It's about two percent movie making and ninety-eight percent hustling. It's no way to spend a life." Orson Welles Every review of this film will probably state this quote. Which is OK, because the film opens with it. But it's the perfect summary as director Christopher Garetano explores and investigates why we're drawn, filmmakers especially, to horror in general. It's also an examination of the spirit one tries to hold onto in a harsh business to enter, let alone prosper in. <br /><br />So you wanna make movies? Why? And if so, why horror? What is it that makes us come back again and again to the genre? What would drive you to put "regular life" on hold indefinitely to create these twisted visions? Director Garetano- creator of the horror magazine Are you Going? (which he put on hiatus to make this film) and the award-winning experimental short INSIDE- decides to avoid horror's usual suspects (Stephen King, George Romero, Wes Craven etc.) and focus that question on the little guy, five or six independent up-and-comers with varying degrees of ambition and ability. <br /><br />We meet such distinct iconoclasts as lone wolf David Stagnari, who spends years honing a surrealistic black-and-white nightmare called Catharsis, and wondering if there's even a place for his work in the era of glossy, soulless, empty films..Button-pusher Ron Atkins, who cranks out over-the-top tales of decadence and madness; John Brodie, a David Icke conspiracy theorist/producer who helps Ron complete a video dramatizing the alien takeover of the American Government; and John Goras, a mild-mannered animator who gets his angst out through titles like Son of God vs. Son of Godzilla. We also spend some time on the set of Zombie Honeymoon, where director Dave Gebroe aims for a more dramatic, character-based conflict amidst the body parts, courtesy of FX master Tate Steinsiek. And with Brian Singleton, who works on his own documentary of the paranormal and his own sci-fi/horror hybrid flicks with no money, time, or apartment to his credit <br /><br />We also visit on set with Mark Borchardt, who indie and documentary fans will remember from 1999's American Movie. This film, however, is not a sequel; we only deal with Mark as he relates to the theme of the piece. As engaging as always, Mark actually seems to have lost his drive after this previous film Coven in the late 90's and we get to watch him regain it with his first feature Scare Me. <br /><br />An excitingly visual documentary, Garetano avoids static, talking heads for the most part and peppers his film with colorful visual montages, often dramatizing the spirit of film-making a la Errol Morris; the film opens with a little kid in his bathroom applying KISS-like horror makeup and joining another kid brandishing a movie camera, recreating Night of the Living Dead on a child's level; it perfectly sets the playful tone and will make a lot of struggling indies grin and think back to their formative years. It's never distractingly stylized except for some occasional interviews, which are captured at jarring angles that make you crane your head. <br /><br />Editing is tight and the timing makes some funny moments even funnier; There's some laugh out loud scenes as we follow these persistent dreamers through their highs and lows, and every personality he follows is at the least, interesting; with egos ranging from swollen to nonexistent. Yet the material never becomes condescending or a point-and-laugh affair, nor a 'Project Greenlight' chronicle of on-set mishaps and doubts. These folks, like all aspiring artists and craftsmen, were touched by films in their youth and will stop at nothing to be able to touch them back. The fact that the films that set them off were full of monsters, gore, madness and suspense is irrelevant. It's an honest yet hopeful look at the no-budget end of genre film-making. <br /><br />The doc briefly turns to some low budget genre pioneers and well-known horror celebs. H.G. Lewis ('The Godfather of Gore') discusses entertainment vs. indulgence, Sid Haig(The Devil's Rejects, Spider Baby) talks commitment and "how much is too much," Tony Timpone(head of Fangoria magazine) shares his views on the genre's viability, and Joe Bob Briggs nails it when he discusses what usually sucks about low or no-budget films(stop casting your non-actor friends!). <br /><br />Some of the work we see from the directors is barely above the amateur level, some more ambitious and detailed; but their resulting work isn't the point. (though there's a great ending sequence where a lot of them accomplish their immediate goals) Against all odds, they are out there shooting, getting it done, (hopefully) learning more about their craft etc. How many filmmakers start out that way and end up just talking?