LOS ANGELES, FEBRUARY 2, 2016 — Fast paced and high energy, THE DEMON IN THE DARK is a mad dash following a group of disposable agents tasked with delivering the “package” to the drop off… and finding out if the predator prowling Gotham City is a monster, an alien, or simply a psychopath on a rampage. The “Ultimate” fan film, this premiered for a free early audience this fall at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood hosted by “The Traveling Nerd” Lance Paul and presented by God Hates Geeks to a full excited audience followed by a Q&A with filmmakers.
The short film was shot and edited over eight months on a shoestring budget in New York and Los Angeles by three fanboys and directed by one fan girl. While there are big budget VFX shots of superhero battles, an equal amount of effort went into the details of Gotham City. Over sixty Easter Eggs can be found throughout the background, ranging from Big Belly Burger, to Alan Scott’s radio station, to movie posters for ‘Captain Carrot: The Cold Turkey’.
Heavily influenced by THE LONG HALLOWEEN, YEAR ONE, and THE ULTIMATES, Letia Clouston, selected characters from Gail Simone’s run on the SECRET SIX and a “man on the street’ perspective seen in the 1994 mini-series MARVELS.
Batman is unique for numerous reasons, but unlike heroes meant to inspire and save innocent civilians, Bruce Wayne specifically created a persona to terrify criminals, “…my disguise must be able to strike terror into their hearts. I must be a creature of the night, black, terrible…” And this short aims to show how this visage would be seen by his victims.
The filmmakers were committed to fitting within the canon of the current DC cinematic universe and paying a rich homage. With nods to ARROW and the FLASH, the short takes place between Christopher Nolan’s BATMAN BEGINS, in which Batman is seen as myth or monster (in no small part due to the Scarecrow’s fear toxin) and THE DARK KNIGHT, where the citizens of Gotham seem to know Batman is human and call for his public unmasking.
Executive produced by Geoff Boucher (Hero Complex) and directed by Letia Clouston, DEMON IN THE DARK stars Dominique Swain(“Lolita”),Jamie Bernadette, Chantelle Albers, Shon Lange, Brian Luna, and Matthew Clouston.
