Neil Breen is a local filmmaker who's achieved cult fame for making –- how can we put this most politely? –- unusual movies. Las Vegas Weekly, among others, has referred to him as "The Ed Wood of Las Vegas" which, as any fan of cult movies would attest, relegates Breen to the ranks of the notorious, as opposed to those celebrated practitioners of his chosen craft (Wood's Plan 9 From Outer Space is widely acknowledged as the worst movie ever made).
A qualified architect and former realtor, Mr. Breen’s first foray into film-making (and the realization of his childhood dream) came with 2005’s Double Down, the plot of which involves a mercenary’s assignment, sponsored by an unnamed foreign country, to cause a two-month shutdown of the Las Vegas Strip. Coming in the aftermath of his girlfriend’s murder, it’s a mission that the hero, played by Breen himself, chooses to accept. iMDb.com describes the plot thusly: "An edgy action thriller set in Las Vegas during a terrorist attack. A genius computer loner takes control of the city, and the attack, as he fights with his fits of overwhelming depression and obsessions with love and death."
The site’s readers award it a rating of 3.4 stars and Breen admits that when he watched it in a movie theater with a live audience, many of the movie-goers greeted the first half with laughter in all the wrong places. By the closing credits, however, he claims they "got it" and had been reduced to a respectful silence. That's one theory…
Such is the mixed reaction that typifies responses to Breen’s trio of films, with reviews as polarized as a "crazy … masterpiece of accidental weirdness" to "This movie was so terrible I am considering destroying it and reporting it lost to save the next person the aggravation of even loading it in their player." (A NetFlix viewer's review of Double Down.) You can catch a trailer here and make up your own mind.
Since then he has released two other self-funded films. I am Here Now (2009) is about a disappointed Creator who visits earth to interact with assorted troubled and wicked individuals and spread the word about sustainability on a journey that ultimately leads him to Sin City, appropriately enough. Breen's most recent opus, 2014’s Fateful Findings, is about a young boy with mystical powers who winds up in a dangerous love triangle, with fateful –- and political –- consequences. It conforms to the formula of the three common threads that typify Breen’s movies, namely social commentary, lost love/romance, and mysticism/the paranormal.
In his "Jack of all trades" approach -- to save money, Breen not only writes, produces, directs, and edits all his projects, but also stars in them, frequently making props and even doing the catering himself, not to mention all the publicity and marketing –- Breen reminds us of the Armagosa Opera House’s Marta Becket, another eccentric creative force who put her hand to everything (see QoD 11/23/14).
Breen is an habitué of the film-festival circuit and, while acknowledging "some amateurism" in his early work, he feels he gets better with each new project and makes up for in sincerity and passion what he may lack in skills. This engaging naivety has bestowed a certain cult status upon this home-grown maverick, who is also noted for landing surprisingly attractive female cast members for his films, which frequently feature nudity, although not of the gratuitous kind, he is adamant to point out.
Apparently, a fourth project is currently in the works, which its creator predicts will "blow people’s minds". We can't wait! Meanwhile, fans of the cult sci-fi/Rotten Tomato genres may enjoy some upcoming productions at Las Vegas' alternative theater, The Onyx, where from Friday, Feb. 13 (appropriately enough) through March 7, you can catch a stage adaptation of Ed Wood's Glen or Glenda and, from Feb. 19 to March 7, The Weird, described as: "Six macabre tales inspired by your favorite comics and movies … hosted by one twisted sicko named M.T. Graves!" For more on this and other upcoming events, visit the official website. Who says Vegas has no culture?
