Sonny Boy

Get hold of this film, any way you can (not illegally, of course). Scream its name from the rooftops of buildings everywhere, high or small, and offer prayers to your God for a fully-featured special edition DVD release. There is no film like Sonny Boy: even Leonard Maltin was moved to call it (I quote verbatim) "A repulsive, socially irredeemable waste of celluloid ... filmed for no apparent reason other to offend and appal", and if that isn't a recommendation for a cult movie, I don't know what is. Critics said similar things about Peeping Tom, A Clockwork Orange, Reservoir Dogs, and so many more ... those films are amazing and entirely individual, and so is this. It's pitiful that Sonny Boy has so little recognition apart from a few right-thinking die hards - you don't have to like it, just admit you've never seen its like before or since. Get on the bandwagon speedily, because if I am human this film will, in the near future, be recognised for the angry, iconoclastic, unclassifiable explosion it really is. And you can be among those who educated the world. Feel the adrenaline. There.

This was a bizarre film, is one way of putting it. A con artist, played by Brad Dourif, kills a couple then steals their car taking it to his friend who deals in stolen items. The car ends up having a baby in the back of which the man wants to get rid of but his wife played by David Carradine (who wears make-up and several dresses throughout) wants to keep the baby. If that's not weird enough they keep him in a box and on his sixth birthday the man cuts the boys tongue off! He calls it getting the gift of silence. The depravity doesn't end there. As he grows up he is dragged behind cars and just constantly abused. The father wants to groom him to be his secret weapon. He later takes his son (now a man) to kill people he needs killed.

Definitely a weird and dark film. You hear a cobbled version of the deliverance theme so as not to infringe on copyrights all the way through the film. The ending gets dull but entertaining until then.

"Sonny Boy" is not for the faint of heart, or the easily offended. It's a mind blowing, shocking, trashy melodrama that the cast performs for everything that they're worth. It may not be to very many tastes, but this twisted, darkly comic allegory is striking enough and compelling enough to make it a memorably weird viewing. Yet it does manage the feat of being somewhat poignant, even in the face of its depravity.

In 1970 New Mexico, a young couple is murdered, their car stolen, and baby unknowingly abducted - by quirky lowlife Weasel (who else but the great Brad Dourif). Weasel takes the prize(s) back to his boss, small time crime kingpin Slue (Paul L. Smith of "Popeye" and "Pieces"). Slue lives with a "wife", Pearl (David Carradine, who plays the role in full drag) who takes an instant shine to the kid. Slue wants nothing to do with a child until he realizes that he now has innocent life that he can corrupt as he sees fit, and turn into a feral attack dog. The much abused "Sonny Boy" (Michael Boston) makes his presence known to the outside world, eventually, leading to predictable circumstances.

"Sonny Boy" will turn some viewers off and intrigue others. At least it does seem to have the courage of its convictions. While on the one hand it depicts a pretty sleazy little world, it's decently shot in widescreen by Roberto D'Ettorre Piazzoli and vividly designed by Mario Molli. The music by Carlo Maria Cordio is nice, and there's a similarly appealing, wistful ditty composed and sung by Carradine called "Maybe It Ain't".

Carradine is truly something to see as the desert moll. Smith, who didn't want to do the movie but changed his tune when he saw who else had been signed up, is typically amusing as the loathsome father figure. Dourif and his "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" co-star Sydney Lassick are reunited as they cheerfully play their slimy parts. Conrad Janis is solid as a drunken doctor teased by his fellow citizens. And Alexandra Powers is appealing as Rose, the young lady who is moved by Sonny Boy and tries to reach out to him.

Worth a look see for the more adventurous among B movie enthusiasts.

Seven out of 10.

This movie is a one of a kind. Dark comedy is the best way to describe it. Definitely worth seeing (if just to see David Carradine wearing a dress, though it has much more to offer). The guy from Midnight Express plays another ruthless character in top form.

If you're expecting this to be just a cheap, ugly exploitation film, you may actually be surprised. Although it does border on the offensive, and Paul L. Smith plays (convincingly) one of the most repugnant characters you'll ever see, the film has enough originality and audacity to be preferable to many other formula horror outings. The script develops into a variation on the "Frankenstein" myth, and the terrific music score gives a poetic dimension to some scenes. Outstanding performance by the actor who plays Sonny Boy. (**)