Celebrate National Dog Day by Watching HOWL AT THE DEAD and Reading Our Q&A with Director Gregg Bishop!

You know the saying "every dog has its day"? Well, that day just so happens to be today, August 26th, aka National Dog Day! And there's no better way to celebrate than getting your favorite four-legged friend a delicious treat before settling in to watch Gregg Bishop's Howl at the Dead, a new haunted house short film told from the perspective of a family's beloved pets, including their fearless canine protector Paws!

To celebrate the online premiere of Howl at the Dead, Daily Dead caught up with writer/director/editor Gregg Bishop in a new Q&A feature to discuss the making of his ambitious short film (including his plans for a feature-length version)!

You can read our full Q&A with Gregg below, and you can also watch Howl at the Dead in its entirety! The frightfully fun film just might make you think twice the next time your cat or dog is staring intently at what is seemingly nothing in the corner of the room...

Congratulations on Howl at the Dead, Gregg! As a longtime fan of your work, this is another excellent addition to the Bishop filmography. How did you originally come up with the idea for Howl at the Dead?

Gregg Bishop: It started with my pets. My cats would stare into empty corners. My dog would growl at basement doors. I always felt like they had a sixth sense. I’d tell people: “My dog sees dead people!”

I also noticed that in every horror movie, the dog is always the first to sense the supernatural threat. They’re the only ones who really know what’s going on, and they’re trying to warn the humans. So I thought, what if we actually experienced what the dog experienced? What if we saw a haunting from his point of view? Flip the perspective. That was my way into this ghost story. And I got to combine two of my favorite things in the world: animals and horror movies.

This was inspired by that Amblin energy I grew up on. Poltergeist, E.T., Frankenweenie. Brad Bird’s Family Dog from Amazing Stories. Gateway horror. Stuff that scared the hell out of you but also made your heart hurt. Jim Henson once said that “fear is a healthy emotion for kids to experience.” Damn right. That’s the DNA of Howl at the Dead. Scary, soulful, and told through the eyes of man's best ghost detector.

What made you want to make the film?

Gregg Bishop: A feature I was prepping fell apart at the last second. Total heartbreak. But instead of licking my wounds, I said screw it. I borrowed gear, called in favors, and made this thing with a ton of passion and a skeleton crew of friends who believed in it. No budget, no backup plan, just pure indie spirit.

We shot in 2021 and premiered at Screamfest in 2023. TCL Chinese Theatre, baby. The same screen where horror royalty has bled.

I make movies because I have to. Always have. It’s not just about the scares or the spectacle. It’s about finding meaning in the madness. And connecting through stories that feel like they matter.

Howl at the Dead takes a unique approach to the haunted house genre by telling the story from the pets’ point of view, especially Delilah Jane “DJ” Sassafras as the beloved dog Paws. As a director, what were the challenges of shooting a short film from the perspective of pets?

Gregg Bishop: Normally you schedule a shoot around your cast or your locations. But on this film, we structured everything around the emotional journey we wanted DJ to go through. Because animals aren’t actors. They don’t perform. A dog doesn't act. It can't pretend it's scared or pretend it's happy. It's either happy or it's not. So we had to build the film around those real, honest reactions we wanted to capture.

How much time did you have in your shooting schedule to film Howl at the Dead?

Gregg Bishop: Five days. No safety net. I told the crew straight up: if the animals don’t do their thing, it might be a bust. But anything worth doing isn’t easy. In film school they tell you never work with kids or animals. But the truth is, you just need the right ones. And I got both.

Just like your feature films, Howl at the Dead features a tight-knit cast, albeit with humans and animals this time around! What was it like working with the dog actor DJ to get such an authentic and captivating canine performance?

Gregg Bishop: DJ is a star. But the real secret weapon was Laura Nativo. She’s a longtime friend, expert trainer, and a total pro. She knew exactly how to keep DJ comfortable and present. This wasn’t about tricks, it was about trust. And because of that, DJ gave us moments that feel real because they are real. You’re not watching a performance. You’re watching a dog truly feel something.

I also have to give a shout-out to Luke Speakman, who can currently be seen playing the son of Josh Brolin’s character in Zach Cregger's Weapons. How cool was it working with Luke on Howl at the Dead?

Gregg Bishop: Luke’s a natural. I was looking for a 10-year-old, and he was only 8. But he had the soul of someone twice his age. He listens, he connects, and he delivers. This kid’s got it. It’s like that line in The Phantom Menace: "I will be watching your career with great interest."

Howl at the Dead has enjoyed a great run on the festival circuit (including Fantasia International Film Festival 2024 and winning Best Genre Short at the Mammoth Film Festival) and is now making its online premiere on National Dog Day! Do you have plans to film a feature-length version of Howl at the Dead if the opportunity arises? And do you have any other upcoming projects that you can tease for our readers?

Gregg Bishop: The feature’s already developed. It takes everything that worked in the short, the scares, the soul, the perspective, and pushes it into something bigger, scarier, and more emotional. It’s got real heart and real teeth, and I think it’s something special.

Next up, I’m directing a new horror film in 2026. And I’m deep into writing a sci-fi thriller that’s been crawling around in my head for years. It’s the kind of story I can’t stop thinking about, and I’m very excited about where it’s heading.

Thank you for your time, Gregg, and congrats on another killer film!

Gregg Bishop: Thanks, Derek. And to everyone watching Howl at the Dead on National Dog Day: share it with someone who loves dogs and who loves movies!

@BishopGregg signing off.

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About the film:

When a family moves into a new home, their loyal dog senses a presence no one else can. As the disturbances escalate, the pets struggle to protect the people they love from the malevolent ghosts only animals can see.

Cast and key credits:

Delilah Jane “DJ” Sassafras as Paws, Luke Speakman (Weapons), Ashley Watkins, Stephen Caudill. Directed by Gregg Bishop. Produced by Bishop Studios.

About Gregg Bishop: Gregg Bishop’s passion for filmmaking began when he found his father’s Super 8mm film camera in the attic at 7 years old and started making scary movies to terrify his sister. After graduating from the USC School of Cinematic Arts, Gregg directed the SLAMDANCE award-winning feature film THE OTHER SIDE; then followed it up with DANCE OF THE DEAD, which premiered at SXSW and was hand-picked by director SAM RAIMI for distribution through GHOST HOUSE PICTURES and LIONSGATE. He also wrote and directed a segment in the critically acclaimed horror anthology franchise V/H/S before directing SiREN for Chiller Films/UNIVERSAL. COLUMBIA PICTURES bought Gregg’s monster movie spec script LOCKDOWN AT FRANKLIN HIGH which will be produced by MICHAEL BAY. The next feature Gregg is set to direct is a new original horror film from the writers of the HELLRAISER reboot and the producers of FINAL DESTINATION. Gregg’s directing reel can be found at www.GreggBishop.com.