nickkarner

"How did your father die?" "He was sucked up into the sky...and he popped." Tremendous fun from the director of Cult Hero. More somber, but no less deranged. It plays like a science fiction version of Succession, but with way more eye gouging. The game cast trade barbs and indulge in overall unpleasant behavior as the mystery of a corpse in a whiskey barrel begins to slowly unfold. Madness ensues and lemme tell ya, you can keep both human organs AND your lunch in a cooler and there won't be a problem. While not as propulsively extreme, it's nice to see Cook and several familiar faces take a different, stranger approach.

This undiscovered and extremely 'ahead of its time' gem was in a collection of cheap DVD's called "Freaky Flicks" that I got for xmas. The titles in this lot include Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, The Terror of Tiny Town, and The Killer Shrews. All low budget and wonderfully awful. Then, here comes The Sadist. Considering this film stars Arch Hall Jr., the astonishingly bad actor whose previous credits include Eegah!, Wild Guitar, and the Nasty Rabbit(one previous poster described Arch Hall Jr.'s appearance to that of a canker sore. I couldn't agree more), so I was prepared for another craptastic voyage down the celluloid skid row pavement. Imagine my surprise when I found that this is an extremely well-written, well shot, and dynamically entertaining character piece. First off, any film that dares to be 90 minutes and have only 7 characters in the entire film had better be damn good. And this sucker delivered. There are certain rules you must adhere by to make a movie, and the number one rule is DO NOT HAVE THE NAMES RAY DENNIS STECKLER OR ARCH HALL SR. IN YOUR CREDITS! The fact that they didn't leave their grubby little handprints on this film is a testament to how solid writer/director James Landis felt his material was. Hell, when you've got Oscar Winner Vilmos Zsigmond shooting his first American film(as WILLIAM ZSIGMOND!), you'd better make sure you've got your act together! I think this film is a classic example of a theory I call "If It Weren't For..." Dare I compare a masterpiece like Night of the Hunter to this film, but I was reminded of my theory while checking this one out. It's basically this: If it weren't for the fact that this film was made in the early 60's, when stylized acting was still running rampant and hardcore films with sex and violence that also combined naturalistic acting like Bonnie and Clyde and Easy Rider had yet to be made, this would be a phenomenal film. The problem with this film is that I don't think the actors could completely wrap themselves around the very idea of the darkness in this material. They do their best, no question, but there are too many moments that take you out of the action because of the sylized 50's acting. Its the same with Night of the Hunter. The evil of that film, especially considering when it was made, is astonishing. Yet, it's never completely believable because the actors in the film aren't able to convey the moments and emotions nearly as well as actors from the 70's and onward would have done. Its unfortunate because you can see these are great movies that were way ahead of their time. If it weren't for...Arch Hall Jr.'s performance. Like I said, this guy is a terrible actor. Watch Wild Guitar, on second thought, don't. Just take my word for it. Yet, I could see him really making the effort to act. There were moments when he suddenly kicked it into high gear and was genuinely menacing. But I think if Landis had found a more talented and interesting actor, I think the movie would easily have become a masterpiece. But there is SO much going on in the film that you have to watch for and its like a treasure hunt. The fact that Judy never speaks until the end, the execution scene of the older teacher along with the empty coke bottle moments, the gun clip scene(is the gun empty? You had your chance, mister!), the surprise ending, the dirt-eating scene, the knockout chase with the reflector mirrors, Doris calling her man a coward, the very concept of only 7 characters in the whole film, and the overall feeling of dread that permeates throughout. The other actors, all no-names, are all rather good if not spectacular. You know, just good enough to pass muster, yet I can't remember any of them particularly well. Check this one out. It's a dynamite film that you have to see for its strengths rather than its weaknesses. Ignore those, and this is a truly unique and terrifying film.