Betrayed (tetralogy)
The Betrayed tetralogy, or four part movie sequence, is a crime thriller sequence pivoting around three independent crimes across the United States that, upon their respective completions, give way to a much larger, interconnected scheme. The films were written, directed, and, although to a very minor extent, independently produced by Theodoric Tucker (director Eden Falls (2005)). The movies, beginning with The Release of Betrayed Season 2: The Killer Returns, were met with little acclaim, although they are largely considered a cult classic around Detroit, Michigan, USA, the only non-fictional setting of any of the films.
History
Tucker reportedly conceived the idea for the tetralogy in 2001, after participating in an online version of the popular ABC reality show The Mole. The mystery and suspense involved therein inspired Tucker to produce his own version of the online game, with several alterations, which he named Betrayed. There were a total of seven installments of the game, the first four of which were made into the Betrayed tetralogy of films. This is the source of the films bizarre naming scheme: as is customary for reality television shows to be separated into 'seasons', so were Tucker's installments of his online game. The naming convention was carried over to the films in what was, as Tucker stated, "an attempt to hold true to the films origins."
Films
Each film in the series holds the original name of its respective installment of the online game. The four movies ProgresS in chronological order, with Season 1 occurring first, although Season 2 was the first theatrical release (Season 1 wasn't released until after Season 3, immediately before Season 4).
Seasons one through three follow three independent crimes set in Tuscaloosa, Alabama; New Meadows, Indiana; and Detroit, Michigan, respectively. Although each film operates on its own, elements from each can be found within the others. Season 4 strategically pulls the first three seasons together into the apex of the series, taking the small fragments of interelations between the previous films and putting them together into one. Although expected to be the driving force of the series, Season 4 is considered by most fans to be the downfall of the entire tetralogy, as most claim that there was too much coincidence involved and too many former characters were reintroduced into an unreal storyline.