Like free films? Here’s some good news! New dark eco-collapse independent Irish film The Late Men will be made available to download for free from this Sunday 21 December via BitTorrent Bundle or stream via YouTube or Vimeo.
The Dublin-set apocalyptic psycho-thriller won a special “Award for Innovation in the New Cinema” (and Best Supporting Actor for Don Baker) at the 14th Melbourne Underground Film Festival, as well as a title design nomination at SXSW, last year.
BitTorrent Bundle has stirred considerable buzz since 2013, with artists like such as Thom Yorke, Madonna, and Public Enemy publishing on the platform. Drafthouse Films released “behind the scenes” materials for their hit documentary The Act of Killing that have been downloaded a reported 4.5 million times from Bundle. While providing artists with a way of engaging their fans directly, BitTorrent stress that they “condemn piracy” and “always have.”
The Late Men is the work of The Executive Branch, creative duo Van Poynton and Matthew J. Keats. Speaking on the release they said “We’re delighted to unleash our bleak and brooding full-length debut upon a potential audience of billions, gratis, through this dynamic medium. It’s not for kids, but that doesn’t mean it’s tits and arse or a gore fest, not at all. It’s brutal, dark, edgy but strictly for mature, attentive viewers. Our unique awards and mostly strong reviews, such as from cult, specialist outlets like Film Threat and Film Bizarro, reflect that. It’s not perfect, but as a regular cinema-goer I can confirm it’s a ton better and more interesting than probably 80-90 percent of theatrical releases in 2014.”
The launch is being promoted with the release of three short promos and three super short teasers. (Caution some of these are NSFW).
Poynton’s short horror Where the Monsters Go won the Jury Prize for Narrative Fiction at the (now defunct) 3rd Babelgum Online Film Festival 2010, from a jury including Richard Linklater and Sally Potter.
The Executive Branch has shot two more pictures since The Late Men, both expanding the monochrome style and severe themes.