Meet Scary 'Cellphone Bill' in Silence of the Lambs Spoof From Liquid Death

Canned water brand and Boost Mobile show no pit-y

What’s more frightening, a serial killer or monthly phone charges? In the spots below, they’re basically the same thing.

Liquid Death and Boost Mobile go full Silence of the Lambs, casting Precious Gemstones’ Tony Cavalero as a whacko named … “Cellphone Bill.” Heh.

After trapping mom, dad and kiddos in a dank pit—and dangling handsets over the edge—he torments them with talk of a “family plan” that’s downright scary.

“This was an extremely fun two day shoot,” LD VP of creative Andy Pearson tells Muse. “We worked closely with Tony to find this wild character and get inside his world. Lots of screaming and spitting and listening to Depeche Mode inside a creepy basement dungeon lair.”

And you’d think a captive would appreciate a cool splash of LD canned water to relieve his agony …

… alas, not so much.

“There was a real pit, but it was actually built above ground—movie magic,” says Pearson. “There was a platform built above it that Tony could stand on and look down on his victims.”

Pearson co-directed the :60s with Johnny Eastlund. Director of photography Zach Kuperstein, a horror pro who’s worked with LD before, “was a wealth of knowledge,” especially about making the pit scenes ultra unsettling, Pearson recalls.

The murderous maniac vibe—over-familiar from countless flicks—should resonate even for those who’ve never seen Lamb. Though clearly comedy, the scenario feels unsettling, too. That makes Cavalero’s unhinged performance especially effective. He’s funny—in more ways than one. Bad ways. (It’s too late for Boost. His prisoners better sign on the dotted line.)

“We shot this in a real, awful basement-level space that we didn’t have to dress much,” Pearson says. “It’s a pretty dreadful place that smells like mildew. They actually shot part of a Saw film down there—which makes sense.”

“Tony put everything into this character and was wiped by the end of the day. There’s so much amazing footage from him that we just couldn’t fit in. Hopefully, Cellphone Bill rides again.”