The Cult of Neil Breen: Trash Cinema as Art in the Age of Slop

In a New Yorker essay, critic and cinephile explores the phenomenon of 'trash movies'—films so incompetently made they become perversely captivating—and profiles Neil Breen, an enigmatic auteur whose seven feature films, including the 2025 release 'Dire Duplicity,' have earned him a devoted following. Breen, who writes, directs, produces, and stars in his films, is celebrated for his sincerity and singular vision, which fans contrast with the homogenized 'slop' of contemporary media. The essay recounts the author's pilgrimage to the premiere of 'Dire Duplicity' at the Independent Filmmakers Showcase's L.A. Film Festival on May 15th, where screenings sold out and fans cheered 'Breen! Breen! Breen!' Breen's films, shot at his Nevada home and featuring recurring motifs of corruption, technobabble, and green-screen effects, are described as 'monumental feats of incompetence' that defy prediction. The essay situates Breen within a broader tradition of trash cinema, referencing 'The Room,' 'Troll 2,' and 'Plan 9 from Outer Space,' and argues that trash movies offer an implicit rebuke to algorithmic slop, preserving a cracked, human badness that may soon disappear.