The Dark Side to Love

This film is acted and directed with just the right amount of tongue in cheek satire. I love watching it, especially the character of Mary Contrary. Paul Keefer, the actor playing this role stands out and really makes the film. A lot of films are just badly made and that is what makes them cult classics. However, this film is intentionally made to look and feel campy. John Carr does a terrific job of directing. However, the real star of the film, is (I hate to repeat myself) Paul Keefer as Mary Contrary. Every time he is in a scene, I just can't stop laughing. The one character that stands out however, like a sore thumb is William C Moore as Federico Lebuse. He tries too hard to act with a foreign accent and doesn't even come close to doing it with any type of ability. He isn't funny. He isn't clever. He isn't appealing. He just isn't an actor. In spite of his horrible job of acting and dragging the film down, it is a delightful film and a must see for anyone who appreciates fun comedy.

I first saw some footage of this movie through the Philip Yordan film Night Train to Terror. Night Train to Terror is an anthology of three short stories that are actually full length films, just trimmed down to fit in a short stories film. Death Wish Club is the second story in the movie and it caught my interest with the excessive amount of nudity and gore. So, I tracked an old VHS copy of the movie down and to my disappointment, much off what was shown in Night Train to Terror was cut out of the version I have, but, I was still left with a very bizarre movie.

The movie is about a woman named Gretta, a bizarre type of gal who is a porno actress and a nightclub musician. When she gets wrapped up with a nice college kid she introduces him to an underground club. A club of people that like to play many forms of Russian Roulette.

That is the basic story to the movie but there is so much more going on in this movie that the main storyline becomes secondary. Gretta has split personalities, one of which she thinks she is a fish... The whole death club is bizarre and is never fully explained as to why they are so suicidal. Matter of fact, this movie has more plot holes in it then I can count!

If you are into really weird type of character films this is one to check out. Kind of reminds me of a really drugged up version of a David Lynch film. 6/10

I first saw parts of this movie on the Night Train to Terror collection and this seemed to be the only one worth watching by itself. After I found the bootleg, Death Wish Club is truly bizarre but watchable.

A rich no goodnik named George Youngmeyer (J Martin Sellets) goes to a carnival and hits on a popcorn vendor named Gretta (Meredith Haze. George proceeds to put her in pornos. During a college re-union frat party, pre-med joe schmoe (Rick Barnes) named Glenn takes a liking to her and goes to meet with her. After he gets in her pants, soon George catches them and makes them join a secret society whose purpose is to put their lives on the line for the entertainment of the group.

The idea of a guy hitting on a carny is kind of weird but that was probably the most normal thing to happen the rest of the movie. Lola the drag queen gets beat up, Contessa gets a wrecking ball sinus infection and my favorite, a Jimi Hendrix lookalike fries (exscuse me while I smoke) I wish this movie actually came out for it wasn't that bad compared to other crap that came out during the time period.

6 out of 10

This movie is such an amazing achievement that I am struggling with what to say about it. No review or plot summary can ever even touch on the layered brilliance of this holy grail. As you may notice, I have had to invent the word 'cramfabulant' just to attempt to describe the emotional cocktail in which I was bathing while watching this cramfabulant film. Don't believe the poor star rating, or anyone who tries to explain this complex display of cramfabulessance. It simply needs to be experienced. But if I had to best describe it without mentioning the insanely amazing story, it would be something like "Imagine David Lynch directing the script of a low I.Q. first time screenwriting mental patient while both of them abused unapproved prescription meds in a closed garage full of open paint cans."

I saw this under the title GRETTA as a DVD extra on the NIGHT TRAIN TO TERROR disc. The feature-length GRETTA has a very different tone to it than the segment in NIGHT TRAIN. Meredeth Haze (in her only film credit) gives an incredible performance as Gretta. She's mesmerizing. It's easy to see why Glenn, played by Rick Barnes, is so taken by her. Barnes is a good actor, but 15 years too old for a part where he is referred to as a college boy. Worth seeing.