Experiencing Interruptions?

Grandma Werewolf

Grandma Werewolf is a film about a broken family who goes to Grandma’s cabin for Thanksgiving. At the cabin they soon learn that their newly widowed Grandmother is a werewolf. The family must put aside their problems, learn magic, steal a silver sword, and stop Grandma from causing mayhem on the area.

  • Zachary Will
    Writer
  • Zachary Will
    Director
  • Olivia Kristin Dean
    Producer
  • Cliff Shorey
    Producer
  • Rafael Malaret
    Producer
  • Zachary Will
    Producer
  • James Wosochlo
    Key Cast
  • Trevor Brooks
    Key Cast
  • America Ramos
    Key Cast
  • Tricia Harmon
    Key Cast
  • Dan Eash
    Key Cast
  • Chris Naples
    Key Cast
  • Cliff Shorey
    Cinematographer
  • Rafael Malaret
    Editor
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Genres:
    Fantasy, Adventure
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 13 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    November 25, 2017
  • Production Budget:
    7,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Zachary Will

Zachary Will grew up in Lancaster County, PA and graduated from Columbia Junior Senior High School. He studied film at Full Sail University. Although, Grandma Werewolf is his directorial debut, Zach has plenty of film experience including over 50 short films and corporate videos for companies like Pepsi Co. He currently lives and works in the film industry in Atlanta, GA.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

The project came out of a Thanksgiving that we had at our family cabin. No one could find my Grandmother. And someone said, "It's not like she's a vampire, she can't up and fly away." And I said, "but maybe she's a werewolf." I spent my last year in college writing up the script. Upon graduating, I moved to Atlanta with some of my fellow graduates to work in the film/video industry there. They would later become the bulk of the crew.

The film draws influences from comedies like the Santa Clause, Nice Guys, Guardians of the Galaxy, and more. Although I feel that the film pulls together a style of it's own.

I wrote the film around my parent's cabin and locations I knew I could secure. This made the film much more do-able. By limiting the scale of the film, it pulls the characters to the front, which is my favorite part of the story.

One of the amazing things I saw while filming the project was just how much support we got from random strangers (who turned into good friends). We were really surprised by how many local businesses and residents supported us by letting us use their locations for free. Also, most of the actors were new to our team. Despite that, they were willing to work through the nights and travel all over Pennsylvania to film Grandma Werewolf. The film would've never been possible without the amazing cast and people we met along the way.

Another thing that I learned through the process was just how much more preparation goes into a shoot like this. I'm used to 1 to 3 day shoots but this film took a couple weeks. There's a lot more preparation that goes into that. Also with longer shoots, more things can go wrong. Days will get rained out, you'll forget a prop, or something. And you'll have to make adjustments on the fly. But you have to stay flexible and think about how you can still tell the story but without X or Y.