Horrible Turn gives us a very unofficial, but very fun, Dr Horrible origin! Blogger Laura McConnell investigates a hot new fan film:

Unofficial Dr Horrible spin-off

I think it’s pretty safe to assume that anyone reading this has seen Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, last summer’s smash hit internet musical (who ever thought we’d be saying that?) by Joss Whedon and crew.

So I’ll dispense with the story of how Dr Horrible broke all the entertainment stereotypes and threw out the mould. I won’t go into its history and how it turned Hollywood upside-down by proving that the internet is a viable medium for making money with films. I won’t applaud the explosion of fan creativity it inspired and how that creativity was actually supported by Whedon and included on the Dr Horrible DVD. Though that’s my favorite part of the Dr Horrible story, I won’t waste time on it because that’s all ancient history.

But speaking of ancient history, I will get to my point. How many of us Horrible fans have wondered where Billy Buddy came from? How many times since we first saw that lovable little evil dude on our monitors did we think ‘gosh, I wonder what could have made him that way?’ How many of us have wished for more stories in the Horrible universe? Sure, we had the MySpace comics and there’s Zack Whedon’s Dark Horse book, but what about live action works? We all know there’s a sequel down the road sometime (maybe), but what if we want something now?

Well, wait no more Horrible groupies. I have news for you.

It comes in the form of Horrible Turn, a new internet musical - there’s that term again - that gives us not only a plausible, if unofficial, backstory for our favorite super villain and his pals (I’m especially fond of seeing young Johnny Snow in addition to the main characters), but also delivers such diverse musical gems as “There’s No Place on Earth Like Australia,” “She Talked to Me,” and “Hammer (I Love You).”

I saw this film for the first time a few days ago, and I’m still humming these numbers. Last I checked, that was a pretty good indicator for song success. Horrible Turn definitely delivers the auditory goods.

The writing and direction of the production is also well done, and the acting is good. Young Captain Hammer, played by Jacob Buras, totally steals the show with his smarmy, over-the-top greasy dialogue, and young Billy, played by Tyce Green, is wonderful as well.

Another fun thing about Horrible Turn is that it is chock full of references to pop culture. It’s quite a lot of fun to find the references to Star Wars, Grease, Fight Club, Chariots of Fire, and South Park sprinkled throughout the film in addition to the more obvious ones that pay tribute to the original Dr Horrible, Firefly, and, well, Nathan Fillion’s hair. And since it takes place in Dr Horrible’s teenage years, Horrible Turn has plenty of eighties nostalgia to go around, too.

So if you’ve got an hour to kill, why not check it out? I was pleasantly surprised by this little film, which I somehow only heard about when it premiered on 10 November. I do believe I’ll be watching it again. So relax. Come sit with me. Grab a cup of tea and settle in for a little Horrible fun. You can find the film here, in several player formats: http://www.horribleturn.com. You can also follow the group of fans who made the film a reality at @horribleturn on Twitter, if you’re so inclined.

Oh, and be sure to stick around through the end credits. You won’t regret it. Or maybe you will… I still haven’t decided on that point myself! Suffice to say there’s more footage. I’ll let you decide whether its horribleness outweighs its wonderfulness. Personally, I lean toward the latter. The last number is fast becoming my favorite.

Huh. Looks like I was wrong about that Dr Horrible fan creativity explosion being ancient history. I’m okay with that, and I hope I keep getting proved wrong for many years to come.

UPDATE

Those guys are going crazy: first a showing in Houston (the premiere) and now one in Austin!

http://www.originalalamo.com/Show.aspx?id=6994

Go them! And cheers to the theaters for playing along!

This is a personal article by Laura McConnell, one of our site contributors.

Your thoughts on Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog welcome as always, in the comment thread below or on our forum.