The Beach Party at the Threshold of Hell

Went to a midnight screening at the Crest in Westwood with some of my UCLA buds. Gotta say, I thought I might fall asleep since it started at 12am, but that wasn't the case. The movie's frenetic pace made for an exhilaration from beginning to end. It's akin to that rare sort of novel where you find yourself checking to see how many pages are left and hoping there are more, not fewer. A less imaginative movie coddles the audience. This movie opens up and says, "Here we go. You better hold on tight." The confidence the filmmaker's show in its audience's ability to follow every turn was such a breath of fresh air. But I could see a less savvy audience being turned off by this same confidence. If you like to try new things... If you like to challenge yourself... If you're sick of the tripe Hollywood is producing... You should see this film. With an embarrassment of riches at the filmmaker's fingertips, my only gripe is I will have to see it again to catch all the references and allusions.

This movie was made by a bunch of white guys that went to school together. Well there's nothing wrong with that, except it looks like it was made by a bunch of white guys that went to school together. 90 percent of the cast are white males about same age. It's almost like watching a bunch of guys at boys camp who turned the camera on themselves. The movie has no plot. It simply repeats the same action of blood bath after blood bath. There are some funny scenes and comedic bits. But they don't redeem the flat monotony.

The graphic cartoon scenes are used to cover the stuff that was obviously beyond their budget or resources to do, and not done very well at that. Anything that can't be done with white guys running around on the beach covered in blood is done with cheap animation.

I went to see this film after seeing the trailer, which makes it look like a Tarrentino piece. Well, the trailer scenes are as good as they ever get. Ther rest of it just repeats the same kind of mundane, inane comedy. It works at times, but it gets boring after the same stuff comes at you over and over. It's more like a string of Satuday Night Live skits than a movie. It's a hit-you-over-the-head-with-it kind of comedy. I can see where the story idea is intriguing. But, in this film post apocalyptic America is much like Medevil England. In fact Wheatlry says the story ideas came from that era. He plans to make a Part 2. I guess he thinks he's Tarrentino or maybe doing a parody thing.

At the opening in LA, Wheatley mentioned he will bring back pretty much the same cast in part 2. He was asked if he might consider a more diverse cast in the next one, to which he replied, well yea, sure.

Starting with the title, this campy, hilarious, New American film is gushing with the zeal of the youthful, hip, and edgy filmmakers. Charting a primordial course towards a new genre, Writer/Director/Lead Kevin Wheatley and his directing collaborator Johnny Gillette, along with co-conspirator Cameron Pierce, have touched on something quite new and fresh. Hearkening back to the multi-format style of some of their predecessors like Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers and Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, the filmmakers lucidly blend time-shifting storytelling with "expert" testimony, hand drawn animation and graphics with live action, and clever writing with strong performances.

A first attempt at making a feature film is usually marred with over-acting, technical blunders, and misguided "post-fixes". This film, however, is an overachiever for these first time filmmakers. Their strong storytelling skills shine through in their History Channel-on-mescaline style, and the wait for their next foray has already been too long.

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I got a chance to catch The Beach Party at the Threshold of Hell at its World Premiere at the L.A. Film festival. I would unabashedly recommend the film--especially to indie film-lovers and cult flick-enthusiasts worldwide. The filmmakers worked wonders in bringing a post-apocalyptic satire to the big screen on a meager budget.

The acting is, at times, pitch perfect and the story is a kind of Oh Brother Where art Thou meets Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas set in 2097, New America. The cinematography, editing, graphics and animation sequences are stunning and visually entertaining.

The film is a bit unconventional in structure, but the History Channel documentary/comic book style of the film is original and works well. While it has political and social overtones, the comedic setups were usually paid off with satisfying hilarity. The film started a bit slow, but it soon took off and kept me on the edge of my seat the rest of the way.

As this is only part one, I hope the filmmakers will be granted the budget and name talent to make part two even better than the first installment.

I attended the world premiere of this film at the 2006 Los Angeles Film Festival and enjoyed what I saw very much. It is hard to explain this movie to someone who hasn't seen it...and I think that is a good thing, as it needs to be experienced to appreciate it for what it really is. This film is a completely visceral experience from beginning to end. The use of sound, special effects, on-screen graphics, etc. engage all of your senses and really draw you into what is happening on-screen. For first-time filmmakers, the creators of this (soon to be) trilogy should be lauded for their decision to employ numerous ambitious techniques to produce a successful, dark, funny, apocalyptic tale. Job well done for all parties involved! :) :) :)