Gris Grimly

I had the privilege of interviewing the amazing artist Gris Grimly. Gris Grimly is the creator of the film "Cannibal Flesh Riot" as well as numerous books. He has done artwork for bands such as Blitzkid, Mad Sin, Creature Feature, The Horrifics, Wednesday 13 and many more. You can check out all of Gris Grimly's work at www.MadCreator.com and www.Myspace.com/MadCreator.

1. For the people out there that may not know who you are, tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do.

I’m a modern day Renaissance man with a twisted mind dedicated to horror. I’m mostly a children’s book illustrator. That is how it all got started. But I tend to stick with books that have to do with monsters, horror or fantasy. Some of the books I’ve worked on are not even considered appropriate for young kids. I have been designing monster and horror themed t-shirts for almost ten years now as well as releasing many other licensed merchandise. I’m a fine artist. The paintings I do for galleries are different in tone, message and usually medium compared to my book illustrations. And about three years ago, I ventured into film making as writer and director of my debut short, “Cannibal Flesh Riot!”.

2. How did you get into art and authoring, was it something you were always interested in since childhood?

I’ve always been into art. I’ve been drawing since I was a kid. But growing up I’ve wanted to do many things. When I was young, I wanted to create puppets for Jim Henson or work for George Lucus on monster concepts. Around high school I became interested in illustrating comic books. That was actually what I wanted to do. But the children’s thing just happened first. I enjoy it, so I’ve just stuck with it.

3. Who and what are some of your influences?

This is a tough question because there are so many and they are always changing. Not to mention I have influences for each medium I work in. Early influences in my illustration would be Berkeley Breathed, Sam Keith and Tim Burton. I even think Tim Burton is responsible for the tone in my stories and film making. Currently, I’m more influenced by early cartoonists like Max Fleischer, Sydney Smith and George Herriman. Egon Schiele has always been a big influence on my figure drawings since school. As far as film goes, I’m mostly influenced by early schlock directors like William Castle, Roger Corman and John Waters.


4. What is your creative process like, what do you do for inspiration?

I don’t really do anything for inspiration. It’s very rare I’m not inspired to create some kind of story in one medium or another.

5. Tell us about your film "Cannibal Flesh Riot".

It’s a silly little film about food. Oh yeah, and ghouls, graveyards and flesh monsters.

6. There are a number of great bands that have done music for "Cannibal Flesh Riot", how did you come about working with them? Did you already have an idea of who you wanted to work with?

I came up with the idea for the compilation of music while I was in post on the film. I love horror themed bands, because I already have a bond with the inspiration for the songs. When a band sings about…say, Fiend Without a Face, I will already be drawn to the song because I love the film. It’s like looking at pictures that capture a great time in your life. It’s nostalgic. The band could even suck, but if they sing about great horror movies, there’s a redeeming quality there. I thought it would be cool to put together a compilation of songs inspired by “Cannibal Flesh Riot!”. I first contacted a bunch of bands that I knew personally. But for one reason or another, some of those bands were not able to record a song for me. So then I started blindly asking bands that I liked on myspace. I sent a screener of the film to the bands that replied. Out of those, the ones that responded positively to the project contributed a song. When word got out about the project, a couple bands even contacted me and asked to participate. We ended up with a very eclectic and amazing collaboration.

7. What does the future hold in store for Gris Grimly, anymore films?

I have more films that I would like to complete. Right now it is a hobby that I fund myself. So I need to take care of the paying gigs first. But I will be hitting the next one soon.

8. What appeals to you about the horror genre?

Monsters. Outcasts. The bizarre.

9. What are some of your favorite horror films?

I’m a sucker for the oldies. Off the top of my head I would say, Bride of Frankenstein, Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Spider Baby, Suspiria, Dellamorte Dellamore and Brain Dead.

10. Any last words out there for the fans reading this?

Thanks for the support. If you keep wanting it, I’ll keep making it.

--Interview by Shaun May