The Nobodies, starring Lane Hughes, is coming to Troma Now

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Lane Hughes, who had roles in Adam Wingard's YOU'RE NEXT, V/H/S, A HORRIBLE WAY TO DIE, and POP SKULL, has entered Tromaville with his latest film, director Jay Burleson's THE NOBODIES.

THE NOBODIES is a movie that is hard to describe. Shot on a mixture of VHS, expired 16mm film, and digital video that was transferred to VHS, it combines a faux documentary about a low budget filmmaker with footage from the filmmaker's schlocky movie. The official synopsis goes like this: 

In 1993, Alabama based amateur filmmaker Warren Werner shot his first feature film, Pumpkin, on VHS. With a budget of only $600, a cast of friends, family, and unknown talent, the movie premiered at the local civic center and generated an immediate backlash from the community. Rumors that Warren and his girlfriend Samantha Dixon engaged in Satanic rituals began to spread throughout town. In the months following the premiere, Warren and Samantha committed suicide. 

The following year, another group of filmmakers began shooting a documentary about the deaths of Warren and Samantha. The documentary project was never completed, and Pumpkin was never released. 

The Nobodies is Warren Werner's Pumpkin, in it's entirety, cut together with the remaining documentary footage of the director's life and death.

In the cast with Hughes are Bill Pacer, Henry Gilliland, Hannah Hughes, Bart Hyatt, Aly Sutton, Ashtyn Wallace, LaDonna Allison, and Danny Vinson.

Burleson was drawing inspiration from the works of John Waters, PARADISE LOST documentarians Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, and Troma's Lloyd Kaufman while putting the film together, and he always hoped to land a distribution deal with Troma. That dream has come true, as Troma has indeed acquired THE NOBODIES for distribution and will be releasing the film through their streaming service Troma Now on October 1st.

THE NOBODIES recently had its world premiere at the Sidewalk Film Festival in Birmingham, Alabama, where it won a special jury prize for "Best Alabama Picture". I have seen the movie, and it's both an impressive creative achievement for Burleson and an absolutely bonkers experience to sit through.

The insanity of the film is on display in the trailer, which can be seen below and contains some NSFW elements.