Most actors, directors, writers and producers want their next film to be the next big blockbuster hit. Genuine hits are few and far in between, but movies often make noise much after their release. “The Boondock Saints” was an outstanding example of a time-bomb blockbuster that hit it big.

“Boondock Saints” is a film about injustice and how it is addressed. Using an assortment of guns, the MacManus brothers, played by Norman Reedus and Sean Patrick Flanery, retaliate against the mob in Boston.

Writer and director Troy Duffy released the film in 1999, but because of the amount of gun violence and the Columbine shooting that year, the movie went straight to DVD.

Duffy and producers Chris Brinker and Don Carmody were upset by the movie’s straight-to-DVD release, but with an unexpected word-of-mouth advertising method, the movie’s popularity spread among college students. “Boondock Saints” soon became an acclaimed success.

“It’s a different thing. When you see a preview on TV that says, ‘Buy this movie!’ The critics say it’s great, or the director of this, or the actor of this — they are trying to find ways to sell it to you. When my buddy comes up to me and says, ‘you got to check this,’ 100 percent of the time I’m going to see that movie, whatever it is…I’m being told by my friend whose opinion is ‘this is the shit, you got to check it out!'” Duffy said in an interview backstage before his promotional event in Mershon Auditorium Thursday evening.

His Irish-Bostonian demeanor mirrors the characteristics of the main characters in the film.

With the immense success of the film, Duffy and crew knew the fans wanted more.

“It didn’t become a reality until the fans basically demanded me to make it, which I did,” Troy said.

“The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day” was released in Oct. 2009 in theaters. As the movie was made, Duffy said it was important to include elements of the first movie, as well as new aspects that would keep his audience satisfied. The second film follows the MacManus brothers again, who have come out of hiding in Ireland. After hearing about a violent murder of a priest, the brothers head back to Boston to mount a violent and bloody crusade to bring justice to those responsible.

“We were anxious to get this thing done, but in terms of writing it, you think about it there, there’s very few good sequels,” Duffy said. “They all suck, right? You can name four or five that you can all agree on, but normally it’s terrible shit. I just did a personal investigation of what I thought the problem was and it’s always resting on the role of the first movie. They just remake the first movie in a different way. The ones that have been successful add a new element to it…so we just tried to put new stuff in there.”

The film includes many of the characters from the first crew, as well as a new female lead, played by Julie Benz. Each actor had to endure hours of gun training, which added to the suspense of making each scene. In particular, Benz had a scene in the movie that required hours of practice to perfect a motion in which she had to properly load, fire and reload all in one sequence.

Duffy’s inspiration for both films came from his own experiences being a victim of crimes.

Duffy, along with producer Brinker, and two of the actors in the film, Brian Mahoney and David Della Rocco, are currently promoting their films throughout the country. During one of their stops, they found their audience also felt the same sense of victimization they could relate to in their every day lives.

“We were at a gig in Texas and we asked the audience about the crimes on kids,” Duffy said. “[I said] ‘raise your hands if a crime has ever been committed to you,’ and you can guess, they all raised their hands. Then I said, ‘now, drop your hands if the crime was solved.’ Not one. There’s hopelessness to it, you know,” Duffy said.

In terms of making the second film, with most of the same cast, the actors really enjoyed being together again. Duffy mentions that is was a similar experience to summer camp.

“I think the fun thing about the movie is just making it,” Rocco said. “Knowing the director so well, knowing the writer, the producers and a good amount of the actors. And the crowd that was around me, it was very relaxing and fun. And the second time, there wasn’t any stress factor.”

As the audience is mostly college-aged, the cast and crew was very concerned that the film would somehow be leaked on the Internet and secrets would be revealed prior to the release. But, the fans stayed loyal to their beloved film and did not divulge anything.

The biggest surprise about the second film was Willem Dafoe’s appearance, since he was a crucial character in the first film.

“[Dafoe] was bigger than the film when we started. But, by the second film, the film was bigger than Willem Dafoe,” Mahoney said.

The most difficult and most rewarding aspect of creating the second film for Duffy was that he knew he was creating the film for a particular audience. Duffy said that their crew seems to thrive under pressure, which added to the success of the second film. Duffy describes his nervousness for the first film, as he was weary about it even finding a fan base. Now, while creating the second film, he describes his weariness to be able to please the fan base that already existed.

“The fans know that film frame for frame. They know every word, every line, every nuance, every character. So, having that fan base looming over the set was one of the things I liked about doing the sequel. We were making it for somebody, but it also gave us a lot of pressure because now you got a bunch of actors coming back that don’t want to be the guy who [messes up] Boondock II,” Duffy said.

The cult-like audience extends beyond actually knowing the movie line by line. Many of the audience members actually have gotten tattoos similar to those in the movie and dress up like the characters, donning pea-coats and rosaries when attending the many promotional events for the movie.

Duffy said he has potential plans for a third film. He said he hopes to continue making movies for his fan base. Not only was the movie’s success a unique one, it was a complete surprise.

“Every fricking actor, as soon as you yell cut, they’re hoping that that thing they just did gets them an Academy Award, whether it’s a toothpaste commercial or if it’s in a film,” Duffy said. “And directors and writers are the same way. When I write something down on the page, I want it to glow with heavenly fire. But, there is no way to predict…you can’t really set out to make a cult film and actually pull it off.”

But, in any case, Duffy plans to use friends he gained through the making of his films to make bigger and better films.

The most important key to success in the movie industry for Duffy is to actually practice. He also suggests to not only have talent, but to be where the business is.

“If you want to be in this business, I do not take [you] seriously unless [you] are living in New York or Los Angeles.,” he said.

The cast and crew of “The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day” is currently on tour promoting their DVD release, which is on March 9.