Behind the Mask—The Batman: Dead End Story

Independent filmmaker Sandy Collora set the world of comic book fandom on fire when his short film Batman: Dead End—the culmination of over a decade's worth of work since its conception—premiered at the 2003 San Diego Comic-Con to overwhelming acclaim and acceptance. Collora was well-poised to advance to making Hollywood feature-length blockbusters, but due to many factors—not least being Collora's own braggadocio over his bottled-lightning success—the artist left the entertainment dream machine behind to pursue projects that would be made on his own terms. Director Eric Dow cuts together talking-head interviews with Collora's colleagues and footage from Collora's post-college days as an assistant in Stan Winston's makeup shop, as well as behind-the-scenes glimpses from the set of Collora's 2010 sci-fi film Hunter Prey. While Collora's abrasive tendencies are abundantly acknowledged here, this solid documentary also celebrates the filmmaker's unbridled passion for the craft of cinematic storytelling and his unshakable work ethic to see a project to its end no matter the personal cost (including his perseverance during his mother's lingering death from cancer and his insistence on funding his films with large chunks of his own savings). Collora emerges as an artist with considerable integrity and plenty of moxie, one who realized an adolescent boy's dream of seeing the Dark Knight battle both Predator and the Xenomorph from Alien—three properties that Collora didn't own rights to at the time of filming Dead End. Offering an interesting portrait of an idiosyncratic filmmaker, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (J. Cruz)