Description
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After surviving a brutal attack, that left him unable to speak, Bart Hill dawns a mask as he hits the streets to avenge the death of his beloved wife, against a trio of deadly gangsters, this noir action thriller, based on the Lev Gleeson public domain superhero.
A WORD FROM CHRIS
As cool as the Lev Gleeson Daredevil looks in the comics (not to be confused with that other guy from Marvel), translating that red and blue bisected costume was the main reason why it took me so long to adapt the character. It is probably one of the most impractical costumes I've adapted yet. Normally you associate the split color palette with something like a jester or clown, which makes sense, but since this is just a boomerang throwing dude, I was absolutely unable to justify a split down the middle color change in the costume. Now sure, I could easily try to create some convoluted excuse as to why he would wear that costume, much like they did with Robin's bright ass costume in BATMAN FOREVER, but it would be just that, a convoluted excuse, and I didn't want to do that.
It wasn't until I made the split asymmetrical that I was able to finally make sense of it all. The red is pretty much just on his throwing arm, and the silver boomerang helps complete the color split serving as the emblem. Since I was trying to be as practical as possible, I also ditched the silver spiked belt and leggings and just went tactical.
Once I had a plausible suit I could work with, I started looking into the character's history to forge together a decent story. As I've stated many times before, so many public domain superheroes have aged like milk with their origins virtually all being the same, just in different fonts. That said, the very first appearance of Bart Hill showcased him as a mute, after witnessing the death of his parents. While I wasn't about to go the Batman route with this guy, I really liked the idea of a mute hero. And despite the second issue showcasing him speaking, completely retconning the previous story, I decided keeping him mute was much cooler. I am a firm believer that less is more, and sometimes not being able to speak makes for more compelling stories.
I wanted a simple revenge story, with an 80's darkwave score. Music is incredibly important when trying to set a tone, and since my protagonist couldn't speak, I wanted something incredibly melodic to help convey his feelings.
Production was essentially completed in one day, with the exception of about 30 minutes for pickup shots a week later. I had the unfortunate pleasure of filming on the first day of a week long heatwave in LA, and since these shoots are scheduled weeks in advance, you tend to assume the weather will be somewhat normal... but no! I had to film outside during a damn heatwave. I personally cannot stand the heat as I tend to sweat, but I cannot help but feel sorry for Ryan Hart, who had to do hours of fight sequences in 90 degree weather. That poor man had soaked through his costume within minutes of putting it on.
Apart from the weather, it was a very quick and easy shoot. Everything actually went off without a hitch, which is always a welcomed surprise.
Featuring music from Karl Casey @WhiteBatAudio