ABOUT THE FILM

"Cajun Hell" is a look back on the life and tragic death of struggling and influential musician Criss "Drunk" Bennett and his refusal to leave Louisiana's Cajun Country for a better shot at success in a more populated and open-minded area of the country. The film follows Drunk's story as he chases his dreams despite constant obstacles, jump-starts the Louisiana punk scene, and influences many peers along the way to pick up instruments and start playing music.

Criss Drunk was a multi-talented musician who dedicated his life to his art. For nearly 20 years he played drums, guitar, bass, sang, and wrote songs for bands whose styles ranged from punk, metal, and hard rock, to reggae, country, southern rock, and acoustic. Follow the links below to learn more about each band.

Criss drunk began playing drums in hard rock and metal bands such as Oblivion and Kings Legion in the small Cajun town of Ville Platte in the late '80s. Wanting to try something different, he formed a punk band in 1993, which he called Mystic Fix. Mystic Fix played constantly, making a name for themselves in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida until breaking up in 2001.

Criss then formed Southern Discomfort, a group with more of a southern rock sound. That band lasted for less than a year, but drew large crowds whenever they would play. During this time he also recorded a solo acoustic album, Taurus Attraction. In 2002, Criss formed the LA Phantoms, changing his sound yet again to a more classic rock feel. The Phantoms gigged extensively, playing places like the Hard Rock Cafe in New Orleans, LA and the SXSW Festival in Austin, TX.

The LA Phantoms broke up in 2005, and Criss returned to his hometown and started playing in Label 13 with the original '93 lineup of Mystic Fix, but this time playing hard rock and metal. He also formed the metal band Manafold. In 2006, Criss decided to restart Mystic Fix, and once again the band became his focus. Criss Drunk passed away in his sleep on June 11, 2007 at the age of 33. Mystic Fix had been preparing to release a new record and to tour extensively. This was all put to an end by the death of Mystic Fix's singer and primary songwriter.

"Cajun Hell" is a independently-finanaced feature film being produced by Miscellaneous Productions, a San Francisco, California based video production company with offices in Louisiana and Mexico.

The idea for the film was originally conceived in 2007 after Criss Drunk passed away. In 2009, after learning that there was a real interest in a documentary about Mystic Fix, we began developing the idea, making contacts and see what material was available. Pre-production began for the film in Louisiana in June 2009, and continued from July to October 2009 in San Francisco, California.

Over a period of three years beginning in November 2009, five production trips were made to Louisiana to shoot interviews and archive thousands of photos, flyers, artwork, and footage from the personal collections of ex-bandmates, friends, and family of Criss Bennett. More than 75 interviews were conducted and we gathered an additional 150 hours of archive footage

Post-production work for the film began in early 2010 with organizing and logging the massive amount of material and beginning to assemble a story. Editing and post-production work has continued in four different phases, the most current being nearly three months of work in 2012. Private test screenings have been held throughout the process to ensure the film with be exciting and interesting for all.

As a low-budget independently-financed film about the life of a local artist, we have used grassroots fundraising techniques throughout the filmmaking process to fund our progress including benefit events, private donations, and a DVD presale. See the special thanks page to see the many businesses and individuals who have helped out.

The film is currently 90% completed, and remains as a work-in-progress as we raise the completion funds needed to prepare the film for release. Work remaning includes finalizing motion graphics, color correction, and audio mix, as well as cutting the final trailers.

The completed film will be shown at film festivals around the world and local screenings along with a DVD release. Sign up for our mailing list or add us on your favorite social networking site to stay up to date on our progress and to hear about screenings and other news.