Nightmare, both a meditation on faith and the action movie of the year — GAMINGTREND

The Punisher: Nightmare is a miracle of filmmaking and a contradiction. The portrayal of Frank Castle, a one-man force of destruction, employs all the skill and artistry of low-budget filmmaking, backed by the hunger and energy of the independent scene. The story is both brutal and thoughtful, grim and hopeful, contrasting Castle’s single-minded quest for total annihilation with his desperate journey toward improvement and discovery through the words of the Bible. Based on stunt choreography and camerawork alone, Nightmare could easily have earned its place as an action movie landmark, but its examination of faith captures and elevates The Punisher as a character. I still struggle with many of the thoughts that Nightmare left me with, but there’s one thing that couldn’t have been more clear to me from my first viewing. That said, co-directors Brandon Forgione and Rahi Laval are names to keep an eye on.

Watching this movie was a strange experience, especially compared to my last fan movie experience, The People’s Joker. Just a week ago, I went to a chic Philadelphia venue filled with drugged-out hippies to see a raucous subversive comedy. The nightmare was the opposite. In a suburban theater, friends and family of the creator gathered to see a production that most audiences weren’t meant for, but who had contributed to its creation and who came anyway to show their appreciation. We had no idea what we were about to watch, but the upcoming action movie was completely electric, full of energy and enthusiasm that we may never experience again.

It would be inappropriate not to add that this premiere was also different in that it began with a prayer. Nightmare’s depiction of real-life religion is an authentic examination of faith and the people who need it most. This is a reminder that Christianity, no matter what political power it is today, came across as a message to the weak and hopeless in that culture. It’s a philosophy that resonates best with people like Frank Castle, who are mired in violence and aimlessness, and who may be the ones who understand the message best. It’s easy to see the Punisher as a man without humanity, and in fact, he’s been portrayed that way in the past. In Warren Ellis’ framework, Castle is a bad guy who will kill people wherever he ends up. His family being killed by criminals is just the excuse he needs to go out and hurt people. The director of Nightmare doesn’t show him like that. They turned him back into a human and tried to convince himself that he had no escape other than hatred. That his pain and violence have a purpose. He doesn’t see anything else of value in himself. Over the course of the film, he grows as a character. The natural consequences of his quest catch up with him and spiral further into the city, threatening to engulf it. Kings’ words begin by strengthening his resolve to destroy, but as the violence escalates, they set him on a path to a better direction. Maybe he’ll be perfect someday.

The path of the righteous is beset on all sides by the inequalities of the selfish and the tyranny of the wicked, all with guns.

It’s impressive how much Nightmare can say without words. Castle spends much of the film on his knees praying, feeling the pain of a sense of purpose and decency he doesn’t think he truly deserves. These moments of poverty and humility, filmed in a series of dimly lit city stations and alleyways, stand in stark contrast to the heart-pounding action scenes as he comes back to life in a ferocious final fight for his life. When everything finally falls apart, reaching its peak of destruction and depravity, and Frank surrenders to the police, it is not the authority of the police that he bows to. It is an act of humility and generosity. What happens next is a chance to move forward through the influence of someone who sees the world the way he does (well, not exactly sees it). largely.

Still, Frank must overcome his distorted worldview. Although he sees his cell as a chance for redemption, he does not see it as a quiet place for repentance and introspection. No, Frank sees God’s work in the slammer as a place where he can ruthlessly fight criminals. It takes work to come to terms with his faith, but with years of fear still giving him sleepless nights, he just needs to find a way out and do what we all pray for every day: to get better. You might just run . Rahi and Brandon’s work may have violently blown the back of my skull, but it also manages to create something subtle and thoughtful along the way.

Both directors met in Temple University’s media arts program and both graduated in 2020, convinced that the only way to succeed in filmmaking was through self-education. They collaborated on Punisher: Uprising, a grittier film that you don’t need to see to appreciate Nightmare. I have a lot of respect for that movie, but the action work is less developed and the impact of the lower budget work is more noticeable. While the quality of Nightmare is suitable for general audiences, Uprising’s appeal is limited to the type of avid film critic who goes to see fan films released in theaters. With Nightmare, the team wanted to showcase their mastery of various filmmaking techniques. Paying homage to films like John Wick, The Bourne series, and The Raid, each fight scene was created to have its own visual identity and rely on unique camerawork.

The fight choreography is impressive and shows Frank Castle as a real human being, rather than the Frank Castle that superhero comics show him to be. A mortal and a loner, he survives only by outweighing his enemies with pure instinctual rage. Coupled with strong camera work and sound design, he comes to life as a demon fueled by pain and hatred. I can’t express in words how watching this movie makes me feel. I hope there will be a commentary track someday. Because he never thought he could do some of these scenes with one man and his one camera. You have to believe how far Rahi and Brandon go for Nightmare and how successful it is. They made Frank Castle walking into a garden shed creepier than Ari Aster’s entire career.

Shot in Philadelphia’s underground style, the city’s natural grime gave the action a foundation you don’t usually get from action movies. Every actor felt authentic, human, and mortal. Listening to the directors talk about filming Nightmare, you can’t help but think that someone was watching over them. It worked, but for those of you reading this, please don’t make movies like this. Due to the lack of budget, there was no room for a stuntman. Brandon ran on real rooftops, threw himself through floors and windows, slammed Rahi into the elevator wall dozens of times to get the shot right, and chased each other down I-95 in the middle of the night in pitch-black headlights. . Covered in fake tactical gear, guns, and blood, they are stopped by the police multiple times and don’t know how they managed to escape to safety. There are a thousand ways that they could have died from this, but the hunger to prove themselves in this movie kept them going. Watching the game in my room with my parents and friends was an incredibly harrowing experience.

Sorry to quote a line from Birdman, but there’s real blood on that screen, and it came from Brandon (left) and Rahi (right) for Craft.

Nightmare will be hitting the festival circuit next, but will also be hitting Youtube soon. If that happens, we’ll update the link in this article, but for now, follow the filmmakers on the Forgione Productions Youtube page or official Instagram account. They weren’t the only ones who made Nightmare a landmark. Hampus Nasserius, Michael Vignola, and Kevin Graham brought a score that perfectly matched the film’s dual atmosphere, veering between dark and brutal as needed. Nicholas Diener and Rahi’s cinematography delivered a flawless job for a long time, making even the most chaotic action scenes understandable. I don’t want to completely trash Tina Aasta and Tyler Houser’s roles, but I will just say that they were able to bring a subtle menace and vulnerability to the film.

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