’50s American Sitcom Goes Pitch Black in Short Film THE GREAT FAMILY
We’ve been reporting on Los Angeles-based writer, director and producer Gus Krieger for some time now here at Dread Central, from his 2016 feature directorial review The Binding (you can read about that HERE) and Mark Pavia’s 2016 slasher Fender Bender (which Krieger produced) to his prolific and cutting work as a playwright. Often tackling socially relevant issues (as he did in this year’s dramatic indie feature My Name is Myeisha) with a keen eye, Krieger’s done so once again in the short film The Great Family, debuting today on Film Shortage.
Written, produced and directed by Krieger and starring Betsy Roth, Ty Mayberry and Stuart Pankin, The Great Family scratches away the “Father Knows Best” veneer that was often the hallmark of American sitcoms in the 1950s, and presents a family forced to confront the harsh reality of the changing world around them, as well as the woeful truth of their “idyllic” interpersonal relations, all of which culminate in a crescendo of revelation and violence.
Commenting on The Great Family to Dread Central, Krieger said of the fifteen-minute short:
“I wanted to make a film about our turbulent present, about how looking back toward the past can seem like a welcome respite, and even a solution. When taking a more comprehensive view, however, the truth invariably becomes much more complicated. I hope that spending some time with our good friends The Great Family will encourage us to see the bigger picture, as dark and twisted as it might be.”
You can watch The Great Family below, and for more, “Like” The Great Family on Facebook HERE.
