Bad Ben is the name of a web series of independent found footage horror comedy films, the first of which released in 2016. The series has been written and directed by Tom Fanslau under the pen name of Nigel Bach. As of 2023, there are twelve Bad Ben films. [1] [2]
A video game based on the series has also been released. [3]
There are eleven films in the Bad Ben series as of 2023. A short film entitled "Bad Ben's Night Before Christmas" was released in 2019. A television series made up of three episodes, Tom Riley: Paranormal Investigator, released between 2018 and 2019.
Bad Ben was released directly to the Internet on October 5, 2016. Fanslau stars as Tom Riley, an unsuspecting homeowner who has started to experience strange and inexplicable phenomena in his new home. He finds that he is unable to enter the basement, from which strange smells emerge. He uncovers evidence that this may be linked to an entity called "Bad Ben" and that his own life is in danger. [4]
Bach had initially approached several producers with his concept. Per the director, he was met with interest but was unable to successfully convince them to bring the project to fruition. He eventually chose to create the film himself. [5] Bach filmed Bad Ben on a budget of $300 with his cell phone and security cameras [6] in his own home on Steelmanville Road in New Jersey, which he would also use for a filming location in future films. [7] Per The Philadelphia Inquirer , the movie has made Bach approximately $110,000 from Amazon streaming revenue and has been seen over a million times as of 2021. [6]
Steelmanville Road is a prequel to Bad Ben. It was released in 2017 and follows a married couple who moves into what they believe is the house of their dreams, only to find that the opposite is true.
Badder Ben, also known as Badder Ben: The Final Chapter, is the third film in the series. It was released in 2017 and centers upon a group of paranormal investigators seeking to learn the truth about what happened on Steelmanville Road.
The Mandela Effect was released during 2018 and posits what would happen if the events of the first film also occurred in parallel universes.
The Crescent Moon Clown, released in 2018, features a new family moving into the home on Steelmanville Road and discovering a seemingly evil clown doll secreted away in a box.
Bad Ben: The Way In released in 2019. Nigel Bach returns as Tom Riley, who is asked to return to his former home and rid it of all evil, this time facing nine demons.
Bad Ben: The Haunted Highway was first released in 2019 through the Internet. The movie additionally screened at The Unnamed Found Footage Festival in San Francisco, California during March 2022. [8] The film's plot follows protagonist Tom Riley as he works for a rideshare service, only to pick up terrifying passengers. [9]
Bad Ben: Pandemic was released in 2020. The story focuses on Tom Riley, who is now working as an online consultant for people wondering if they are experiencing the supernatural.
The ninth film in the Bad Ben series was released to the internet on October 26, 2021 through Breaking Glass Pictures. [10] Entitled Bad Ben: Benign, the film once again follows Riley as he tries to cleanse his home of evil, this time potentially facing a demon more powerful than anything he's yet faced. [5]
The tenth film in the Bad Ben series, titled Eulogy, was released on Bad Ben TV on June 30, 2022. This film presents a video eulogy for Tom Riley compiled of new footage by video podcaster Jackson Scott, [11] played by Scott Tomlinson. [12]
Bad Ben: Undead was released on Bad Ben TV on October 27, 2022. Both Bach and Tomlinson reprise their roles as Tom Riley and Jackson Scott, who team up during a zombie apocalypse. [13]
Released in 2023.
The 13th film of the franchise, Bad Ben: The Dracula Situation (sometimes referred to as The Vampire Situation) this installment has Tom Riley return to Steelmanville Road with his old house once again and finds out the previous owner rented it out to Dracula who brings havoc upon Steelmanville Road.
Bad Ben: Frankenstein is the 14th film in the series and is set to release on July 4, 2024.
Bach has released eleven films in the Bad Ben series, beginning with the titular 2016 film. The films premiered on Amazon Prime, where they were available for viewing until 2020, [6] when he removed the films due to Amazon lowering his earnings. [14] The films were later re-released through Breaking Glass Pictures. [10]
As of 2023, all eleven Bad Ben films are available to stream on the Bad Ben TV Roku channel. [14]
A game adaptation entitled Bad Ben has been produced. It was developed by Bach alongside corpsepile and DreadXP and was released to Itch.io in October 2021. Bach provides the voice for the game protagonist. Players lead his character through a house that he purchased via a sheriff's sale and as he experiences strange, supernatural occurrences. [3]
Bloody Disgusting rated the first film in the series favorably, noting its limitations while also stating "The plot may not sound like much to most horror movie veterans, as there are countless other scary stories with a similar setup, but trust me when I say that watching a grumpy middle-aged man refuse to be harassed by supernatural forces hell-bent on ruining his investment is one hell of a fun ride." [7] They further remarked on the sequels, of which there were three at the time of the article, praising Badder Ben by writing "Adding a sizable amount of humor to a legitimately clever script, this remarkable third entry surpasses the other films in charm and scope, but by no means is it a flawless endeavor. " [7] Vox compared the film favorably to The Blair Witch Project , as "The setting is totally different, but Bad Ben marries a do-it-yourself-attitude with an impeccably realized atmosphere in a way that echoes found footage’s breakout movie." [15]
Dread Central rated the seventh film The Haunted Highway favorably, stating that it was "campy, hilarious, and has surprisingly effective moments. This isn’t one that’ll scare you, but it’ll definitely have you in a good mood." [9] Film Threat praised Benign, writing "While the narrative will confuse anyone not already up to date with the franchise, the flick still offers a decent amount of elements to hold their attention. Bach is rock solid as the sole focus of the story, while his editing and effects skills prove to be top-notch." [16]
C.H.U.D. is a 1984 American science fiction horror film directed by Douglas Cheek, produced by Andrew Bonime, and starring John Heard, Daniel Stern, and Christopher Curry in his film debut. The plot concerns a New York City police officer and a homeless shelter manager who team up to investigate a series of disappearances, and discover that the missing people have been killed by humanoid monsters that live in the sewers.
Nicolas Kent Stahl is an American actor. Starting out as a child actor, he gained recognition for his performance in the 1993 film The Man Without a Face, directed by and co-starring Mel Gibson.
Brad Anderson is an American film director, producer and writer. A director of thriller and horror films and television projects, he is best known for directing The Machinist (2004), starring Christian Bale, psychological horror film Session 9 (2001) and The Call (2013), starring Halle Berry. He also produced and directed several episodes of the Fox science fiction series Fringe. Earlier in his career he directed the romantic comedies Next Stop Wonderland (1998) and Happy Accidents (2000).
Akiva Goldsman is an American filmmaker.
Full Moon High is a 1981 American comedy horror film written and directed by Larry Cohen. The film stars Adam Arkin, Ed McMahon and Roz Kelly.
Devon Joel Werkheiser is an American actor and musician. As an actor, Werkheiser is known for his starring role as Ned Bigby on the Nickelodeon sitcom Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, and for his role as the lead character Nolan Byrd in the 2007 Nickelodeon television movie Shredderman Rules. Werkheiser also played Peter Parkes in the fourth and final season of the ABC Family series Greek.
The House of the Devil is a 2009 American horror film written, directed, and edited by Ti West, starring Jocelin Donahue, Tom Noonan, Mary Woronov, Greta Gerwig, A. J. Bowen, and Dee Wallace.
Paranormal Activity is a 2007 American supernatural horror film produced, written, directed, photographed, and edited by Oren Peli. It centers on a young couple who are haunted by a supernatural presence inside their home. They then set up a camera to document what is haunting them. The film uses found-footage conventions that were mirrored in the later films of the series.
Found footage is a cinematic technique in which all or a substantial part of the work is presented as if it were film or video recordings recorded by characters in the story, and later "found" and presented to the audience. The events on screen are typically seen through the camera of one or more of the characters involved, often accompanied by their real-time, off-camera commentary. For added realism, the cinematography may be done by the actors themselves as they perform, and shaky camera work and naturalistic acting are routinely employed. The footage may be presented as if it were "raw" and complete or as if it had been edited into a narrative by those who "found" it.
The Baby is a 1973 American psychological horror film directed by Ted Post and written by Abe Polsky. The film stars Anjanette Comer, Ruth Roman, Marianna Hill, Suzanne Zenor, and David Manzy. It tells the story of a social worker who investigates an eccentric family which includes "Baby", a 21-year-old man who acts like an infant. The film is considered a cult classic.
Birdemic: Shock and Terror is a 2010 American independent romantic thriller-horror film written, directed, and executive produced by James Nguyen, and starring Alan Bagh and Whitney Moore. Inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, Birdemic tells the story of a romance between the two main characters as their small town is attacked by birds. It also was inspired by the environmental documentary An Inconvenient Truth, which led to the film having an environmental message.
Anthony Moran is an American actor and producer. He is known for briefly playing the unmasked Michael Myers in the 1978 horror classic Halloween. Since then, he has gone on to make guest appearances in television series The Waltons and CHiPs. He is the elder brother of fellow actors Erin Moran and John Moran.
James Cullen Bressack is an American film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is the son of Emmy Award-winning writer Gordon Bressack and voice actress Ellen Gerstell.
Mike Flanagan is an American filmmaker, best known for his horror work. Flanagan wrote, directed, produced, and edited the horror films Absentia (2011), Oculus (2013), Hush, Before I Wake, Ouija: Origin of Evil, Gerald's Game (2017), and Doctor Sleep (2019). He created, wrote, produced, and served as showrunner on the Netflix horror series The Haunting of Hill House (2018), The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020), Midnight Mass (2021), The Midnight Club (2022), and The Fall of the House of Usher (2023), also directing and editing some episodes of each.
Be My Cat: A Film for Anne is a 2015 Romanian found footage psychological horror feature film directed, produced, written by, and starring Adrian Țofei, about an aspiring filmmaker who goes to extremes to convince actress Anne Hathaway to star in his film. It is the first entry in Adrian Țofei's planned indie trilogy which includes We Put the World to Sleep and Pure. It is also Adrian Țofei's first film and Romania's first found footage horror movie.
Dwellers is an American found footage horror film written by, directed by, and starring Drew Fortier. The plot of the film follows a documentary crew who eventually go missing while uncovering the truths behind the disappearances within a homeless community. The film stars Drew Fortier, James L. Edwards, and Douglas Esper as themselves.
Demonic Toys is a series of films that center on a collection of seemingly harmless playthings that are in reality the avatars of powerful demons from hell who seek to cause havoc in the mortal world.
Hellraiser is a 2022 supernatural horror film directed by David Bruckner, with a screenplay by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski, from a screen story co-written with David S. Goyer. A reboot of the Hellraiser franchise, the eleventh installment overall, and the second adaptation of the 1986 novella The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker following the 1987 film, the film stars Odessa A'zion as a young woman recovering from addiction who ends up with a mechanical puzzle box that can summon the Cenobites, humanoid beings who thrive on pain being pleasure. Jamie Clayton, Adam Faison, Drew Starkey, Brandon Flynn, Aoife Hinds, Jason Liles, Yinka Olorunnife, Selina Lo, Zachary Hing, Kit Clarke, Goran Višnjić, and Hiam Abbass appear in supporting roles.
The Beast of Bray Road is a 2005 American horror film written and directed by Leigh Scott. A direct-to-video release produced and distributed by The Asylum, it is based on the Beast of Bray Road, a purported wolf-like cryptid that was allegedly first sighted in Elkhorn, Walworth County, Wisconsin, in 1936. It stars Jeff Denton, Thomas Downey, Sarah Lieving, Joel Ezra Hebner, and Tom Nagel.