10 Incredible Fan Films That Totally Succeeded Where Hollywood Failed

6. The Punisher: Dirty Laundry

There can surely be nothing sweeter to fans of a franchise than finding out that the person who portrays your hero on the big screen is as big a geek over the subject matter as you are. After reading the initial scripts and plans for the followup to 2004's The Punisher movie, actor Thomas Jane wrestled with himself and decided he couldn't betray the character he loved so much by playing him in what he thought would be a terrible sequel.

So instead he set about researching his source materials and keeping himself in peak physical condition so he could give Frank Castle the sort of screen return he deserved. Whipping together sufficient money for a short film, and the help of his good pal Ron Perlman (y'know, Hellboy), Jane produced a "love letter to the fans" that he would screen at conventions and other Punisher related events. In the end though, the consensus was that this was too good to keep locked up, and it was released on YouTube as well.

In typical Punisher style, the story follows the vigilante simply trying to get his laundry done. However when some street crime breaks out across the road the now-retired enforcer decides he can't stand idly by and allow it to happen. What follows is some of the most breathtakingly gory action ever seen in a fan film, as well as some of the most creative use of a bottle of Jack Daniels ever captured on screen.