Student director Aaron Burke screens 20‑minute horror‑western "Treasure of the Unholy" and fields Q&A

On a special edition of The Big Picture podcast, hosts Brad and Ben hosted director Aaron Burke and actor Chad Griptentrop for a screening of the 20‑minute student film Treasure of the Unholy, followed by an on‑air conversation about the production.

Aaron Burke, identified on the show as the film’s director, described the project as “a period piece set in the late 18 hundreds. It's a western, but with a added horror element,” and explained the basic premise: an artifact with a demon soul travels from Europe to the Americas and is unleashed in the Wild West. The hosts screened the film and then asked Burke about influences and production choices.

Burke said the film evolved during development — originally conceived with a tribal curse backstory and later simplified into a chain‑gang and treasure‑map conceit — and acknowledged stylistic influences from Sam Raimi and Peter Jackson. He said the decision to make the treasure map demonic grew from that simplification. Burke also confirmed the runtime to hosts: “20 minutes long.”

Actor Chad Griptentrop, who appears in the film, described a demanding on‑location shoot in Pony, Montana, and said of the production pace: “Aaron flipped out on us a couple times, but it was alright.” The hosts noted that Justin Sperandeo, one of the credited prison‑guard actors, was not present for the broadcast; the on‑air discussion referenced his absence and earlier plans.

Why this matters: the segment documents a student production’s creative choices and local filmmaking logistics, including stated influences and on‑location challenges. The exchange included explicit on‑air acknowledgments of homage and stylistic borrowing and a brief description of the shooting environment.