Former U.S. Army Ranger Mat Best and his fellow veterans at Black Rifle Coffee Company on Thursday released the third installment of “If Veterans Were in Horror Movies,” in time for Halloween.
For the third year in a row, Best and his fellow veteran coworkers at Black Rifle Coffee Company gave their take on what would happen if veterans starred in horror movie scenarios. The eight-minute video features appearances by veterans Evan Hafer, Logan Stark, Jarred Taylor and others.
“Well, it’s Halloween again and 2020 has been quite a doozy, but in tradition, we decided to rent a haunted house and see who might try to kill us,” Best begins the video before he hears a ring at the doorbell to the haunted house.
A group of masked attackers out of the movie “The Purge” is at the door and Best says “Ooh, we’re starting early this year.”
“Eli, want to have the honors,” Best says, turning to another veteran who detonates a set of explosives at the front door, wiping out the Purge characters.
The veterans then act out a number of scenarios battling monsters from horror movies and tv shows.
In one scenario, a former U.S. Air Force Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) member hides in a set of bushes with a woman calling for help, in a machete-wielding monster reminiscent of the horror movie villain Jason Voorhees. As the machete-weilding monster approaches, the TACP officer calls in an airstrike from an A-10 Warthog which then shreds the approaching monster.
“Oh yeah,” the former Air Force veteran yells. “Congress wanted to get rid of that thing? Fuck.”
In another scenario, Best and another veteran shoot a zombie, before watching Army veteran Omar “Crispy” Avila, who suffered burns and lost his leg in combat, beat up more zombies with a prosthetic limb. As they watch Avila go to work, Best and the other veteran joke about the long-running AMC zombie TV-series The Walking Dead.
The video plays through several more horror movie scenarios with veterans facing an invisible adversary, battling a werewolf, hunting Freddy Krueger and escaping from a scenario reminiscent of one of the movies in the SAW horror franchise.
The video ends again on Best, sitting in front of a fireplace, sipping a glass of scotch.
“Oh, hello there,” Best says. “I would say that this year was quite a success. Ronnie killed a ghost, I think. Heather kissed Eli. Jared got an Air Force kill, and most importantly . . . anyway, it’s a great Halloween and maybe we’ll see you next year.”
Best is a former Army Ranger with five deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, according to his bio. He later served overseas as a CIA contractor before delving into business. He serves as President of Article 15 clothing and Vice President of Black Rifle Coffee Company, in addition to other business ventures.
Best previously released a music video with joking references to coronavirus quarantines. Best’s videos have been a driving force in Black Rifle Coffee Company’s marketing campaign. Veterans wore company merchandise throughout the video and the veteran-owned and operated coffee company is advertised at the end of the video.
