Into the Pit: The Shocking Story of Deadpit.com is a compelling, insightful view into the lives oftwo young horror fans from rural Kentuckyas they grapple with the success of their creation, the world’s firstInternet-based horror talk radio program, Deadpit.com. Director Kelly Marcottled a team of documentary filmmakers from Wisconsin to the small, ratherisolated city of Prestonsburg, Ky., where church, hunting and NASCAR reignsupreme, a stark contrast to the shared interests of Aaron Frye and Wes Vance,lifelong friends with a deep, almost obsessive, appreciation for the horrorgenre.
In need of acreative release, in 2005 Frye and Vance recorded their first podcast onDeadpit.com as the duo Uncle Bill and the Creepy Kentuckian, respectively.Armed with uncensored wit, an encyclopedic knowledge of the horror industry,and thick Appalachian accents, the duo shares their brutally honest horrormovie reviews, news and comprehensive interviews with what is now an avidworldwide audience. Marcott ingratiates Frye and Vance with the audience byweaving documentary footage with poignant family photos and home videos of Fryeand Vance as boys. When Uncle Bill and the Creepy Kentuckian are finallygranted an interview with their hero, horror mastermind George Romero, in 2007,the duo not only generates more than a million hits on their website, they alsohave the Into the Pit audiencerooting for them.
The documentary’sdramatic arc is found in Frye, a thoughtful, articulate graduate studentpursuing a certificate in mental health counseling, as he finds himself dividedbetween his commitment as host of Deadpit.com and his desire for a career thatwill have a meaningful impact on the distressed region in which he lives.Compounding the quandary is his long-standing friendship with Vance, whoconsiders their increasingly popular show the top priority.
Into the Pitoffers an intriguing impression of the horror community as a close-knit band oflovable misfits that finds communion in the macabre and supernatural,regardless of, or in defiance of, its stigma, and how nostalgia is tied intothe genre’s appeal. It documents the unlikely success the Internet affords, andits role as the “last democratic medium.” But, at its heart, the feel-gooddocumentary is a story of friendship and family and how alienation from onegroup can mean acceptance in another.