MovieChat Forums > Beyond the Wall of Sleep (2006) Discussion > From the guys that made this...

From the guys that made this...


It should come as no surprise to anyone who has either seen our film or, hell, just spent five minutes on this message board that we made a movie with some considerable flaws in it. One guy on here even said it made him want to kill himself. (You're gonna have to get in line there buddy!) That said, we actually really appreciate the honesty and opinions of everyone that has posted here. Even that guy. Many of them hurt to read. Not because they were untrue, but because some of them were dead on. Of course, there have also been plenty of times where we felt folks were misinformed or off the mark or both. It would be boring for us to go into the details with that and ultimately fruitless. As good of an explanation as we could muster, it's not gonna keep anyone from hating the film. It just barely keeps us from that and we made the damn thing!

Here's the skinny on the film. This movie was indeed supposed to be a German Expressionist style film with mythological, even Messianic overtones building out of the details of an unfilmed prequel in which we had built up the origin of Amducious and how he came to power through many crude generations of an inbred settlement in the Catskill Mountains. Sure, we were going for a pretty broad tone. But, mainly, we were trying to stay true to the narrative of Lovecraft's original 4-page story while departing from it really in just one key way. A departure from the story which put us on the road to making a horror movie instead of a sci-fi film.

Now, that was the intention. Obviously, what came out (as you can hear about on the brutally honest, if slightly inebriated via red bull and vodka, commentary track) was only the slightest sliver of that original intention. But, for only $100,000 and 15 days to shoot a 35mm, period horror film with extensive effects, a mostly amateur cast, unseasoned producers and one seriously lousy *beep* wig, we were pretty much doomed before calling out the first "Action!" And, yes, as with all low-budget films we encountered thousands of problems along the way, not the least of which being 26 cans of film being exposed to radiation when a crew member decided to "check" the undeveloped film onto a plane as luggage. (Which should tell you everything you need to know about the "seizure-inducing" editing and the repetition of a handful of shots for a good chunk of the run time.)

But, despite all of that, we came up with something that we are loosely "happy" with. Happy mainly because we finished the damn thing in a low-budget world where the majority of these types of productions end up as a pile of unedited footage sitting in some failed producers laundry room gathering dust.

We don't want to defend this film. It is what it is. Our plan is to try to redeem it by making another movie. Like Ed Wood said when told by a studio executive that "Glen or Glenda" was the worst film he'd ever seen - "Well, my next one will be better!"

Make no mistake, we take a certain twisted, geeky pride in the comments of the many here and other places who have declared this the "WORST MOVIE EVER." That's a rare honor and one we will wear with pride.

Again, we say thank you to each and every one of you for posting here and sharing your thoughts. It's given us thick skins and, to the dread of many, has only inspired us to try again!

Best regards,
Barrett Klausman & Thom Maurer

PS - Just so you know that are heads aren't completely up our own asses - we fully recognize that the DVD box artwork was completely misleading! Our concept is the cover that is featured on the IMDB page. Gotta love marketing! That said, someone should really make a movie about the guy that's on the box cover. That movie looks awesome!

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[deleted]

wow, i love when directors have the balls to explain them selves on imdb! respect! good luck with future movies.

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[deleted]

but the guy on the cover haunts my dreams. lets join forces and make a movie about him.

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i thought the dialogue was great... and i thought the editing was great.

i thought the acting could stand work, but that's expectable, especially from first timers, and acting doesn't make or break a story people... execution does.

i gave it an 8/10.


And Like That... He's Gone

I'm just like the devil, I don't play no tricks...
-Buddha Monk

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[deleted]

What a refreshingly honest take on your film. Unlike some film-makers who post here, you aren't trying to convince people your film was something it wasn't.
Thank you for that.
Lovecraft is a terrifically difficult writer to bring to the screen. I've read everything he's ritten, and seen most of the film treatments, and frankly, no-one has done a great job of it. The essense of Lovecraft is atmosphere, and so many people who've attempted him have gone for "camp" instead. I applaud you for staying away from that.
Using a "German expressionist" style is an extrememly interesting idea, and I think it lends itself to his work, especially in evoking his mythos in contrast to the "everyday".

Thanks again, guys

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I am beginning to feel like I'm the only person who liked this movie purely for what it was, but I'm also sure now that I shouldn't regret it.

---
"It's like a koala crapped a rainbow in my brain!"

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i loved this movie, like the guy before me posting here. Not just because i am a huge Lovecraft fan (which i am) but also because i love independant movies that people work their arse`s off for. You did something that most people just get drunk and top about doing. That`s an accomplishment in itself and should be an inspiration to anyone who ever thought about doing a project of this magnitude. Cheers for this, and i am looking forward to seeing the next.

"I`M RUNNIN THIS MONKEY FARM NOW FRANKENSTEIN..."

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I enjoyed this movie too! I wouldn't say I loved it, it definitely had flaws, but it's a great start, and I'm looking forward to seeing what you guys do next! Ignoring the cover art (which convinced me to buy it, so I guess it worked), there were only a few problems with the movie (the acting needed help, but the jerky flashing edit was what killed it for me), and for a low budget horror this was better than many I've seen! I personally liked how most of it was B&W, with only key elements in color, but if you do this technique again in the future, I would suggest using even less color scenes than you did. It's a cool idea, but if you switch from color to B&W too often it looses the emphasis quickly.

Good luck, and I'm looking forward to whatever you decide to do next!

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All though it wasn't the greatest movie with the greatest actors... in a sick way my friends and I love these types of movies simply for the fact they give us something to talk about. It almost, in our sense of thinking, gives this a place in our cult classics. The editing and storyline were really good though... gotta hand you that.

Don't stop trying... if you love the work keep it up!

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I think you might be on to something when you say you will wear the badge of 'Worst Movie Ever' with honor.

When I was watching this movie last night, I had a very hard time deciding if it was trying to be serious, or if it was camp. I determined that it was, in fact, meant to be serious, which makes for the best camp.

I bet viewers watching this movie have the same sort of reaction as those in 1975 watching 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' did. Look at where that movie is today? I really think this movie has potential to be the same. I can really see it. Instead of yelling lips, future viewers could be yelling 'wigs'.

This movie was terrible. So, so terrible. There is nothing else to be done except embrace it's terribleness.

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