Killian & the Comeback Kids

Killian returns home after his college graduation before heading off on a modest musical tour with his bandmate Ben. When Ben abandons their plan in favor of a stable A & R job Killian finds himself stuck in the once prosperous Pennsylvania steel-town. When it's announced that the major music festival that comes to town every summer is finally open to local acts, Killian gathers a group of former childhood friends and acquaintances, all of whom have returned home after college degrees, in an attempt to win the gig.[1] Elements of the film are based on the real life withdrawal of Bethlehem Steel and creation of Musikfest in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.[2]

In August 2017 it was announced that filming had begun in Easton, Pennsylvania. The cast is made up largely of actor-musicians including members of the hit broadway and off-broadway shows Once (musical), Blue Man Group, Kinky Boots, and Spring Awakening.[3] The film was shot entirely on location in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania.[2] Both the film's original soundtrack and score were written by The Cumberland Kids, a folk-rock act fronted Purdee and Liam Higgins.[4]

In 2018 it was announced via the film's social media that Maddi Jane and Lee Grant would also appear in the film.[5][6][7][8][9]

During the COVID-19 pandemic it was announced that Hope Runs High had acquired distribution rights for the film.[10]

The film was released on September 18, 2020, making Killian & the Comeback Kids one of the first new films to play in American theaters during the pandemic, and one of the only independent films released exclusively to theaters. Due to its "platform release" structure, during its first few weeks it was sometimes the only fully theatrical film opening in a given city, marking the first time in history that this happened.[11][12] With Killian & the Comeback Kids, Purdee became the youngest director of the year with a film in major US cinemas.[13]

The film has received a largely enthusiastic reaction from critics, being compared favorably to the films of Alan Parker, Greta Gerwig, and John Carney's Academy Award winning "modern musical" Once.[13] Film Threat praised Purdee's complex portrait of the title character.[14] NPR WDIY also praised Purdee's performance both onscreen and musically, as well as the film's script, direction, cinematography, and "uplifting, insightful, lovely" soundtrack, saying "There's more to praise. Lots more...Killlian & the Comeback Kids lingers long after you've left the movie theatre."[15]

In February 2021,Variety dubbed the film a potential dark horse candidate for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.[16] [17]Due to the COVID-19 crisis the film would only be eligible for most other major awards in 2022.

Harry Sherer hailed the film's inversion of traditional "band movie" tropes, calling it "a fresh and unique look at the contemporary identity crisis among young adults...[moving for any] human with the capacity to feel."[18] The Chicago Sun-Times called it a "cool film with beautiful music and cinematography"[11] while Icon Magazine noted the film's “magnificent locations…great music…[it's] a folk-rock journey.” [2][4] Other standouts noted are the music by Purdee and Liam Higgins, Ian Mosely-Duffy's "inventive" cinematography, and the performances of Shannon O’Boyle, who Paul Willistein felt "registers in a break-out role as Rose," John Donchack, Shane Andries, Maddi Jane, Nathan Purdee, and Kassie DePaiva.

• Killian & the Comeback Kids at IMDb