Today, I am back with another interview. This one is a bit different than my normal ones. Yeah, it's for an indie film. But it's different because this is a bit of another milestone here at The Blue.
Now, I have watched the Bad Ben film series. I have watched the first four as of right now. It's in the found footage genre. It's a bit of guerilla indie film making that I appreciate. I had seen the films on Amazon Prime. But the ratings seemed like it was a bit hit or miss. Honestly that alone reminds me of the Paranormal Activity series. But it wasn't till I had seen my friend and colleague, Fred (Fred's Horror Corner), talking more about them. He's a real good guy and runs a pretty awesome channel over on YouTube so check it out. That was when I decided to look more into the films.
The Bad Ben series is a pretty unique series. Again, it's a guerilla indie style of films. Just people making movies cause they love it and having fun. It makes the films interesting to view in that light.
So after viewing some of the films, I decided to reach out to Nigel Bach, the man behind the films. After a few days, I hadn't heard back. I was like okay, I gave it my shot. It's okay, I tried. I mean there had been a few others that had reached out to for interviews but nothing came from those. So, I thought nothing of it.
.
A few days later, Mr. Bach had replied. He had just been a bit busy with some things going on. So join me as I talk with Nigel Bach about his Bad Ben series of films.
How did you get your start?
I was producing TV Commercials as an independent contractor for Comcast Cable Advertising at the same time I was writing and pitching screenplays. Breaking into the screenwriting business is extremely difficult if you don’t have family in the business. People started saying to me “you own cameras, make your own movie” but they didn’t understand, just because you own a camera doesn’t mean you can make Avatar.
What was your introduction to the genre?
Knowing I couldn’t produce a cinema quality film with the equipment I possessed, I began wondering what I could produce with the equipment I had. That’s when I realized I could make a film like Blair Witch Project or Paranormal Activity, films that looked like they were made on the equipment I had.
How did you come up with the idea for Bad Ben?
I had surveillance cameras in my home to keep an eye on my elderly mother who I was the sole caregiver of. Often at night when the house was quiet and dark, I would look at the cameras on my iPhone and think ‘wouldn’t it be creepy if something walked across that room’ or ‘if something moved?’ That’s when I came up with the idea of shooting a found footage film using surveillance cameras (I actually used GoPros). My mother passed in 2013 and after several years of pitching screenplays, I decided to make my own film in 2016. Originally, I hired 6 actors. The female lead’s parents were out of town and she was having her boyfriend and two other couples over and one by one they would disappear…typical horror movie stuff. One by one as the shooting start date approached, they dropped out until all that was left was the female lead. I figured I would just shoot the film with her, home alone, and weird stuff happening. The Thursday before we were to begin filming (in May of 2016) I was driving home in the pouring rain and I got a text from her: ‘moving to LA, can’t be in your film, sorry, good luck.’ So you know, I don’t expect anyone to work for free like a lot of indy producers do. These performers would have been getting paid.
I was very frustrated and dropped the phone on the passenger seat of my car. For about 10 seconds I had given up. Then I scooped up my phone and started filming myself as I drove and pulled into my driveway saying ‘not bad for a Sheriff’s Sale’…the scene that became the opening to Bad Ben. I had my doubts wondering who would want to see a 50 year old, fat, bald guy getting the crap beat out of him by demons and ghosts but I figured I’d give it a shot.
What has it been like making each of these films?
All the ones that I was in alone (1, 4, 6, and most of 9) were improve without a script. They were a blast. The other films where I used other actors were a bit more challenging because their schedules were difficult to align. They were all enjoyable to make.
What was the response like for the first one?
I didn’t know what to expect but it took off and streaming 1.2 million minutes on Amazon Video the first month, 1.8 million minutes the second, and 1.2 again the third. They were so popular I won the AVD Stars award the first 3 months the films were on-line.
How soon after the first one did you think you could do another?
Immediately I began planning the next one in the Bad Ben Series. I made a mistake here, though. Originally, I thought I was making a horror with Bad Ben. Fans did find it scary, but they also found it funny. The second one, Steelmanville Road, I made much darker. It was a prequel designed to explain why the surveillance cameras were in the home, who Bad Ben was, etc. I hired a great group of actors for this one. The problem was, the fans liked the buffoon Tom Riley and without him in it and with the serious tone, it wasn’t as well received as the first one. When I decided to embrace the fact that fans wanted scary and silly, the films did better.
Did you think that this would grow into such a franchise as it has?
No. After all, these are basically just long YouTube videos, but the fans have embraced them.
What do you think it is that connects with audiences?
Tom is like Michael Scott in the US version of The Office…a moron who thinks he is brilliant. They like how he reacts to the Paranormal Events taking place. He has an “I don’t give a shit” attitude and refuses to give up no matter what happens because if he does, he will lose everything.
In the fourth film, we see a multiverse of different Toms coming to the house. It is a very smart and bonkers idea. What was that like? Each one after the initial one feels different than the previous one. What was your favorite?
The one with the dolls was my favorite because I had to come up with a way to move a camera and track the moving doll. I did that by making it seem like I attached a camera to the doll with a blue-tooth tracker. I thought it was original.
I was waiting for at one point seeing Tom get out of the car and then just getting attacked right away.
I think that's another reason why I appreciate these films so much now. They are fun. They definitely don't repeat themselves either.
What was it like making Bad Ben: Pandemic?
I’m stating the obvious here when I say bringing people together during a Pandemic to film would not be wise. My fans are so awesome I asked if they wanted to be in a Bad Ben film by submitting segments of their own and I’d edit them together as if they were video chatting with me for guidance about dealing with events going on in their lives. Over 30 people shot their own segments which made up the film.
What goes into deciding what the story is going to be for these films?
Like I mentioned earlier, a lot of what goes into these is ‘improv’…like in Badder Ben when Schmiddy reveals his real name is Tristan Carmichael. I looked at the footage we had shot up until that point and realized he wasn’t in most of it, so I said to him ‘film a testimonial’ and on the spot he made that up. Each one is connected to the previous one in some matter. Although they can each stand alone, it helps if the viewers have seen the previous films.
What can you tell us about Bad Ben Benign?
Bad Ben 9 (BENIGN) picks up the moment Pandemic Ends. Not all the fans watch the credits but in Pandemic, there is a break in the credits and a scene is shown where Tom gets shot…it’s relevant to how Benign begins. Tom walks out of the woods where he was shot and back to the house. Unlike the previous films, Benign is continuous, meaning, it represents 90 minutes in time as it happened…so from the beginning to the end, it’s 90 minutes from Tom walking out of the woods until the film ends. There is no cutting to a later time or the next day.
The best part of these films is it feels like a pure indie horror film. The kind where it's like Okay, going to get some friends together and make something.
Are the films available to purchase? If so, where?
I sell DVDs on BadBen.com but in the very near future that will be taken over by the distributor, Breaking Glass Films so the answer is actually…they will be.
Bad Ben: Benign and the rest of the series are available on Amazon, YouTube, Google Play Movies & TV, and VUDU.
Follow Nigel Bach over on Twitter
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