the Owl’s Hollow, one man unlocks a multiverse of possibilities — Fandom Underground

The Owl’s Hollow surprises me in ways only fan films can. It’s full of elements that wouldn’t work on their own; in other contexts, I’ve seen its many ideas and aesthetics fail. Yet taken together with the creator’s passion and skill, they come together in a wholly successful Batman film. This is a multiversal superhero story just under three hours long, shot in one house, with nearly every character played by one person. It’s a lot to take in, but the more I watched Lampleg films circumvent those limitations and expectations, the more impressed I was with the end product. I spoke with the creator to learn about the production, something I hope I can convince some of you to join me for. This is the kind of story that works not in spite of but because it isn’t an official work.

The project didn’t start out with such an expansive scope. Conceptualized only a year ago, it was originally intended to be a series of ~10 minute shorts, in line with LL’s other sketches. Intended as a follow-up to DC’s Crisis of Two Earths, its scope quickly expanded into longer episodes, edited into the final film below. I’m usually no fan of multiverses or Zur Enn Arr, and the idea of one person playing so many parts could strain one’s tolerances, but it must be remembered that this is a fan work. As a main offering from DC this story might feel bloated, convoluted, and self-important. (That’s pretty much what happened with 2023’s The Flash.) As a fan work, it oozes pure, unashamed charm.

The one person who takes up most of the screentime does magnificent work disappearing into the many roles of Batman, Alfred, Superman, Lex Luthor, the Joker, alternate versions of some characters, along with many, many more who appear. I won’t spoil the progress of the story, but a surprising array of the DC roster shows its (one) face during the course of the film. Instead of wearing you out, you find yourself constantly excited to see how a talented actor with a small budget will use costuming, framing, and vocal tics to bring his version of the characters to life. What might otherwise read as hints of silliness instead deliver unabashed fun and love for the universe. It’s no doubt that its creator had a blast putting this together, and watching The Owls Hollow invites you along for that experience.

The film overflows with cleverness. Small tricks of the camera or staging to communicate mood. The expected Batman takedown scene with a group of thugs was shot in his garage with some lights and a fog machine, and despite itself the scene works magnificently. Lampleg has a good hand at atmosphere, and knows how to build the scene slowly. Tension mounts, darkness falls, and Jim Gordon feels every bit as real here as he did on the silver screen. It’s astonishing to think this was done in a year, but when I spoke with the director/lead/producer/editor, he explained how this was an expression of what he wanted to see in a story, bolstered by self-taught filmmaking and editing techniques. Learning from Ryan George’s Pitch Meeting style, this is an evolution into longform storytelling.

If you want a short vision of how this comes together, you can look at the preview below for one of the (several) upcoming sequels. Depicting Ra’s al Ghul at the opera, Lampleg casts a spell with some theater makeup, a red sheet, costuming, and some classic music. On that note, the music overall lends incredible weight to the material. Mozart’s Lacrimosa and an orchestral rendition of Nothing Else Matters tie character beats together and help build the atmosphere on a budget of nothing. This is another great trick of the no-budget filmmaker: if you’re working purely on art with no intention of a final sale, you’re free to use film, characters, and music without worrying about licensing. With so many resources out there, the only limit is your creativity and how you can make use of them.

The Owl’s Hollow captures the theatricality and creativity of comics stories, but still manages to deliver some poignant moments. I won’t spoil any specifically, but it leans on its many influences to tell a deliberate, focused take on the insanity that is the DC Universe. Cognizant of the many, many crises on various Earths that have plagued the continuity, this story is intended as a concise end to those troubles, tying a bow on the multiverse before moving on to other stories. It manages to remain coherent as it travels through worlds and character beats, setting up a more grounded and personal story that I’m more than excited for. Along the way, small clues hidden in the costumes or dialogue prove how well the writer was paying attention and planting seeds for future development.

Not to be unfair, I should mention some other contributors tothe work. Popo-Blanco’s Hugo Strange is, and I mean this unironically, the best performance I’ve seen of the character. His few minutes of screentime are calculated, curious, and full of corrupt ambition. His work was so convincing and articulate that I thought the voice lines came from an official DC source until I conducted this interview. It’s an outstanding portrait of the character I hope we see again. Matman Show as the priest training Azrael also promises greater things that I’m sure he can deliver on. This is someone who understands the unhinged zealotry that led Jean Paul Valley astray.

There’s more to come from this channel, and I’m very excited to see where this journey takes us. The boundless creativity, shameless love of comics, and strong hand at the helm has a lot to teach young filmmakers. If this is what you can accomplish in one house with a box of costumes and editing software, large studios with hundreds of millions of dollars have some things to learn as well.

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