Behind the Scenes

Who or what is Grendel?

Grendel is one of three antagonists (along with Grendel's Mother and the dragon) in the Anglo-Saxon

epic poem Beowulf (c. AD 700–1000). Grendel is feared by all save Beowulf himself.

From Bullfinch's Beowulf Synopsis:

"Grendel was half monster and half man, and had his abode in the fen-fastnesses in the vicinity of Hrothgar's residence.

Night after night he would steal into the king's great palace called Heorot and slay sometimes as many as thirty of the knights sleeping there. "

So, why "Grendel Films?"

Grendel is a character of much debate in the literary and gothic world. He is also described as half man half monster,

being of great strength and height and monstrous physical appearance. That is how people describe the beast known in this

country as Bigfoot or Sasquatch and by other names in virtually every other country on earth.

Is the story of Beowulf legend or is it real? Some people claim it is the mother of all Bigfoot reports. Is the creature known as Bigfoot real?

Those who profess to have seen it claim it is real. I have not seen it, although in the course of filmmaking I have seen plenty of evidence.

Certainly there has been enough circumstantial evidence to convict the critter of nearly every crime imaginable.

So, Grendel embodies, for me, the "monster under the bed" sort of image that we all had as kids, and some have as adults.

And so the point of this is...

Grendel Films makes documentaries concerning things that go bump in the night, hide under our beds, in our closets and follow us home,

unseen, as we walk alone late at night on a deserted street. I as a filmmaker am not attempting to prove or disprove these things exist,

I only find it of great interest and present these subjects in an unbiased light, with no hired skeptic waiting in the wings to shred the believer.

In my opinion, the viewer has the intelligence to decide what is truth and what is not.

From Wikipedia online dictionary:

Documentary film is a broad category of cinematic expression united by the intent to remain factual or non-fictional.

In Conclusion:

There are NO RULES to producing documentaries other than the basic fact that they are documenting people,

places or events in a factual manner, factual being the facts as they are presented to the filmmaker.

I will never spin a film towards belief or disbelief of the subject...you have my word on that.

John L. Johnsen, Founder: Grendel Films