Behind
The Mask: The Batman Dead End Story (2015/Candy Factory DVD)
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: D Documentary: B
The
start of the fan film craze leads back to filmmaker Sandy Collora's
groundbreaking short Batman Dead End in 2003. If you're
unaware of it, this fan film was the first time that a filmmaker
tackles a big property on a minimal budget whilst actually creating
and designing the costumes and world himself. In the short, Batman
and the Joker both encounter a clan of Predators and Aliens, which
culminates in an ultimate (and fun) battle to the death! Be sure to
seek this short film out and check it out before seeing this
documentary Behind The Mask: The Batman Dead End Story (2015)
for maximum enjoyment.
This
insightful documentary highlights Collora's interesting film career
as both a director, writer, & sculptor and his years working with
Stan Winston, Rick Baker, Neil Adams, and many other big Hollywood
heavyweights on some huge projects in the '90s, including Jurassic
Park and Men In Black to name a few. What's inspiring
about this documentary is that it proves that if you have the
ambition to do it, that anything is possible. Here at the top of his
game in the Special Effects world, Collora decided to abandon these
dreams for the one that he ultimately has always had - to be a film
director. Unlike many others, he actually made this dream a reality.
Here
we have a filmmaker whose love for Batman, Aliens, and Predator
helped his career more than he could have ever thought by putting all
three characters (and worlds) in a blender and making his own project
outside of the studio system. While some people questioned this
logic (and that you can't necessarily make money off copyrighted
characters), Collora trudged forward and wowed at the San Diego
Comic-con to sold out screenings, magazine publications, and soon
found even more reach in the digital realm years later. One of the
Predators in the film, the ''Big Red'' Predator, was even produced by
NECA into an incredible (and bestselling) action figure - something
unheard of for a fan film to pull off.
Using
his favorite filmmaker, James Cameron, as an inspiration, Collora is
first and foremost an unbelievable visual artist (in terms of
costuming, maquette making, and conceptual art) with highly detailed
work that is up there with the best of them. This doc features
insightful interviews from both Collora's peers, himself, and others
in the industry that are quick to point out both his strengths and
his flaws and how he learned from past mistakes, which is one thing I
liked about this. This doc isn't purely trying to feed the
filmmaker's ego by saying how great he is every five seconds, but is
more or less painting an actual picture of how hard it is for someone
with talent to break into the modern Hollywood studio system as a
genre filmmaker in this day and age. It also shows the Director's
other passion in exploring the ocean and various other underwater
adventures that he has had off land, which adds to the piece.
Not
settling for making just another sequel, you have to hand it to
Collora for passing on several projects presented to him over the
years and sticking to his guns, making films that he himself wants to
see one and that are of his own creative vision. Two of which, his
sci-fi feature Hunter Prey (2010) and new short film project
Shallow Water (2017), both got finished and widely released to
the masses. (Be sure to seek out Shallow Water online and
give the twenty some odd minute short a watch!)
Presented
in standard definition DVD with a 1.85:1 widescreen aspect ratio and
a lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track, there isn't anything terribly
wrong with the transfer, nor particularly impressive. The editing
and digital animation within the piece is strong and the audio is
consistent throughout with a nice score to go along.
No
extras, which is a shame as you would think that the Batman: Dead
End short would be an obvious choice or at least a trailer for
Shallow Water. Nothing. Not even a menu. Missed
opportunity, though another edition may surface.
Being
an independent filmmaker (especially in the Sci-Fi and Horror genre)
myself, I found a lot of inspiration in this documentary and spent
equal time in awe of the work that Mr. Collora has done. I will
definitely look back at Batman: Dead End with more fondness
after seeing this doc and would highly recommend it if you're a
filmmaker or genre film fan.
-
James Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/