Neil Breen

Neil Breen is an American filmmaker and actor. Since 2005, he has made six feature films in which he acts as director, writer, producer and lead star, while being in charge of most other key crew positions. He usually finances his films himself independently from his earnings as a professional architect, using amateur casts and crews.

Breen's works have garnered a cult following as "so bad it's good" films, often being singled out for their poor acting (notably from Breen), bizarre story and dialogue, offbeat editing and low-budget production values; his stories are typically psychological thrillers or science fiction with strong social commentary depicting lonely, tragic heroes in grandiose struggles against corrupt institutions.

Life and career

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. He gained a small following after releasing his first film, ''Double Down'', which played at the Cinefamily cinematheque in Los Angeles in 2010. In the years that followed, Breen continued working as an architect as a means to finance his next film: ''I Am Here.... Now'', which also played at the Cinefamily in 2011. Since then, he has established a reputation as a cult amateur filmmaker. He has claimed to have recruited his cast from Craigslist ads to go along with directly being involved with theaters for distribution in a limited run starting at 7pm.

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. '' 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 CIA 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."

Some critics have compared Breen's films to outsider art. Breen's third film, ''Fateful Findings'', was compared to Tommy Wiseau's '' The Room'' by the former film's North American distributor Panorama Entertainment. Breen's fifth feature film, '' Twisted Pair'', was released in October 2018. On December 16, 2022, Breen confirmed his sixth film is a sequel to ''Twisted Pair'', titled ''Cade: The Tortured Crossing''. In February 2023, ''Cade: The Tortured Crossing'' won the award for "Best Fantasy Film" and "People's Choice Award" at the Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival, before its world premiere on February 25, 2023, at the Regal Cinemas L.A. Live. After its world premiere, ''Cade: The Tortured Crossing'' screened at Alamo Drafthouse locations across the country.

On May 17, 2024, Breen announced via Twitter that he has begun to write a script for his new film, claiming it is "totally different than his previous films." On December 4, Breen confirmed he is still writing his next film, saying it is "going great". On January 1, 2025, Breen confirmed it will be his seventh feature film and will begin filming that year.

Influence

His first feature film, ''Double Down'', was featured on RedLetterMedia's ''Best of the Worst'' online series, while ''Fateful Findings'' was covered by RedLetterMedia 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. In Jim Vorel's 2014 list of the 100 best B movies for '' Paste'' magazine, Breen's film ''I Am Here.... Now'' was ranked 21st, with Vorel mentioning that Breen could one day earn a place in the "terrible movie hall of fame" alongside Ed Wood and Wiseau.

Filmography

Film

Accolades

References

Works cited

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External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Breen, Neil
American architects
Film directors from California
Film producers from California
American male film actors
American male screenwriters
Living people
Place of birth missing (living people)
Year of birth missing (living people)