Fanning the Flames

Grayson

''Grayson'' made our list of comic book-based fan films

DIRECTOR John Fiorella, 31

CAMERA 16 mm. Rolex

RELEASE DATE 2004

PREMISE When Batman is murdered, Dick Grayson, a.k.a. Robin (John Fiorella), comes out of superhero retirement to avenge the Dark Knight's death.

THE TWIST In addition to dispatching a series of classic Batman villains (Joker, Catwoman, Penguin, and the Riddler), Grayson faces opposition from a corrupt police chief, Wonder Woman, and a gray-haired Superman (Paul Hasenyager), while his wife, Barbara Gordon (a.k.a. Batgirl), just wants him to stay home and help out with the baby.

SOUNDTRACK A patchwork of borrowed clips from more than 15 films, including ''Final Fantasy,'' ''13 Days,'' and ''Matrix Reloaded.''

COSTUMES AND PROPS Fiorella sewed, stitched, and spray-painted most of them. Superman's red shorts? A store-bought woman's bikini. And Robin's Batarang is a toy Batman plane, bought at a garage sale for $2 and spraypainted silver.

TOUGHEST SCENE TO SHOOT Robin's underwater dip; the camera had to be sealed in a weighted, watertight container to get the shot.

THE DIRECTOR'S TAKE ''I used Robin vs. Superman because it's an uphill battle,'' says director Fiorella, who worked as a waiter and sold his home-made costumes and props on Ebay to fund the movie (which cost under $18,000). ''It's the ultimate confrontation. Like Republicans and Democrats, they both think that what they're doing is right, so who do you cheer for?''

NOTE Fiorella presents the film like a trailer. But don't look for the longer version; it doesn't exist.

URL www.untamedcinema.com

RUNTIME 5 minutes, 27 seconds

GRADE A-