Fateful Findings

Fateful Findings is a 2012 American independent science fiction film directed, written, produced, edited by, and starring Neil Breen,[1] who was also in charge of production design, set decoration, makeup, sound editing, catering, and casting. The film was screened on December 8, 2012, at the invite-only Butt-Numb-A-Thon, had a public festival debut on May 23, 2013, at the Seattle International Film Festival,[2] and was released to theaters in early 2014.[3]

Fateful Findings
Theatrical release poster
Directed byNeil Breen
Produced byNeil Breen
Written byNeil Breen
Starring
  • Neil Breen
  • Jennifer Autry
  • Klara Landrat
  • Danielle Andrade
Edited byNeil Breen
Production
company
Neil Breen Films, LLC
Distributed byPanorama Entertainment
Release date
Running time
100 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Upon release, it was declared one of "worst films ever made" and quickly gained a cult following.[4]

Among other things, viewers cite the film's cryptic and incomprehensible plot, poor production values, overt political messages, stilted dialogue, and bizarre and unnatural performances as well as Breen's real-life eccentricities as part of the film's ironic appeal.[4][5][6] Some critics have cited the film as an example of outsider art, and the phenomenon of "so bad it's good" media.[7][8][9]

Plot

Eight-year-olds Dylan and Leah discover a magical black stone in the woods. With Leah's family's departure imminent, the two vow to always be friends, but never see each other again.

Decades later, Dylan, now a successful novelist, is struck by a car but miraculously survives the accident. In the hospital he rapidly heals from his injuries, which he credits to the power of the stone. Returning home, Dylan reveals to his wife, Emily, that he has not been working on a new book but has instead been using his hacking abilities to uncover "the most secret government and corporate secrets", which he plans to publish in an exposé. His commitment to the project is tested by his wife's descent into drug addiction and eventual overdose, as well as the constant sexual attention paid to him by his best friend Jim's underage step-daughter. Later, Jim himself is murdered by his wife for turning down her own sexual advances. Distraught, she stages his death as a suicide. Dylan cannot believe Jim committed suicide but is unable to help him.

Plagued by disturbing dreams of a mystical book, Dylan begins seeing a psychologist, who helps him unearth repressed childhood memories. Doing so causes Dylan to realize that the doctor who attended to him during his recovery from the car accident was an adult Leah and the two are reunited, quickly beginning a sexual relationship. Learning about Dylan's plans to publish the exposé, a mysterious assailant kidnaps Leah. Using psychic powers granted to him by the stone, Dylan rescues her by teleporting into the kidnapper's compound. Going to visit his psychologist one last time, Dylan learns that she is, in fact, a ghost, and that he must now face "the council of spirits", who guard the book he has long been seeing in his dreams.

Dylan publishes his book, hosting a press conference in front of the National Archives Building divulging "the most secret government and corporate secrets". Various congresspeople and corporate executives react to the speech by committing mass suicide to applause from the audience. A camouflaged sniper attempts to assassinate him only for Dylan to kill him using his psychic powers. His mission complete, Dylan and Leah return to the place where they found the stone in the woods as children.

Cast
  • Neil Breen as Dylan
    • Jack Batoni as young Dylan
  • Jennifer Autry as Leah
    • Brianna Borden as young Leah
  • Klara Landrat as Emily
  • Danielle Andrade as Aly
  • Victoria Viveiros as Amy
  • David Silva as Jim

Release

After Breen generated buzz and a cult following with his previous films, Fateful Findings played at Harry Knowles' 2012 Butt-Numb-A-Thon, an invite-only film festival.[9] In 2013, it played at the Seattle International Film Festival's Midnight Adrenaline program. The festival's programmer, Clinton McClung, said that he chose the film despite its amateurishness because of its uniqueness and cult appeal.[10] Panorama Entertainment subsequently distributed it in the U.S.[9]

Reception

Alan Jones of The Dissolve wrote that the film could only have been made by Breen, as his incompetence makes what could have been boring instead fascinating.[11] Peter K. of Twitch Film wrote, "It's not just for enjoying hilarious incompetence, more purely it is for the act of watching eccentric choices made by even more eccentric people."[12]

Fateful Findings has become a cult film.[13][14] Describing why he thinks it deserves to be a cult film, Nathan Rabin called the film outsider art as unpredictable and unconventional as Citizen Kane.[15]

Jason Howard of INLUX Magazine began his interview of Breen by praising the film, writing "Ever on the hunt for the next great 'cult classic', I recently stumbled upon Fateful Findings" and "it only took about a minute into the film for me to discover that I was watching something special that had more to offer than the typical film".[2][3]

See also

References
  1. "Fateful Findings (2012)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  2. Howard, Jason (April 27, 2014). "An Interview with Director Neil Breen". INFLUX magazine. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
  3. Singer, Matt (October 22, 2013). ""The next cult classic" Fateful Findings coming to theaters in early 2014". The Dissolve. Pitchfork. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
  4. Yamato, Jen (October 22, 2013). "'Fateful Findings' And The Business Of Movies So Bad They're Good: Video". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  5. Adams, Jason (November 29, 2017). "AWFULLY GOOD: FATEFUL FINDINGS". JoBlo.com. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  6. "CineInsomnia: Fateful Findings". Time Out. Time Out Group. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  7. Stone, Jay (April 3, 2014). "Movie review: Fateful Findings is another mock-along cult favourite". O.Canada.com. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  8. Faraci, Devin (February 10, 2014). "Neil Breen Is The Hero Who Will Save Us From The Mainstreaming Of THE ROOM". Birth.Movies.Death. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  9. Bell, Josh (February 6, 2014). "LOCAL FILMMAKER NEIL BREEN'S UNIQUE (AND TERRIBLE) MOVIES EARNED HIM A CULT FOLLOWING". Las Vegas Weekly. Greenspun Media Group. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  10. Schmader, David (January 30, 2014). "This Weekend: The Return of Fateful Findings". The Stranger. Index Newspapers, LLC. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
  11. Jones, Alan (June 20, 2014). "Bad-movie lovers need to meet Neil Breen". The Dissolve. Pitchfork. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
  12. K., Peter (June 25, 2013). "Fantasia 2013 Review: FATEFUL FINDINGS, Beyond All Working Definitions Of Cinema". Twitch Film. Archived from the original on September 3, 2014. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
  13. Yamato, Jen (October 22, 2013). "'Fateful Findings' And The Business Of Movies So Bad They're Good: Video". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
  14. DeMarco, Laura (March 7, 2014). "In the midnight hour: Cult classics 'Rocky Horror,' 'The Room' and the new 'Fateful Findings' keep Cleveland fans up late". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
  15. Rabin, Nathan (December 8, 2015). "Why Fateful Findings Deserves Cult Status". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
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