The film centres around Max (Backer), who has agreed to meet with his high-school bully Adam (Weston) at a fancy restaurant. It’s been 17 years since they last saw each other but Max hasn’t forgotten how Adam used to torment him relentlessly for being gay when they were teens. As the night progresses, Max’s grudge against Adam begins to manifest in increasingly macabre ways, bringing into question whether the horrific events are the result of karma, coincidence or a warped coping mechanism of Max’s.
The inspiration for Die Bully Die came from Matt Backer’s personal experience of being bullied at his all-boys Catholic high-school in Brisbane in the late ’90s and early 2000s. Collaborating with fellow actor and friend, Drew Weston, the script came together over the course of three weeks of intensive writing.
“High school was hell for me, as the homophobic bullying I experienced was intense and constant and it took so many years to unpick that damage,” Matt said.
Drew thought it was “really important to get this story down on paper as bullying and harassment are such universal topics and Matt’s experience with being bullied also speaks to so many varying types of experiences”.
“We thought it would be fascinating to explore that through the lens of a horror comedy and in our voice with our humour,” Drew said. “At its core, we wanted to craft a film that is about two people who simply want to heal their respective pasts: Max clearly needs to talk and process his trauma; Adam clearly needs to connect and be forgiven,” Matt and Drew explain.
“It couldn’t just be a straightforward revenge story because we wanted to thoughtfully explore themes like homophobia, gay shame, and ultimately how important forgiveness can be.”
Shooting will commence in September in Sydney and Matt and Drew are currently crowdfunding for the film via the Australian Cultural Fund.
“The film has moments that call back to old-school classic horror, so the use of in-camera special effects will be visually striking and hopefully shocking,” the writer-actor duo said.
The funds will go towards that, but also to shooting, catering, editing and post-producing with the aim of entering the film into the festival circuit upon completion, according to the funding page.
Die Bully Die will be directed by Nathan and Nick Lacey of Based Film, shot by DOP Patrick Coe and produced by Nicole Thorn, alongside Backer and Weston. Frequent creative collaborators, the team’s last project, Ghosted, was a Highly Commended Finalist for the Dendy Award for Australian Short Film Live Action at the 2022 Sydney Film Festival, and went on to screen at a number of Aussie film festivals. It also starred Matt Backer.
“We really love working with other up-and-coming Aussie screen creatives and being a part of showcasing their amazing talent and dedication to the arts,” said Matt and Drew.
They hope to inspire others through the film’s story to confront their own demons and embrace forgiveness as a path to self-love and acceptance. “And also, maybe make people laugh and gasp a little bit along the way too,” the creators add.
“We’re really leaning into the vibe of a 90s teen rom-com or horror flick so we’re hopeful that audiences have a blast with it as it’ll be one hell of a ride.”
