Short and Sweet: Chris McInroy Has "GUTS"

Welcome to Short and Sweet, our look at short films made by Austin filmmakers. Today we talk with Chris McInroy, director of the award-nominated gooey gross-out laff-fest "GUTS."

Written and directed by McInroy (creator of the equally hurl-inducingly-hilarious "Death Metal"), "GUTS" stars Kirk C. Johnson (The Unicorn) as Horace, a regular guy working in a boring office. He faces one slight obstacle to staying under the radar of office politics and watercooler chatter: his guts are on the outside.

The film, hosted by horror experts Alter, was just nominated in the best short film category in the prestigious Fangoria magazine Chainsaw Awards (and you can vote here).

With the nomination announced, we asked McInroy about the film, his approach to gross-out humor, and the worst job he ever had.

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Austin Chronicle: So, at what point did you realize that legendary cannibal horror Antropophagus would have the makings of a great comedy?

Chris McInroy: After "GUTS" premiered at Fantastic Fest I went on Letterboxd to see what people were thinking and someone said it was "Antropophagus meets Office Space" so I had to look up what Antropophagus was. I had never seen it and I read the entire plot instead of watching it but I really need to watch it because it sounds crazy. I'm kinda surprised I'd never heard of it.

AC: How does it feel to know that your completely gross-out comedy made it into the Fangoria Chainsaw awards short list, normally reserved for more serious horror?

CMcI: I was shocked when I saw "GUTS" was nominated! This is the first year they have a Best Short category so I was double shocked. "GUTS" had a really good festival run and audiences really seemed to like it but I'm never sure if anything I make will resonate with anyone so it feels good that my weird horror-comedy can be taken seriously enough to get nominated for such a cool award. The Chainsaw Awards are my Oscars and I'm glad they recognize horror-comedy in their nominations. I'm up against some stiff competition, like one short is made by Sony Pictures, but I love a good underdog story and I'm happy to represent Austin.

AC: As much as this is a film about a man with his guts on the outside, this is also a film about working in a terrible office. What's your worst office job experience?

CMcI: I had some awful jobs in high school and right after. I think the only cubicle job was a telemarketer gig where you had to wear a tie, I only made it through the two weeks of training before I bailed. It's funny that I even tried that cuz I hate the phone, especially nowadays, I dread having to call anyone or answer a call.

Another job I took that sucked was at the butcher counter at a grocery store. I was so low on the totem pole all I did was wash bloody dishes, I only lasted two weeks there too.

AC: This really builds on the idea that Jeremy King (Scare Package is the Austin film scene's Bruce Campbell, the absolute utility goof.

CMcI: That's some high praise!

AC: There's some really gooey moments in here, and some pretty gross ones. Where did you draw the line between funny and too much, or was the idea that too much was absolutely the way to go?

CMcI: I'm addicted to sitting with an audience and hearing them laugh and groan at stuff I make. So I tried upping the shock value in this one. My initial vision of a guy with his guts on the outside of his body was gross and funny but I had to think of what was grosser than that and then what was grosser than that. But the gags need to serve a purpose in the overall story. I did draw the line at any poop jokes though.