Taglines: Death is the least of your problems.
Present day. Arizona. Megan and Abby Graves are inseparable sisters that couldn’t be less alike. Megan just graduated ASU with a marketing degree. She’s a self-assured, naturally attractive rock chick with a black belt that she likes to use. Abby just barely graduated high school. She’s a cute, Hot Topic Goth who’s caustic and afraid of her own shadow. They share one thing: a life-long obsession with comics and pop culture. Simply put, they are beautiful geeks.
In a few days, Megan will start a new job at in New York. To send her off in style, the sisters go on a wild, pop culture bender that includes a trip to uncharted Arizona in search of a kitchy roadside attraction. Instead, Megan and Abby happen on Skull City Mine, a weather-beaten, abandoned mine town converted into a self-guided tour. But Skull City harbors terrible, vexing secrets.
It appears to be haunted. Its caretakers are murderous. Victims’ souls are ripped from their bodies right before their eyes, and that’s only the beginning. When Megan suffers a near mortal wound, Abby must save her sister, but to do so, she must unlock the mystery of Skull City alone. Can Abby defeat the threats of Skull City and rescue Megan or are they doomed like all the other tourists before them?
The Graves is a 2009 horror film. Described as a “supernatural survival shocker,” it is written and directed by veteran comic book creator Brian Pulido and produced by Mischief Maker Studios, and Ronalds Brothers Productions. The principal photography was shot on location in the Sonoran Desert near Wickenburg, Arizona over the course of 4 weeks and the project has entered post-production. The real-life Vulture City Mine and ghost town was used as the setting for the film.
The Graves: Origins
The Origins of The Graves started back in the sixties. “I dreamed about making horror films for years,” says writer / director Brian Pulido. “When I was four or five, my Mom and I watched horror films together. I have pleasurable recollections of movies like “The hideous Sun Demon” or “Attack of the Crab Monsters.” They were scary, but they were fun.”
“When I was seven, Mom took me to the drive-in and we saw Night of the Living Dead. It scared the heck out of me and irrevocably altered the course of my life. Some would say I was too young to be watching this movie, but nothing could stop me. I became a horror devotee. After writing and publishing horror themed comic books for over a decade, I decided I had to make a horror movie.”
Writer / director Brian Pulido and his wife producer / production designer Francisca Pulido love roadside America and are always on the hunt for weird and out-ofthe- way places. They discovered Historic Vulture Mine, outside of Wickenburg, Arizona. It is a creepy abandoned mine town with thirty buildings in all. “There’s wind all of the time and the sound of flies all over. I wrote The Graves, in part, to suit the location,” Pulido says.
Pulido knew he wanted to deal with themes he cared about: hope against all odds, coming of age and women coming into their own power. These are themes he has explored in Lady Death, his extraordinarily successful comic book character, who has been made into an animated feature film and over 125 licensed items.
Pulido also wanted to buck the trend of women being degraded in horror films. “I was raised by my mother and sister, mostly,” Pulido says. “So it is natural for me to see women in positions of power.” So he created the story of Megan and Abby, two sisters about to part. With Megan leaving the state, Abby, who has always lived in her sister’s shadow, has to grow up. Their visit to Skull City Mine forces her to.
“I also wanted to include all sorts of stuff I love: comics, rock n roll, crazed bad guys, fast-paced chases. Mixing it all together, it’s a real expression of what I love in movies,” Pulido says.
Continue Reading and View the Theatrical Trailer
The Graves (2010)
Directed by: Brian Puldo
Starring: Clare Grant, Jillian Murray, Bill Moseley, Tony Todd, Amanda Wyss, Patti Tindall, Dean Matthew Ronalds, Barbara Glover, Cathy Rankin, Rosalie Michaels, Bill Lippincott, Shane Stevens
Screenplay by: Brian Puldo
Production Design by: Francisca Pulido
Cinematography by: Adam Goldfine
Film Editing by: Dean Matthew Ronalds
Costume Design by: Brooke Wheeler
Art Direction by: George O’Barts
Music by: Jim Casella
MPAA Rating: R for bloody violence.
Distributed by: After Dark Films
Release Date: January 29, 2010