One Bad Day

"One Bad Day" was the third annual FMF Halloween special and the final episode of Season 3. It was written by Joaquin Lascano and based on a story by Chad Garcia and Phil Spruner. It Premiered on October 31, 2015 and can be viewed here.

The film also marks the 100th video produced by Frosted Mini Fears (Not Counting the 2 pilots)

## Summary

The film opens with a shot of a high school in the middle of the afternoon over the sounds of teenagers socializing and the school bell ringing to end the day. We then cut to later that night as our main character is just now leaving school he angrily kick the wall of the school and he begins his walk home. While he's walking down the street he is stopped by a group of bullies who antagonize him for a bit before attacking him.

We hard cut to his cell phone screen which has several texts from someone named Rebeca who is breaking up with him. The sounds of his parents arguing is heard in the background while we are also shown a paper with a large red 'F' and the words 'See me after class' written on it. Rebeca calls his phone but he ignores it as his parents continue to fight ultimately culminating with his father striking his mother off screen.

Finally our main character with black eyes and bloody lip, gets up and enters the bathroom where he stares at his reflection for a moment before grabbing a pair of hair clippers and shaving off his hair. Once he finishes he runs his fingers over his scalp and then heads out to the living room where he pulls a large bag out from underneath the couch. He opens it and inside is a rife. He pulls back the bolt on the side of the stalk and takes aim, looking down the sight before examining the rife once more. He them opens a small black case and inside rests a black beretta handgun. He examines the handgun for a moment before putting it and the rife into a duffle bag. Now wearing a black hoodie he looks directly into the camera before putting his hood up and walking away.

The final shot shows his walking towards the high school, duffle bag in hand, as the sounds of kids playing is heard. After entering the school we hear screams and finally a series of gunshots.

As the credits roll a remix of 'Pumped up Kicks' can briefly be heard

## Development

Development began on July 31, 2015 when Chad, Phil, and Joaquin began brainstorming ideas for the special. The idea of a school shooting told from the point of view of the shooter was ultimately selected as it provided a topical story which would easily lend itself to Frosted Mini Fears' style of visual storytelling.

The Title changed several time throughout production. Originally to be called "He said yes" as a reference to the book "She said yes" which was written by the mother of one of the victims of the Columbine shooting, It was briefly changed to "Sympathy for the devil" before finally settling on "One Bad Day" in reference to the quote "All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy" as spoken by The Joker in the Batman story 'The Killing Joke'

## Production

Production began on October 17th, 2015 in Crockett California. Starring Miguel Cantaras and the rest of the Frosted Mini Fears cast and crew in supporting roles, the film was shot over the course of 2 days.

Casting proved to be the largest obstacle to overcome as the lead role required not just finding someone who could convincingly play a teenager but also would be willing to shave one's head on camera in one of the film's most important scenes. Ultimately Miguel Canteras was cast and the film was shot mostly at his house in Crockett, California. Miguel was unavailable for any additional shooting however so Chad Garcia portrayed the character in the final shot of the film.

## Reception

The Film received positive reviews upon his release with Ghastly Tales commenting "Wow, that was dark! Great work guys! "
The film was also an official selection at the 2016 "I Hella Love Shorts" film festival.

The making of the film was documented in the FMF Unboxed episode 'Behind the Scenes on "One Bad Day"