Behind the Scenes of ‘Total Hell’ really opens one’s eyes to the possibilities of mockumentaries!
Long time readers of MicroFilmmaker doubtless remember Best of Show Winner “Behind the Scenes of ‘Total Hell’“, which received an 8.8 score from Kari Ann Morgan in her critique. The film is a mockumentary that pretends to be a documentary following around a really poorly planned horror film and recording what’s happening. (Not unlike a mock-version of the seminal Indie film, American Movie.) The film takes a bawdy wink at reality TV by having some of the actors being led to believe they were making a real horror movie and that all the overwrought drama exhibited by the director and his cronies was completely real.
As director Andy Wilton said of the process when interviewed:
“[The unsuspecting crew members] were filmed by our crew, believing we were genuinely a behind the scenes doc crew. This allowed for us to get added friction and drama, as the guys involved were really living the events as they made their ‘horror film.'”
The results are hilarious, as not only MFM has attested, but also as DarkestGoth Magazine film critic Reverend Leviathan put in his review of the BTSOTH film recently:
Behind the Scenes of Total Hell rekindled my love for mockumentaries. To quote one of the actresses: “I hope the documentary is going to be good because the film is not going to be.” The documentary IS the film and it’s definitely good.
For those who purchase the collector’s edition of the film off the BTSOTH website (which is less than $20 USD), you’ll get an extra special exclusive. The “film within the film” (Total Hell) actually exists as a full 90 minute bonus film on the secondary disc. The filmmakers believe this is the first time this has been done for a feature film and I believe they’re correct. (The American Movie collector’s edition included the film, but it was a 22 minute short, as opposed to a 90 minute feature which is a huge difference.)
To celebrate the release of the Collector’s Edition and give love to fans of Indie films everywhere, the filmmakers are streaming the Behind the Scenes of ‘Total Hell’ Mockumentary free of charge starting on Sunday, April 21st! To find out more and subscribe to their mailing list, just go to the official BTSOTH site or to the production company’s Once Upon a Tyne YouTube page!
To get a sneak peak, take a look at the Trailer:
Jeremy T. Hanke
The director of two feature length films and half a dozen short films, Jeremy Hanke founded MicroFilmmaker Magazine to help all no-budget filmmakers make better films. The second edition of his well-received book on low-budget special effects techniques, GreenScreen Made Easy, (which he co-wrote with Michele Yamazaki) is being released by MWP in fall 2016. He's curently working on the sci-fi collaborative community, World of Depleted, and directed the debut action short in this series, Depleted: Day 419 .