience valuable in the long run.
“It was a great moment because I learnt a lot and it did make the film a lot better, but it was definitely a long night.”
And as for his father, Frank Grillo ended the interview by saying “to his credit, he took all the notes and 4 months later he has a really great little movie.”
The Resurrection of Charles Manson is available now on digital platforms and DVD
