Meet Brad McHargue and Becky Sayers

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brad McHargue and Becky Sayers and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brad McHargue and Becky Sayers, why did you pursue a creative career?
It may sound cheesy, but we do it because we have to. If you are compelled towards art, then you really have no choice but to find a way to pursue it. Even when it isn’t your day job and even when you are stretched for time, you’ll find a way to take steps, even the smallest ones, towards that passion. If you’re compelled to create, then the distinction between hobby and career almost becomes indistinguishable.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Suburban Ghost is an indie filmmaking group that focuses on genre, primarily horror. With every project, we try to subvert expectations in some way – whether that be manipulating familiar cinematic tropes or utilizing fictional fears to comment on our own reality. Horror movies are a safe and often fun vehicle to explore the dark corners of our world. At Suburban Ghost, we usually end up exploring these corners with a sense of humor or at least a wink and a nod, but all our stories are rooted in some basis of familiarity – a comfort that we quickly try to turn on its head. A short film that we completed in early 2020, There’s a Ghost in the House, exemplifies this. We use the sudden appearance of a ghost in a couple’s living room as a comically surreal apparatus to showcase the breakdown of their relationship. A silent ghost in a blank sheet ended up being the perfect mirror to hold up against a pair that was more willing to project ideas onto one another than actually communicate.

It has been through a lot of trial and error as artists that we have gotten to where we are today. We’re still learning (and we always will be), but we now have more confidence to execute on the stories we want to tell. There is no shortcut to figuring it out. You have to simply work through it. The more projects you create, the more opportunities you have to understand yourself as a creative person and the more opportunities you have to refine your craft. We are lucky to have found one another; having a creative partner that you can talk freely about all your weird ideas with is such a gift. Our goal is to continue to push each other so that we keep taking risks and keep trying to punch above our weight. The biggest lesson we have learned may be a cliche, but it’s something we have to constantly remind ourselves: you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. Imposter syndrome is especially difficult to overcome in creative fields, especially industries like filmmaking that have historically been so inaccessible. You have to push through that discomfort, because that’s likely where your best work is hiding.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Of course, we’d have to do some of the typical Colorado things: head out to Golden for a hike, follow it up with a giant burrito from Illegal Pete’s (something that has become a delicious tradition of ours), and then hit up a brewery – probably TRVE Brewing if our company is into metal like we are. On another night, we’d debate between the two best pizza places in town: Blue Pan or Black Sky Brewery…but we’d find a way to squeeze them both in during the trip. With every guest that’s in town, we like to show them our own neighborhood, which people often miss when they visit Denver. We love being near Havana street, which has some of the most diverse food offerings in town, as well as a surprisingly large number of karaoke joints. We’d end the night at our favorite spot, Family Karaoke.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
We are grateful to so many people who have given their time, energy, and creativity to help us bring our movies to life. Our friends and family have been our biggest supporters, whether it be agreeing to don a sheet and play a ghost on camera or reading every new draft of a script to provide feedback. Filmmaking requires you to take risks and be vulnerable; we couldn’t do it if we didn’t have an amazing support system. We also couldn’t make these movies without the help of other filmmakers and actors who call Colorado home. We have been lucky to find and work with incredibly talented people who have made us better filmmakers in the process.

Website: https://www.suburban-ghost.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suburbanghostfilms

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/suburban-ghost/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/suburbanghostfilms

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWwUG2g1AA1iQRmcgQoY8xw