Welcome to “Your Weekly Short,” a LakeFrontRow.com feature that showcases one short from a Wisconsin filmmaker each week, every week. Brace thy face.
The “grotesque as tradition” has long been a staple in horror media, from episodes of The Simpsons’ “Treehouse of Horror” to many an R.L. Stine plot line. In the short film “Birthright,” the grotesque is much more than traditional; it’s hereditary. On the eve of his 18th birthday, Billy (Marc Devine) witnesses a man eating an unearthed corpse only to discover that the man in question is his own father (John Eric Montana). As Billy’s father later tells him, their paternal line has been cursed by Satan himself ever since his grandfather reneged on a Faustian bargain for immortality. Now, rather than enjoying unending life, the male descendants in Billy’s bloodline must forever consume human flesh once a month to sate an uncontrollable hunger.
Since writing and directing “Birthright” in 2007, Cedarburg native Dick Grunert has worked extensively in television, most recently on Cartoon Network’s hit show, Adventure Time. His interest in horror however, seems to have stayed with him, having just finished the micro-short, “Scary Mask” as part of a ShockTillYouDrop.com series. In “Birthright,” Grunert transforms Billy’s startling family revelation into a parable of maturity and adulthood, where a late night sitdown about drinking and driving or the birds and the bees becomes a devastating addition to the family dinner table. And if Billy refuses? Wisely, Grunert preserves the suspense as Billy leaves for his co-worker’s house (Natalie Lander) before his father can fully explain those consequences, leaving Billy and his friend to find out the hard way. Grunert doubles up on this paternal lesson in the following morning, switching his color palette from a kitchen’s musty yellows and the night’s pitch blackness to suburban brightness and garish party favors. Billy’s family has even set up a surprise party for him. When Billy finally stumbles home, shell-shocked and covered in blood, his father’s expression is one of disgust and disappointment. Listen to your parents, children. Now who wants cake?