
William Grefé
Directing
Biography
William Grefé (born 1930) is an American writer and director of films, best known for his work in the exploitation field. For most of his career, he has worked in Florida. He also worked for several years with Ivan Tors. In 2009 a documentary was released about his work called From the Swamp: The Films of William Grefe. In 2020 a four-disc Blu-ray collection He Came from the Swamp: The William Grefé Collection will be released by Arrow Video.
Known For

A man accidentally learns that he has a mystical connection with sharks, and is given a strange medallion by a shaman. Becoming more and more alienated from normal society, he develops an ability to communicate with sharks telepathically, setting out to destroy anybody who harms sharks. People enter into his strange world to exploit his weird passion, and he uses the animals to gain revenge on anybody who double crosses him.
Mako: The Jaws of Death

On its way back to Earth, the space shuttle Nautilus passes through a cloud of alien spores causing its sole occupant, astronaut Steve Thomas to transform into a blood-thirsty monster. The shuttle crashes into a swampy region of central Florida, creating a situation which threatens contagion and/or death to all who encounter the shuttle or its mutated pilot.
Dark Universe

Love and crime in Miami's Cocoanut Grove artist's colony. Swinging young writer Stephen Oliver has a falling-out with benefactress Rita Hayworth in the wake of a wild LSD party. Rita foolishly tries blackmail after Oliver's reconciliation attempt leaves her crippled millionaire husband dead.
The Naked Zoo

A paranoid, leisure-suit-clad conman/gigolo named Matt Stone seduces lonely women, bilks them of their savings via an investment scam, then kills them. When he begins seeing an attractive widow, her preteen daughter Tina becomes suspicious of his motives.
Impulse

Tim Ochopee, a shell-shocked Seminole Indian has just returned from a tour of Vietnam. He lives a peaceful life deep in the Everglades with his pet snake Stanley. Upon his return, he finds out his father has passed away. When he learns how he was killed, Tim lets Stanley and his brood loose on the people who've done him wrong, leading to a thrilling climax.
Stanley

Regional finalists of the Masterblaster paintball competition gather together at the national championship for a chance at the title and fifty thousand dollars in cash. The competition turns deadly when someone stops playing games and starts taking lives.
Masterblaster

A group of student archaeologists venture into the Florida Everglades to look for fossils, but come across an area cursed by a Native American witch doctor.
Death Curse of Tartu

Tim Murphy is a Vietnam Vet. When he loses his job he starts to relive all the pain and horror of his time in Vietnam. The stresses and strains nearly destroy his marriage and his family. Only after joining a veterans' therapy group does Tim find relief from his nightmares. With the support of his fellow vets and the love of his wife, Tim recovers. Written by Pfyre Caidmon
Cease Fire

Triton Indutries has created a genetically-engineered creature using DNA from human sources. During the course of the experiment, however, the host mother carrying the mutant escapes from the laboratory compound, giving birth shortly thereafter. The intellient "baby" beings hunting down and killing its male DNA donors, while at the same time trying to mate with its female donors. The head of the lab wants to destroy the monster before the press can get wind of the story, but the former head of security wants to expose the whole thing.
Biohazard: The Alien Force

Two brothers pose as women to avoid marrying a mobster's ugly daughter.
The Godmothers

Savage! Sadistic! Thrill hungry! When it came to independent filmmaking in the sunshine state, William Grefé was the wildest of the wild! During the 1960s and '70s, the Miami-based producer/director transformed the darkest corners of the Florida swamps into his own personal backlot. From rampaging crocodiles possessed by an ancient Seminole witch doctor (DEATH CURSE OF TARTU) to a slithering serpent named STANLEY, William Grefé would grind out low-budget exploitation films for drive-ins and hardtops around the world. Now, without the benefit of cages or other protective devices, the untold story of Florida's most daring moviemaker comes to the screen...IN PSYCHEDELIC COLOR!
They Came from the Swamp: The Films of William Grefé

Explore the independent horror film scene that Florida has been vigorously pumping out since the invention of film. Jam-packed with Interviews, exploitation, never-before-seen footage and cinema madness. Watch and learn about films new and old in this exclusive documentary made for cult horror fans.
Blood, Guts and Sunshine: The History of Horror Made in Florida

After goofball Rich accidentally decapitates his best friend Benny while trimming a Christmas tree with a machete, he's forced to go on a quest to find God's bong and use it to bring his friend back to life. Az the Demon and Boogar.
Cool As Hell 2

When young women head into the Everglades, they are killed, one by one, by the vengeful spirit of a Seminole warrior.
Bikini Swamp Girl Massacre

Two filmmakers, Steven Brack and William Grefé, have a disagreement over what constitutes a good horror film, leading one of them to take an extreme solution to their debate that is "Poe"-etic.
A Cask of Amontillado
A making of documentary on the cult classic STANLEY.
Dark Side of Eden

A trio of addicts make a move into drug smuggling with an ill-fated plan to use the Cuban Navy as their supplier that leads to kidnapping and murder.
The Hooked Generation

This film is based on the Las Poquianchis case in Mexico where Delfina and María de Jesús González lured in young women with false help wanted ads. They would get the women addicted to drugs and put them to work as prostitutes. Once they became too ill, used up or stubborn, they would be killed. Customers may also be killed if it appeared to be profitable enough. When police officers searched the sisters' property they found 91 bodies.
The Devil's Sisters

Jay Katz & Miss Death have been the king and queen of Sydneys underground cinema scene for over 30 years. This 2 hour compilation highlights their final quest to survive the 2020 pandemic by producing original content from The Mu Meson Archives
Naked World

A playboy adventure novelist joins his publisher on an expedition to Voodoo Island in the Caribbean, where a cancer researcher is being forced to turn the tribes-people into zombies.