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Dark Specter II

Multi award winning short. The fiery fiend of darkness has returned to wreak havoc on the unsuspecting masses, but will responsibilities at home thwart his ambitions?

  • Richard Tatum
    Director
    Nothing Personal, Sock Puppet
  • Bruce Nachsin
    Writer
    Dark Specter, Approve-O, Under the Doghouse, Nothing Personal
  • Bruce Nachsin
    Producer
    Dark Specter, Killer Camera Monsters, Nothing Personal, Approve-O
  • Manuel Gutierrez
    Producer
    Nothing Personal, K9 Theater,
  • Richard Tatum
    Producer
    Sock Puppet
  • Bruce Nachsin
    Key Cast
    "Bertrand / Dark Specter"
    Dark Specter, Nothing Personal, Approve-O
  • Judy Nazemetz
    Key Cast
    "Lilly Liebitski"
    I Got You Babe, Last Night in Town, Heart of the Dragon
  • Mark Iverson
    Key Cast
    "Vibraboom"
    Clarence, Dark Mission, Days of our Lives
  • Project Type:
    Short, Web / New Media
  • Runtime:
    9 minutes 31 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 25, 2018
  • Production Budget:
    40,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.85
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • West Coast International Film Festival
    Malibu
    United States
    March 6, 2019
    Chaplin Gold Film Award - Best Comedy / Chaplin Gold Film Award Best Actor
  • Mindfleld Los Angeles
    Los Angeles Ca
    United States
    February 16, 2019
    Diamond Award fpr Best Short Film / Best Actor / Best Editing / Best Score
  • Mindfield Albuquerque
    Albuguerque
    United States
    March 6, 2019
    Diamond award Best Short / Diamond award Best Director / Platnuim award Best Actor / Gold Award Best Score
  • Hollywood West Wing Film Festival
    hollywood
    United States
    March 9, 2019
    Best Film
  • Indie Shorts Fest
    Los Angeles
    United States
    December 9, 2018
    Best Fantasy Short, Best Editing, & Best VFX
  • Independent Shorts Awards
    Los Angeles Ca
    United States
    November 11, 2018
    Best Fantasy Short / Best Web Series / Best Sound Design, Best Musical Score / Best Editing.
  • 80 Screams International Film Festival

    United States
    November 30, 2018
    Best Horror Short
  • CKF International Film Festival

    United Kingdom
    October 31, 2018
    2nd Best Picture
  • Los Angeles CineFest
    Los Angeles Ca
    United States
    September 15, 2018
    Semi-Finalist
Distribution Information
  • Big Guy Small Dog Productions
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Richard Tatum

Richard Tatum began directing while at the National Theatre Institute at the Eugene O’Neill Center, but since arriving in Los Angeles, he has directed a wide variety of award-nominated works for companies such as Second City Hollywood, The LA Theatre Ensemble, the Blank Theatre, The Neo Ensemble, Absolute Theatre, Ark Theatre (where he was Associate Artistic Director for 8 years), Theater West, and Slamdance Onstage, to name a few. In other media, he has directed several festival-selected short films including Dark Specter II, Sock Puppet, Health & Disorder, The Other Side of the Desk, episodes of the series Nothing Personal, Becky and Kate: Works In Progress, and The Stalker Chronicles, as well as radio commercials, plays for radio and the comedy CD Bushwa!. Richard is also a multi-award nominated actor, whose 30-year career spans stage, film, TV, commercials, cartoons and videogames. He is a proud graduate of Oberlin College, Directors Lab West, The Second City’s Directing, Conservatory and Musical Improv programs, and is a member of the SDC.

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Director Statement

So many superhero stories boil down to the usual "Good vs. Evil" dichotomy. The ones that always interested me the most were the ones that were really an epic metaphor - if you will - for the things that make us human. The X-men is a great example of this, with our heroes standing in for the idea that our differences make us stronger, and that things that are "different" or "other" are not by definition "bad".

There are certainly elements of this in the origins of characters like Spiderman and Batman, as well. But still, most hero stories are about costumed demi-gods doing things for "the greater good." But what would it be like if an emotionally problematic character - the kid who never sat at the cool-kids' table - decided to use his amazing powers for things that are even closer to the bone, like the respect he never got, and his deep and abiding love for one other person - even if these things seem to contradict? This is the world of Dark Specter 2 and the character of Bertrand, created by Bruce Nachsin.

What started off originally as a comedy sketch morphed over years into a fully-dimensional and very recognizable anti-hero. He is powerful and funny and deeply sad all at once. Dark Specter 2 started as a stand-alone short, but has become the proof-of-concept for what we hope will be a series. We honestly hope you'll have mixed feelings about Bertrand, but will want to root for him nonetheless. Because maybe if he can do better, we all can. Because many of us are Bertrand whether we like it or not.