Usually when I sit down to get you to take a peek at a Kickstarter campaign, it’s a comic or book-related fundraiser. This one is a bit different, on many levels. I’ve never really delved too deeply into the darker corners of the interwebs. Most of us don’t have any reason to do so. But there exists an underworld to the ‘net of which the general public knows nothing. Deep Web: The Untold Story of Bitcoin and The Silk Road digs deeply into the dark places that government’s cannot control. Examining the elusive Silk Road and the shadowy currency known as Bitcoin is just part of this documentary from Alex Winter. Like his latest film Downloaded, much of the focus will be from a historical and cultural perspective.

If you for some reason you don’t recognize Alex’s name, well maybe you should go pick up the always awesome comedy Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. I, however, know him best from the cult classic The Lost Boys (my friend Becca and I must have watched that every weekend for at least three years). But he’s more than just an actor, this dude has some pretty great director’s chops, too. He’s the man behind the film Freaked! I have no doubt this film will dig into every crevice to get to the truth. I recently read that the internet that you and I know makes up a mere 4% of the content that’s actually out there. Apparently there is a lot of stuff that isn’t indexed because it’s not meant to be seen by the average computer user.

To be honest, I wasn’t aware of a lot of this. I knew there were sites that were difficult to access, of course. But my knowledge of the Silk Road was more historical; to me it was a Chinese trade route from centuries ago. The modern version is more of an online Black Market than anything else. Using the cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, as its primary means of payment, the items sold on this site range from illegal drugs to assassinations. There’s so much to this that it’s impossible for me to explain it all in a single article. That’s why we need you! By helping fund this documentary, you can not only help this knowledge get to the general public, but you can also earn some excellent rewards.

Every pledge of at least five dollars earns a special reward. That five bucks will get you onto the email chain so you can not only get updates but also give suggestions for content! With fifty to eighty-five dollar pledges you can get unique transcripts from some of Alex’s other movies, and they’ll be autographed! My favorite is the Russian Oligarch level: you get to watch a movie with Alex Winter and play air guitar! Of course, it involves a substantial donation that I cannot afford, but maybe you can!

Regardless of the amount you pledge, this is a worthy campaign. The fundraising continues until December 20, 2013 but don’t wait until the last minute. Pony up some cash to get in on the ground floor. Some of these rewards are limited and you might miss out on the one you want.

Take the time to read this Kickstarter campaign over, and don’t forget to watch the video below. If I haven’t convinced you, then maybe the campaign page and video will.

And to paraphrase one of Alex’s quotes: Catch you later, Geeks!