In the world of cinema, some of the most memorable moments come from movies that don't actually exist. These fabricated features, created solely to exist within another film, have captivated audiences, often leading viewers to believe they are watching clips from genuine, lost classics.
The Art of Creating Cinematic Illusions
The process of crafting a convincing film-within-a-film is a unique challenge for directors and cinematographers. The goal is to create something that feels authentic enough to support the main narrative without distracting from it. For Julio Macat, the director of photography on the 1990 festive classic 'Home Alone', the mission was specific: to scare a child.
Macat was tasked with shooting the gangster flick Angels with Filthy Souls, which young Kevin McCallister watches in awe. To achieve the desired effect, Macat chose to shoot in black and white, using fog filters and an intense, old-fashioned lighting setup to mimic the style of a 1940s noir. The film was shot in just one day, the final prep day before principal photography on 'Home Alone' began, yet the result was so convincing it fooled many.
"It's amazing to me how a lot of people don't know that it's not a real movie," Macat reflected, nearly three decades later. The actor Seth Rogen, for instance, believed it was a genuine golden oldie for his entire childhood.
Why Festive Films Love a Fake Flick
Interestingly, Christmas movies seem to be a particular hotspot for this meta-cinematic trend. Beyond 'Home Alone', audiences can find Turbo Man: The Motion Picture in 'Jingle All the Way', The Night the Reindeer Died in 'Scrooged', and the trailer for the action film Deception in Nancy Meyers' 'The Holiday'.
Jon Hutman, production designer on 'The Holiday', suggests these nested stories serve a deeper purpose. "Usually when there's a film within a film the characters come to recognise that they are within the movie of their own lives," he says, "and they have to rise, on some level, to being the hero of their own stories." For festive tales, a dash of (fake) reality helps ground the magical Christmas narrative in a recognisable world.
The appeal of these faux films is powerful. Despite appearing for less than 30 seconds, the trailer for 'Deception' – starring a young Lindsay Lohan and James Franco – spawned numerous online comments from viewers wishing it was a real, full-length feature.
A Growing Phenomenon and a Dedicated Archive
The phenomenon is far more extensive than many realise. While Wikipedia lists about 120 examples, dedicated enthusiasts have catalogued hundreds more. Lynn Fisher, a web designer from Arizona, was so fascinated after learning 'Angels with Filthy Souls' wasn't real that she created 'Nestflix' in 2021 – a website designed like a streaming service that catalogues over 1,000 nested narratives.
"I especially appreciate ones that obviously took a lot of effort to create," Fisher says. "It's the small details that really make it." Her personal favourites include the teen drama The Pink Opaque from 'I Saw the TV Glow' and the spy spoof Austinpussy from 'Austin Powers in Goldmember'.
For cinematographers, these segments can be a rare chance for creative indulgence. Baz Irvine, who shot the arthouse parody Playback Time for 'Mr. Bean's Holiday', recalls swapping lenses to achieve a "classic widescreen Hollywood look" distinct from the main film. "We just went to town on making something silly and fun and photographic," he said. The crew even crashed the real Cannes festival to film the fake premiere.
The tradition is alive and well. In 2023, Apple TV+ renewed 'The Studio', a satirical show created by and starring Seth Rogen, which features fake movies like the 1970s crime drama Alphabet City. Notably, the show's pilot managed to secure a cameo from the legendary director Martin Scorsese, blurring the lines between real and fake cinema even further.
According to Fisher, a successful film-within-a-film should achieve one of three reactions: make the audience believe it's real, showcase remarkable attention to detail, or, ultimately, leave viewers saying, "I wish that was real so I could watch it." For gems like 'Angels with Filthy Souls', it seems the creators have succeeded on all counts.
