Digging Graves:  Brian Pulido and Randy Blythe

By Christian Cipollini

            Evil Ernie, Lady Death… these are some of the infamous comic book titles to come from the creatively twisted mind of Brian Pulido.  Wildly popular since the nineties, these series helped change the genre’s playing field. Horror-themed stories from his past (Chaos Comics) and present (Coffin Comics) are what the writer is best known for, yet he’ll be the first to say that’s not his primary love.

D. Randall Blythe is recognized for his otherworldly growls and intense on-stage presence, serving as frontman for contemporary heavy metal’s much regarded, multi-platinum group – Lamb of God. So what do the scribe and the thrasher have in common?  A suspenseful trip down terror-lane called The Graves.

Filmed on location in Arizona (much of it at an abandoned, and allegedly haunted mine), The Graves centers around two sisters, played by Clare Grant and Jillian Murry, out for a final hoorah before one settles in at college across the country.  But stopping off to sight see in a creepy mining town soon becomes a nightmarish diversion for the ladies.

“They go on the road to check out kitschy roadside attractions.  They head out, and long story short, they wind up in an abandoned mine town that happens to have many secrets and many horrific things happening in it.” Pulido summarizes. “So the question of the story is… can they make it out?”

Although well grounded and quite comfortable in comics, the fact that Pulido, who wrote and directed The Graves, would venture into film isn’t that surprising really. “Interestingly enough,” he says, “I always have to say movies are my first love.  Comics became this wonderful seventeen year fork in the road, but I’ve always been a movie guy.” He became enamored with the genre upon viewing the original Night of the Living Dead at a drive in theater as a small child.  “When I decided to make a movie, I knew it was definitely going to be a horror film.”

            Randy Blythe, a self-proclaimed “comic book geek,” met Pulido through a mutual friend.  Once the comic king began attending Lamb of God shows, the two realized shared interests and it wasn’t long before Blythe got wind of Pulido’s movie plans.

            He jovially recalls the scenario, “So the next time we were playing in Arizona, Brian came down, I gave him a couple beers and put the screws to him, saying, ‘hey man, you’re making a horror movie, got any room for an extra?’  The part Pulido had in mind, however, was a little too much for the unseasoned actor.  “I had never really acted before, and my skills weren’t up to snuff,” he admits with a laugh, “Bill Moseley actually got that role… he’s got just a little more experience!”

            The role Randy Blythe did get was apparently an excellent fit – that of Reverend Abraham’s (Tony Todd) right hand man.  “The character named Luke is pure aggression – which is what I am when on stage,” Blythe explained.  “He intimidates and keeps townspeople in line.  I’m Tony Todd’s bitch in the movie! I got to deal with a really cool special fx guy and there’s a knife involved, so there was just blood everywhere.  When I got done I looked like the cover of the Samhain record Initium.”

Still, friend or no friend, the enigmatic singer had to audition for the part. Pulido and the Ronalds Brothers (producers) saw to it all the actors, with the exception of only a select few, had to read for their roles – Randy being no exception.

            “They didn’t give me a part because I’m Randy from Lamb of God.  I tried out for that, did a few video interviews, sent some tapes, and then went to Arizona to try out in front of the producers.”  The producers were pleased with what they saw, and Blythe says he was fortunate to have some rare downtime from the Virginia based band’s workhorse schedule when his scenes were to be filmed in Arizona.

            In fact, outside of Randy Blythe, Brian Pulido did not personally know any of the actors who came on board.  “When the script was in good shape, we handed it out to the agents of those folks, they read it and liked what they saw.  I guess what really attracted them was the script.”

            The cast he solidified was a welcomed little who’s-who of horror and cult films. Most prominently of the lot were actors Tony Todd (Candyman), Bill Moseley (House of 1000 Corpses), and Amanda Wyss (Nightmare on Elm Street).

            “I think one of my jobs was to make every moment as real and authentic from every angle, and acting being most important, and the sound and sets working in concert together to tell the story,” Pulido says of his directing duties. “The actors were tremendous. My job was to support them and let them know they could pull it off. Largely though, the instinct of the actors was awesome.”

            Once everything was in place, Pulido and company conducted principal photography for about three weeks in May, with the second unit on duty for a couple more days thereafter. But during that schedule, business wasn’t always “as usual” for the cast and crew. “We were in the middle of nowhere, so to function as a unit, we had to bring our own town in there – tents, food and water.  But there was no escaping the scorpions, tarantulas, snakes and really weird weather conditions.  Normally in Arizona, it’s clear skies and 90 degrees.  But we had rain, hail and 101 degree days.”

Acts of God and slithering creatures weren’t all they had to contend with. “It’s definitely known for being haunted,” Pulido says of the filming location. “We shot on location at Vulture City Mine – a real life abandoned mine town. I didn’t experience any of the ghostly stuff, but a lot of people on set did.” 

            Blythe says he was well aware of otherworldly goings-on.  “A bunch of cast and crew got freaked out. There was tapping on shoulders with nobody there. Then there was some dude who wandered onto the set with a gun!”

            Nevertheless, the entire cast and crew managed to wrap shooting while remaining sane and intact.  Pulido said the fall season would involve a film festival run and distributor shopping.  The release date couldn’t be confirmed, but the hope is to see The Graves released theatrically no later than early 2009, (incidentally, also the time frame for Lamb of God’s next album release.) “After that,” he reveals, “I’ll go into my next movie, which is my own slant on the zombie genre.”