Directed by Vanessa Stachel and written by Luca Merkle, on a spooky night the three teenagers Tom, Leila and Petey head to an abandoned cemetery. Tom even brought an old leather-bound book and tells Leila and Petey that he wants to summon the “spirit of painful bloodshed”. In front of an old grave, Tom begins the ritual, but something goes wrong. Did he just summon a real ghost?. Voiced by: Kayla Jackson, Justin Schaffner, Clay Reynolds and Natalie Rose.
The biggest compliment you can give to A Bloody Graveyard Story, which is also its key strength, is that you’ll never guess where it’s going. Unpredictability is a staple of comedy, to blindside the audience with a well timed and well executed punchline, is a genuine gift. That’s exactly what this short film achieves, the writing times itself out perfectly and delivers a solid laugh out loud moment, which isn’t that common these days.
It plays into that idea of using your interpretation against you, your brain will automatically follow the simple, logical path so only after its reveal do you realise, the clues were actually there. Part of why that works so well is that it disarms you with its family friendly feel. Creating a visual style that feels somewhere between Selick and Aardman, it’s what we know but with its own twist. Stop motion will forever be a style that can be anywhere from friendly and welcoming, to disturbing and deeply creepy, and it feels as though Vanessa Stachel uses that range of potential to her advantage.
There’s an old-school vibe to its aesthetic and the design of its characters whereas the overall feel is very modern. It’s the best of both worlds and it does well to really quickly build on that spooky vibe while holding onto that strong vein of comedy. The voice performances all hit the nail on the head with the teen adventure, getting in over their heads and throwing in a bit of banter. They’re light and fun, with plenty of naivety and a nice bit of sarcasm.
A Bloody Graveyard Story is clever, funny and even though it’s worth watching for the punchline alone, the rest of the film is really well put together. The animation style is charming and quirky, creating an aesthetic that’s familiar yet original. The voice cast are a great bunch and it’s rare to find one of those genuine laugh out loud moments today, which Vanessa Stachel and Luca Merkle achieve in a really satisfying way.
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