Filmmakers release docu-style thriller 'The Triangle'

Adam Pitman isn’t quite sure how to describe BadFritter Films’ latest cinematic venture “The Triangle.” In fact, the group of Whitefish filmmakers might have created an entirely new genre.

“It’s strange and not everybody’s cup of tea,” Pitman said with a chuckle. “It’s one of the more unique things you’ll ever see. But this process has definitely never been done before.”

The Triangle is BadFritter’s third feature-length film, following the success of “Roulette,” “The Sighting” and “Cliff Lake.” Pitman, Adam Stilwell, Andrew Rizzo, David Blair and Nathaniel Peterson all serve as directors.

The plot for The Triangle goes something like this. After receiving an unsettling postcard from an estranged friend living in a secluded commune, three filmmakers take their cameras into the wilderness of Montana to document the mysterious inner workings of the group on their disconcerting road to self-sufficiency, witnessing something more shocking than they ever imagined.

Pitman became interested in cults and communes after watching a true documentary about the 1993 siege of the Branch Davidian compound at Waco, Texas.

“I started thinking, what if we brought the viewer into the cult and made them trust it?” Pitman said. “Then, what if the cult leader hands the filmmaker a cup of the Kool-Aid and the filmmaker drinks it?”

But when he sat down to write a script, it didn’t feel authentic. That’s when the BadFritter crew came up with the wild idea to film a “docu-style” thriller.

After raising seed money from local investors in Whitefish, BadFritter sent Peterson and some of his friends to the desert of eastern Montana where they would create an elaborate commune set.

“They came up with their characters and their own plot twists. That way, as filmmakers, when we showed up to film this ‘documentary’ we didn’t know what was going to happen.”

“We filmed it like we were discovering the commune for the first time.”

For the audience, it’s difficult to decipher fiction from reality — which is exactly what BadFritter was hoping for.

“People watching it have said they think it’s real, and that’s the best compliment we could get,” Pitman said.

The film was shot in 2012 on location in a remote area outside Winnett, north of Billings.

“We were about 20 miles from any house, we had no cellphones and we lived there for 2 1/2 weeks,” Pitman said. “It’s the desert and we’re stepping over rattlesnakes and it’s 120 degrees. It felt like we were in survival mode.”

Pitman calls The Triangle the most “interesting and exciting” film he’s worked on.

“It was fun, hard and really scary at moments,” he said, noting that he was filming about 80 percent of the time he was on location.

“I only turned my camera off when I slept,” he said.

Early reviews of The Triangle have been positive.

“We’ve learned that the less the audience knows about the film before seeing it, the more they enjoy the ride,” Stilwell said. “We’ve been telling people to ‘go in blind,’”

“People really, really like this movie,” Pitman added. “It was this great experiment, and it could have easily come crashing down.”

Along with Stilwell, Pitman and Peterson, The Triangle features Whitefish actors Aaron Roos, David Blair and Sarina Hart.

Local residents Carol and Richard Atkinson, Tom and Cathy Muri, and Alicia Blake are executive producers.

The Triangle is unrated and not appropriate for children or young teens. It contains non-sexual nudity, recreational drug use, strong language and scenes with emotional intensity. The film was supported by The Montana Film Office and is distributed by 108 Media.

A screening will be held Thursday, Aug. 4 at The O’Shaughnessy Center in Whitefish. Doors open at 7 p.m., screening starts at 8 p.m. followed by a filmmakers’ Q&A and a special surprise for the audience. Tickets are $10 at the door.

The movie can be rented or purchased at iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, Vimeo, X-Box, and Google Play.