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

From the guys that made this...

posted 17 years ago by elglobo1
23 replies | jump to latest

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!

[–] locusts_of_death 16 years ago

Not to be rude, but give me 100 grand, 35mm film and 15 days to shoot a film and I would rock it like it was a million dollar movie.

For films no one wants to see, visit: www.youtube.com/astronomicafilms. Or don't.

[–] pandaphil-1 16 years ago

Hoestly, I've watched enough MST3K to know that this is far from the worst film ever made.

I'll admit I was kinda dissapointed the first time I saw it, but it actually gets a lot better the second time through. The first ten minutes or so are great, pure nightmare bait. Yeah, as has been said the actign isn't the greatest, but you guys captured the general uneasy creepiness of Lovecraft perfectly. So at least you deserve props for that.

Bes tof luck on your next project!

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] su_pesadilla 15 years ago

I have to respect you guys for coming on here, amidst all this negativity toward your film and saying this. It's nice that you know it's not great, but it's your's.

On that note, I've spent the last two years trying to find this movie after seeing ten minutes of. We picked it up because of the DVD cover (terribly misleading), put it in, and then realized that it played like a home-made commercial (with marginally better sound quality). I then forgot the name of it, but had been searching for it everywhere I went, asking movie store clerks if they had any idea, trying every keyword i could think of on the internet. I wanted to watch it more than anything. Finally I found it at blockbuster the other night and immediately recognized the DVD cover (again, seriously!?). I was ecstatic. If your film can make me search obsessively for two years after seeing no more than ten minutes of it, then you must have done SOMETHING right. Even if it wasn't the something you were aiming for. Just keep doing what you love.

[–] UESC_Marathon 15 years ago

I really enjoyed this movie! I mean, the fact that it is an H. P. Lovecraft adaptation tipped me off that it would be a modest production, but I was seriously impressed with how original and bizarre the whole thing was. Most Lovecraft films don't evoke the insanity of the original works, but I think this one succeeded.

[–] rideitlikeyoustoleit 15 years ago

Yeah, that box cover threw me off. But I think you guys made a pretty funny unintentional comedy. For that, I'll give you props.

[–] blue_scifi 15 years ago

My friends and I were (and still are) under the impression that it was supposed to be hilarious and campy. We loved it because it made us laugh and we love independent horror films. I definitely do get the German expressionist thing, though, and I think you accomplished that rather nicely in the visual department.

That said, people who don't like indie horror shouldn't be renting this in the first place. It looks nice (especially given the budget) and it's entertaining, and that's all that should matter.

[–] bradwilson 15 years ago

i like the fact for the explanation and the story of the movie is great - i just hope that you do get the budget/crew/cast you plan for or lower the standard and adjust the method, and i hope not to offend. i am a habitual 99 cent blockbuster renter (horror or sci fi genre only-haha) what i loved about this movie was its feel and rawness, but i became distracted by its lack of flow several times...

(this user also rented alien abduction this week....and guess what? i like it!)

[–] whiteboy1394 15 years ago

I have to hand it to you guys I like that you went on here and told us that. And also when people say your movie's bad, who gives a *beep* You are a filmmaker, the thing many people on this board aspire to be one day, including me. Congradulations on actually making a movie that made it to DVD. But as an aspiring filmmaker I was wondering do you have any filmmaking tips?

[–] OgreVI 14 years ago

You know, I liked it. I'm a big fan of little independent films like this, and yeah, this one had its problems, but I actually enjoyed it, in sort of the same way I enjoy Blood Freak and such things. I've been thinking about buying it, actually.
I'm just impressed that folks can do what you did. You have an idea, you get the cash together, you go out and round people up, and you kind of make your dreams. I've always got a soft spot for films like this, unless they're made by Ulli Lommel. I appreciate your work a lot more than that of guys who have every advantage and can't do anything with it. I hope you do make more films. Good luck.

Death is...whimsical today.