Horns & Grass

there are monsters among us…just breathe…

These are two origin stories within the “Vault” universe. “Horns” is a cautionary tale: Jay, a controlling and abusive person played thoughtfully by Logan Cannon, searches for his partner Ash (Leona Britt). He loses (or finds?) himself in the darkness of the bunkers of Fort Flager, surround by Shadows. “Grass” is hopeful rather than happy, and moves slowly and deeply. We follow the arc of Ash, a person grounded and rooted in nature who finds herself being whittled away by her abusive partner Jay. Ash finds connection, peace and solace in the grasses that thrive on top of the old concrete bunkers in Washington.

These films premiered as separate shorts at the end of May at 2 Fingers Social, and we’re excited to present them in a way that reflects the interconnectedness of the stories. We shot the two films together, interweaving scenes from both in a way that felt natural and exciting.

We worked with some awesome first-time collaborators, including the brilliant DP Sandra Garcia, whose eye for detail and organization made our shoot days (including a long day on location) a breeze. Phoebe McGarry and Daniel Edelen shared the duties of 1st AC, with Daniel also acting as gaffer. Miranda Mars joins the cast as a Shadow along with James Israelson (who is also a PA), and Margo Kotze jumped in with both feet as a PA to make sure we were all fed and watered and even puppeteered some Grass hands). And we were beyond psyched to be working with the brilliant actress Leona Britt, whom Ren has admired from afar for a long time. We’re also lucky to have some awesome folks on board from our first two projects! Returning from our Poster crew is Scott Taylor (producer and sound engineer), who is also in charge of making sure Ren don’t get tripped up by technology. Amy Eight (SFX makeup and costumes) came back from Vault, bringing fresh looks and multiple sets of horns. Logan Cannon is returning as an actor from Vault, and our editor Ray Kurtz has been extremely patient and positive throughout the editing of not just two short films, but also this experiment in fusing the two stories.

Check out the IMDb pages for each film: The Grasses and Horns! And if you missed the screening at 2 Fingers at the end of May, stay tuned for festival news!