Neil Breen

Neil Breen is an American filmmaker and actor. He directed five films between 2005 and 2018, which he also wrote, independently produced, and starred in. Breen's films have garnered a cult following for their low-budget production values, acting, writing, and editing.[1][2]

Neil Breen
Breen in 2017
NationalityAmerican
Occupation
  • Filmmaker
  • Actor
Known for

Life and career

Neil Breen grew up on the East Coast of the United States, and developed an interest in film and filmmaking at an early age. He studied architecture and initially became a licensed architect in California.[3] He gained a small following after releasing his first film, Double Down. Over the next years, he continued to work as an architect to finance his next film, I Am Here.... Now, which became his breakout feature and garnered "a lot of attention." Since then, he has established a reputation as a cult amateur filmmaker.[3]

Film

Breen writes, produces, directs, and stars in each of his own films. The characters he portrays hold advanced and often superhuman abilities and use them in grandiose struggles against corrupt forces and institutions.[4] Fateful Findings features Breen as a hacker imbued with supernatural powers by a magical stone he found as a child, who uses his skills to expose government and corporate corruption, while in Double Down he plays a rogue government super-agent.

In other films, his protagonist is a god-like, messianic, or otherwise chosen figure; Pass Thru, for example, has Breen playing a messianic entity who arrives from the future to wipe out 300 million "bad people" to usher in a new era of peace. Breen has said that his films have a "sense of social responsibility" and reflect the "mystical or paranormal side of life."[5]

Some critics have compared Breen's films to outsider art.[6][7]

Influence

His first feature film, Double Down, was featured on RedLetterMedia's Best of the Worst online series, whilst Fateful Findings was covered by both RedLetterMedia and YourMovieSucksDOTorg, along with other film critics on YouTube. Since then, Breen's films have been picked up by arthouse theaters and film festivals, including the 2012 "Butt-Numb-A-Thon" and the 2013 Seattle International Film Festival.[1] In Paste magazine's 2014 list of the 100 best B movies, Breen's film I Am Here.... Now was ranked 21st, with the author noting that he thought Breen would one day earn a place in the "terrible movie hall of fame" alongside Ed Wood and Tommy Wiseau.[8] Breen's third film, Fateful Findings, was compared to Wiseau's The Room by the former film's North American distributor Panorama Entertainment.[4] Breen's fifth feature film, Twisted Pair, was released in October 2018.[9] In March 2019, Breen confirmed that he would be producing a Twisted Pair sequel.[10]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Director Writer Producer Actor Editor Musical Director Role Notes
2005 Double Down Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Aaron Brand Also casting, production designer, production manager and catering
2009 I Am Here.... Now Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes The Being Also craft service, special makeup effects artist and props
2012 Fateful Findings Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Dylan Also accountant, craft service, special make-up effects, location manager, production designer, sound editor, lighting design, wardrobe and set decorator
2016 Pass Thru Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes A.I /
Thgil		 Also director of photography, production designer and manager, casting, set design, wardrobe, props, lighting designs, special make up effects, locations, administration and accounting, craft services, make up and hair and sound editor
2018 Twisted Pair Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Cade Altair /
Cale Altair		 Also director of photography, casting, make up and hair, production manager, set designer, wardrobe, props, lighting design, special effects, stunt coordinator, areal rigging, special makeup effects, legal accounting administration, craft services, locations and sound editor
2020 Neil Breen's 5 Film Retrospective Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Himself Documentary;

Also cinematographer

References
  1. Bell, Josh (February 6, 2014). "Local filmmaker Neil Breen's unique (and terrible) movies earned him a cult following". Las Vegas Weekly. The Greenspun Corporation. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  2. Galil, Leor (December 18, 2018). "In praise of Neil Breen, an auteur who finds new and exciting ways to be bad with every movie he makes". Chicago Reader.
  3. Olson 2018, p. 76.
  4. Jones, Alan. "Bad-movie lovers need to meet Neil Breen". The Dissolve. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  5. Howard, Jason. "An Interview with Director Neil Breen". Influx Magazine. Influx Magazine. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  6. Faraci, Devin (February 10, 2014). "Neil Breen Is The Hero Who Will Save Us From The Mainstreaming Of THE ROOM". Birth.Movies.Death. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  7. "Local filmmaker Neil Breen's unique (and terrible) movies earned him a cult following - Las Vegas Weekly". lasvegasweekly.com. February 6, 2014. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  8. Vorel, Jim (May 9, 2014). "The 100 Best "B Movies" of All Time". Paste. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  9. Rife, Katie (July 24, 2018). "Clear your calendars, Neil Breen has a new movie coming out". The A.V. Club. G/O Media. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  10. "Neil Breen confirms that there will be a sequel to Twisted Pair". Breenberg. March 12, 2019. Retrieved December 16, 2020.

Works cited
  • Olson, Christopher J. (2018). 100 Greatest Cult Films. Lanham; Boulder; New York City; London: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1442208223.
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