Official Trailer for True Crime Doc ‘They Called Him Mostly Harmless’
by Alex Billington
January 28, 2024
Source: YouTube
“He was definitely trying to stay anonymous.” Max has revealed an official trailer for a true crime, mystery thriller documentary film titled They Called Him Mostly Harmless, available for streaming next month on Max after premiering at last year’s Hampton Film Festival. Based on the Wired article about the “mostly harmless” hiker found dead in a tent in Florida in 2018, surrounded by food and cash, but no ID. Who was he? What really happened to him? True crime veteran Patricia E. Gillespie’s new doc is a character-centric reimagining of the classic mystery. She explains: “I was drawn to this story because of its potential to help us think more deeply about what it means to live in the digital age. I hope we’ve made a film that manages to both honor the citizen detectives who worked tirelessly to identify the ‘Mostly Harmless’, while encouraging audiences to get involved in the issue of unidentified persons.” There is a conclusion to this story, though you’ll have to watch to find out – unless you already know following the investigation online over the years.
Trailer (+ poster) for Patricia E. Gillespie’s doc They Called Him Mostly Harmless, from YouTube:
When the “emaciated” body of an unidentified hiker is found in the Florida wilderness next to plenty of cash & food, mystified authorities release a sketch that sparks internet fascination, leading to a viral 2020 article in Wired. Multiple hikers call in claiming to have met the man on trails from Florida to Appalachia, but there’s one problem: he never told them his name. It would take two years, thousands of devoted internet sleuths, and a miracle of science to identify him—and that’s only the beginning of the story. They Called Him Mostly Harmless is a doc film directed by veteran producer / filmmaker Patricia E. Gillespie, director of the doc film The Fire That Took Her previously, as well as the crime series “The Devil You Know” streaming on Viceland. It’s produced by Ethan Goldman, Keayr Braxton, Danielle Franco, Amy Brown. This initially premiered at the 2023 Hamptons Film Festival. HBO will debut Gillespie’s They Called Him Mostly Harmless doc streaming on Max starting on February 8th, 2024 coming soon. Anyone interested in this?
|