A small group of journalists clambered into an RV that was parked just outside a modestly-sized soundstage in Glendale to chat with young actor Violet McGraw. Full of energy despite an early call time, McGraw happily chatted up our small group.  GRUMMY is a dark, yet lyrical short film that follows a young girl whose imaginary protector saves her from ultimate trauma in the real world.

Dark subject matter to be sure, yet McGraw keeps things in perspective. A horror vet, having appeared on Netflix’s superb Haunting of Hill House, the young actor has a humorously healthy perspective. Having read the script, McGraw told us, “I also thought it was interesting and going to be really fun. Especially when I read this script about this entire fantasy land and stuff. And which also may be interesting to do is, I have this small purple bunny called Ruby, and it kind of reminds me of Ruby ‘cause Grummy can also turn into a toy, like a small-medium stuffed toy. So I was like, Ruby’s my little Grummy now.”

Being the hard-hitting journalists we are at HorrorBuzz, we decided to ask McGraw the heavy questions first. “What I want to know is,” started Norman Gidney, editor of HorrorBuzz, “what’s your favourite sour patch kid flavour?”

McGraw immediately answered, “Blue, I love blue.”

Touché. We decided to get into the craft and talk to this younger performer on what it is like to be in a film that holds fantasy and reality in such stark comparison. We asked, “What do you like about being on set and being in movies and acting?”

McGraw responded, “I really like meeting all the people because the people are all so nice. So it’s really fun to meet new people.”

“Who’re some people that you really enjoyed working with?”

“Well I really like working with this entire cast. I love Carla Gugino and Henry Thomas. A lot of people – Carla Gugino was just such a nice person. She’s really nice.”

McGraw’s enthusiasm for the craft and horror, in general, is infectious as she recalls her impressive resumé. We then posit, “So you were on Hill House and you’re working on this, and sometimes you have to be scared. Like what is it that you think of – like what’s going through your mind? Like how to you pull up those emotions – with respect, you’re 8 years old – what do you pull from?”

Ever the pro, McGraw takes a moment and clarifies… “Like, what do I think about? Well, I have 3 things. I think about Ruby. Because she’s the most important stuffed animal that I’ve ever had. And I also think about, umm, I had this chocolate Lab dog and his name is Cody. We had to put him down when I was like 6. He also makes me sad because my parents won’t let us have pets because we’re never home because we’re always working. And I also think about my sister Maddy, because I play with her all the time. And sometimes when, with my Mom and me, when I’m in another country or state – I always think about her to make me sad because I love playing with her and we have such great imaginations together. And when I facetime her she’s like, “I can’t think of anything to play” and then with me, I can think of anything.”

We interject, “But then when you’re together…”

McGraw answers, “And then she squishes my cheeks.”

Jumping back to her work on The Haunting of Hill House our group asked if she was ever scared on set. Casually, McGraw says “No. But when they added all the music and all the special effects it’s – not even what you imagine.” With such multiple techniques on set, between green screen, CGI and practical, McGraw told us her preference for actual physical effects to work with. In reference to Grummy she stated, “they actually made all by hand, and green screen is way different than real actual… You actually like see it and it’s not like a fake green screen. But green screen is also fine.”

Circling back on McGraw’s 2019 Halloween costume Black Widow, we asked her why she chose that costume, that character. “Oh yeah, totally. I’d love to be Black Widow because Black Widow’s so cool.” We persisted, “Why is she cool?” “I love all her moves,” McGraw said, “and I love her hair and I love how she speaks. She sounds so tough.”

Ever the professional, McGraw explained that she enjoys the early call times. We asked, “What do you do to wake up?” “I love getting up early.” McGraw efused, “Like when the sky’s all dark, I love getting up early. It’s just so fun for some reason. My sister’s like “why do you think that’s fun” and I just like it. And I love driving on the freeway and the sky’s dark. I like that. And then I also watched a movie on the way here.

Comparing Mike Flannigan to newcomers Chip and Micheline we asked, “You’ve worked with Mike Flannigan as a director, what’s it like, working with Chip and Micheline?” A smile poured over McGraw’s face and she said “It’s so much fun. I love working with them. They’re such great people to work with and they’re like one of the best directors I’ve worked with.” 

You can now view McGraw’s work in the new film GRUMMY here.