{"id":37352,"date":"2022-07-08T19:32:13","date_gmt":"2022-07-08T23:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=37352"},"modified":"2022-07-08T20:04:30","modified_gmt":"2022-07-09T00:04:30","slug":"the-bootleg-files-hatter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2022\/07\/08\/the-bootleg-files-hatter\/","title":{"rendered":"The Bootleg Files: Hatter"},"content":{"rendered":"

BOOTLEG FILES 807:<\/strong> \u201cHatter\u201d (2022 fan film short inspired by the Batman franchise). <\/p>\n

LAST SEEN:<\/strong> On YouTube.<\/p>\n

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO:<\/strong> Not yet.<\/p>\n

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS:<\/strong> A fan film that borrows copyright protected characters.<\/p>\n

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE:<\/strong> Who knows<\/p>\n

Fan films are a hit or miss affair \u2013 they\u2019re mostly miss, IMHO \u2013 but sometimes the genre produces a genuine surprise. In this case, there is a very happy surprise coming from a pair of creative artists who\u2019ve turned up before in The Bootleg Files series.
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Aaron Lambert and Jake Navatka were previously featured in this column as the stars of the fan film \u201cAbbott and Costello Meets Superman,\u201d<\/a> playing the bumbling comedy duo in an unlikely run-in with the Man of Steel. For their latest effort, \u201cHatter,\u201d they consider the Jervis Tetch \/ Mad Hatter character from the Batman franchise, with Navatka (so wonderful as the zany Costello in the earlier film) as the headgear-focused sociopath and Lambert (the gruff Abbott in the previous film) in a very different role here (no spoilers) while doing double-duty as writer\/director. <\/p>\n

\u201cHatter\u201d is a belated follow-up to another Lambert-Navatka collaboration, the three-part YouTube offering \u201cThe Batman Chronicles\u201d where Natvatka played the Jervis Tetch character. I did not see that earlier production, and I am glad for it because the absence of recalling it made this experience left me wonderfully unprepared for this film\u2019s shock.<\/p>\n

\u201cHatter\u201d opens 13 years after Jervis Tetch\u2019s former secretary, Alice Hart, was rescued by Batman from her deranged employer. (Note to self: when the human resources department is no help, call Batman.) Alice, dressed in an outfit similar to the dress worn by the eponymous heroine John Tenniel\u2019s illustrations from the original Lewis Carroll book \u201cAlice\u2019s Adventures in Wonderland,\u201d is hosting a tea party for Jervis, who is both grateful and bitter for being reunited with Alice (played by Shauna Mills). <\/p>\n

The film is mostly a conversation between Jervis and Alice in a private tea party meant to mirror Carroll\u2019s classic text, although I will be a bit snotty in pointing out that Carroll never envisioned a supermarket-purchased carrot cake as the central pastry attraction. In this very intimate gathering, Jervis speaks in a strangely calm manner about what transpired while Alice grows increasingly agitated when Jervis begins to plumb their past relationship. Jervis expresses displeasure with Alice\u2019s relationship with Billy (played by Lambert), who is a romantic rival \u2013 and I cannot mention more about Billy\u2019s role in this melodrama without dropping major spoilers.<\/p>\n

The brilliance in \u201cHatter\u201d comes in the visceral relationship between Jervis and Alice \u2013 and the more that Alice becomes uncomfortable in picking at the scabs of her relationship with Jervis, the more Jervis becomes a tranquilizing personality who tries to numb Alice of her fears. As the film progresses, it becomes a battle of wits between Jervis\u2019 too-calm vibe and Alice\u2019s neurotic ride off the rails.<\/p>\n

Where does this bizarre little private party go? To reveal what occurs would be a spoiler of biblical proportions, but I will say it is a triumph to Mills\u2019 majesty as an actress, Navatka’s ability to spark horror through a seemingly anodyne persona and Lambert\u2019s skill as a writer\/director to gut-punch the audience in a manner they could not have seen coming.<\/p>\n

After watching \u201cHatter,\u201d I revisited \u201cThe Batman Chronicles\u201d that inspired this new short and I have to admit the talent involved in these productions have strengthened over time. Don\u2019t get me wrong \u2013 \u201cThe Batman Chronicles\u201d is fun, but \u201cHatter\u201d is such a great surprise that it is thrilling to see the maturity of talent that only time can give.<\/p>\n

But enough of my prattling \u2013 watch \u201cHatter\u201d on the YouTube video link below, and then go back to see \u201cThe Batman Chronicles\u201d and, then, watch \u201cHatter\u201d again.<\/p>\n

The year 2022 is roughly half over, but I think I can go out on that proverbial limb and say it is the best short of the year. Kudos to Lambert, Navatka, Mills and the other talented people who made this happen. And if you don\u2019t believe me, see it for yourself here (and the links to the earlier \u201cThe Batman Chronicles\u201d are in the YouTube page).<\/p>\n