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What Is 'Cade: The Tortured Crossing' And Why Are People Making Memes About It? Neil Breen's New Film And Its Ironic Fandom Explained
There is a specific type of film that is perfectly suited for internet meme culture, those so-bad-it’s-good movies. Among many filmmakers and creators, Neil Breen sits on the throne of the low-budget self-produced self-directed films that have been received as "so bad, it's good."
His latest feature Cade – the tortured crossing has made quite an impact on social media, as the film was directed, produced, scored, edited and written by Breen.
This article tries to explain the phenomenon that is the Breen Cinematic Universe and how his newest film got many people posting their reviews on TikTok.
What Is 'Cade – the tortured crossing' Movie About?
Cade – the tortured crossing is a film created by Neil Breen that serves as the sequel to Twisted Pair (2018) and revolves around "An identical twin that restores an old mental asylum and takes it upon himself to mystically train the patients as warriors for humanity and justice." The film's first trailer (shown below), was posted on December 16th, 2022, on YouTube[2] by user @CafeSora, garnering over 119,000 views and 2,700 likes in a year.
Neil Breen shared on his website, a banner describing the film's plot and other details (shown below) like awards and casting.
How 'Cade – The Tortured Crossing' Movie Was Received On Social Media?
The independent film has garnered a 7.5/10 score based on 658 reviews on IMDB, with some critics praising the moviemaker's vision. For example, Gena Radcliffe from The Pool website said Cade – the tortured crossing might be a flawed film but "it's still a better movie about child trafficking than Sound of Freedom."
Cade – the tortured crossing screening in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom became a trending topic in July 2023, especially the end credits, which featured mostly Neil Breen's name for several roles in the movie's production. For example, on July 15th, 2023, TikTok user @michaelsnowenjoyer posted a video showing people applauding the end credits and booing every time a name other than Breen showed up on the screen. The post (shown below, left) garnered over 3 million plays and 527,000 likes in three months. On September 3rd, 2023, TikTok user @miserablepyre shared a video describing his experience at the Cade – the tortured crossing film premiere. The video (shown below, right) received more than 580,000 plays and 10,200 likes in a month.
@michaelsnowenjoyer the power of the breenscreen #neilbreen ♬ original sound – James🧙🏻♂️
@miserablepyre #neilbreen #cadethetorturedcrossing #portland ♬ original sound – Miserable Pyre
Who Is Neil Breen?
Neil Breen is a filmmaker and actor from Nevada. He debuted in the film industry with his 2005 feature Double Down – in which he plays an unstoppable hacker, planning on destroying Las Vegas with anthrax and satellites for some reason. Breen has steadily built a loyal base of fans, to become one of the world’s leading producers of B movies. All of his films have received mixed to negative reviews on IMDb, with Twisted-Pair being the highest rated with a 7.8/10 as of October 2023.
On September 10th, 2020, YouTube user @ryanm6094 uploaded a video titled "The Best of Neil Breen's Twisted Pair," which amassed over 74,000 views and 1,500 likes in three years.
For the full history of Cade – the tortured crossing, be sure to check out our entry on the meme here for even more information.
