Bulletface

Sure as hell glad I didn't PAY to watch this awful movie. Waste of bandwidth downloading it !! Take my advice ......... avoid this like the plague. I watch movies to be entertained and this one certainly didn't do that. The acting was dreadful, the soundtrack obtrusive, the plot - non-existent and it used up two hours of my life I'll never get back ! Gratuitous porn and violence do not a movie make. It doesn't inspire anyone to take a (touristy) trip to Mexico/California or to trust anyone with a badge, from whatever agency they're members of. Once in a while an excellent movie comes along but this ain't it ! This must be an actor's/director's/script writer's/"what not to do in a movie" guide. I can't say I've ever watched such a bad movie, how the heck it ever got released is beyond me. Whoever put up the money for the movie, the executive producer/s, sure got ripped off, I'll wager they got nil return on their investments.

I had to stop watching to write this. There's no way I'm going to finish watching the rest of this rubbish. I'm just 30 minutes in and it feels like I'm still watching opening credits that are "setting up" the movie. But THIS IS the movie!

Titles keep popping up for each new location - so often I'm surprised they don't start with "INT/EXT", "DAY/NIGHT", etc. One of them actually states (and this is no joke) "Friday 4:00PM ... 60 Hours Till Monday." What??

Whenever a new character appears, half the screen goes black and a white title appears to give their name and occupation/relevance/etc. Even if it's their only scene! One guy gets shot and killed 20 seconds after his name is given. But who cares... I don't even remember any of their names anyway.

The film editing is atrocious... constantly going into slow motion, freeze frames, or flashes of light and dark.

The actors are terrible and sound like they're reading lines. The rape scenes are not horrific OR haunting because it all feels so scripted.

This movie is without a doubt one of the most ANNOYING films I've ever seen.

Plainly awful. I did not finish watching it. The editing is so bad, and in addition there are titles all throughout the movie showing us who's name is what. Good move in a sense, because it is near impossible to follow the story, or a story, as far there is one. But I forgot all of their names anyway because there was no reason for me, or a chance given me by the director, to remember them. The camera is shaky, the acting is keeping you aware that these are actually actors and all is staged. The rape scenes are brutal and haunting - but how hard is to do a rape scene to shock viewers? I read somewhere in the trivia that the whole flick was shot in 5 days on a minimal budget. No kidding! There is "low-budge" written all over it and it is sheer disrespect for the audience. The movie makers of this one should not quit their day jobs.

I have rarely seen a movie that made me itch to turn it off in the title sequence but "Bulletface" sure did because the title sequence is like 20 Minutes long and already showcasing some of the most irritating and uneven editing I have seen for a while. The constant use of freeze frames without any explicable reason, the rapid time jumps and split screens (most of the time also not conveying any atmosphere or information) and the names of actors and characters written on screen along with changing locations made it hard for me to grasp when the title was over and the movie began. To me the first 20 minutes were a title collage that was incredibly boring while introducing dozens of useless editing gimmicks that were meant to make it edgy and thrilling.

After all they continued that... for example with the ridiculous special FX of people dying from the wonder drug that they used a million times so you were sure to see how bad the FX really are.

I won't waste any time on the plot, you can read it in the synopsis. The fact that the lead character "Bulletface" gets shot into the face which must have been grazing shot but leaves a clear hole in her cheek is ridiculous enough to hate the movie and it just goes on like that. Bad action sequences, mediocre acting and a constant trying to have looks and atmosphere of movies like Bourne Identity which fails on the silly soundtrack that makes you feel like there must be action somewhere but you can't find it anywhere on screen.

Ignore this.

Bulletface is interesting and entertaining for lots of different reasons, and knowing in advance this was a movie shot in 5 1/2 days and for around100,000 dollars I found that it exceeded every expectation I had while loading the disc up in my player. And, as many films directed by Albert Pyun do, it subverts those same expectations and delivers a well told hard boiled tale of vengeance and spinal fluid. Now, with a title like BULLETFACE, one of the catchiest titles I've ever heard, one might expect action and violence galore. Not so much, though there is plenty of emotional violence, sexual violence and one wicked spinal tap splat scene-the action quota is low, though they are well staged a drive characters along in their 60 hour sled ride to hell. This is a good thing. Bulletface is a film that relies heavily on the mood and ambiance to move the film where a seventeen minute gunfight would in a classic late 80s action film. Luckily, Pyun is great at exactly this kind of film. Overall, this movie is a solid low budget noir with some very strange elements tossed in to set a weird tone that is unique to the best films of Albert Pyun.

It is hard not to be aware of the budget on a project like Bulletface, but I found it one of the films strengths. While it relies on character and mood, the director and filmmakers do not appear to be limited by financial constraints by going for more than they can achieve. Albert Pyun has shown a great reach with his rather unique imagination over the years, and it is nice to watch him work seemingly within his grasp at all times. While it is always nice to be able to do whatever you would like, this film doesn't feel like there are scenes that are hyper- extended past the means at the creators disposal. Good planning? Probably, but there is actually not one sequence where I found myself rolling my eyes thinking how much better something probably looked on paper than what I just watched. The only major splatter effect is excellent-and there is one particular optical (the OD on Red Eye) that I thought was interesting because it was so simple.

With the characters of Bulletface being the quirky batch they are, it was essential to the films success, and that five day schedule, that everyone be spot on straight away. The entire film could have failed without a strong performance from Victoria Maurette, but the right gamble was taken and she knocks the bad girl on the right side of the law gone to the wrong side of the law to beating down all sides of the law woman with an amazing ease and sure handedness I'm actually shocked. She gets cool as ice, wild as fire and then shows just enough vulnerability when it is called for that she probably not only interpreted the script, but made it much better. Pyun should be in love with her face, because it is great to both look at in pictures and watch in action. Eddie Velez as the main villain is also excellent, from tough guy to giggling maniac as he watches one of his girls get a spinal fluid injection rejection.

The Ever Roving Pyunondrome... Some love him, some hate him. I think the more unique he goes, the better the films become. Bulletface splits screens. Also, the freeze frames...ah, I love them. Seriously, the way he uses both the freezes and the caption updates is why I watch Bulletface and not Remains of the Day. Many don't, I get it...but for me, the less flourishes, the less PyunAtronic the movie is.

And finally...SEX. Self distribution opens the door to upping the ante, and Bulletface goes right for the sleaze gusto. Extremely graphic rape scenes but also extremely effective as character motivation. Vile and a bit shocking it places the viewer right in the head of the protagonist in the worst possible way. Don't think these are your typical R- Rated shenanigans. Dara's bisexuality plays a big role in the script-as women and men both promise to screw her (or screw her over) at different points and for different reasons. While that may be somewhat overplayed in my opinion, the equal opportunity debasement of the rapes-and her subsequent reactions to sex are done really well.

So, there you have it...lots of little pieces in a film that I really enjoyed. The only other thing that needs mentioning is the way you will find this film. I've mentioned all the extras, and you are getting a stunning amount of material for very little money, but you are also working with the filmmakers in a sense. Like another cinematic mayhem maker, Jess Franco, Albert Pyun is trying to work with a little, make the movies he wants to as best as he is able to, and then get them to the audience that wants them, or may want to try something really different. For me, this is going to be fascinating to watch. So much media is now at our fingertips that our hands will have to evolve in to size 78 oven mitts to hold it all-the chance to actually support someone that I've enjoyed watching for so long and see what they can do...very cool and exciting.

For me, Bulletface, The Special Edition Five Disk Set is far from over, 3 disks down and 2 more discs to go!