Al filo de la oscuridad

Marty Malt (Judd Nelson) is a miserable, unfulfilled garbageman who aspires to be a successful standup comic in the wake of his mundane life. He frequently performs his abysmal schtick at seamy diners and unattractive dives, with only one fan; his best friend and fellow garbageman, Gus (Bill Paxton). One day, Gus notices that Marty has a disgusting lump on his back that quickly sprouts into a fully grown human-arm. Miraculously, Marty is more popular now than he ever was before, and becomes the target of the sleazy talent agent, Jackie Chrome (Wayne Newton), who previously wanted nothing to do with Marty after seeing his loathsome act. In the mix of it all, Gus, his once faithful, dim-witted best friend turns sickeningly manipulative and controlling of his new friend's found fame, and begins to be grossly violent towards the man and his already fragile self-esteem.

As you might've guessed, The Dark Backward wants to be called a "cult movie." Whether or not it has earned that status today I cannot say, but I can say it is one of the strangest and quirkiest film I've seen in quite sometime. Adam Rifkin, a director I have lauded in the past for making the brilliant anthology film, LOOK, chronicling the lives of unsuspecting people as they are recorded numerous times a day with surveillance cameras (he followed the film up with a Showtime TV show that ran for eight episodes, as well), the cult-comedy, Detroit Rock City, about four die-hard KISS fans trying to score some tickets to their big show, and Chillerama, an anthology horror film he contributed to, is the perfect man to write and direct such a story. It is told through his trademark eclectic ways and his appetite for crudely entertaining story tricks that are so sick, depraved, and outlandish that they beg an audience to appreciate them.

The film erects one of the seamiest and dirtiest environments this side of a landfill, with some grimy cinematography, complimenting the overall tone of the film, along with presenting the characters in such a disastrous light. Our main character, Marty, always appears hunched over, drenched in his own sweat, shaking and quivering as the next setup commences. His friend, Gus, commits to some of the dirtiest acts in the film, one including eating rancid chicken found in Marty's refrigerator. The cult films I appreciate the most are ones that can't be placed in an existing genre. This isn't a comedy, because little laughing is done, drama isn't the correct word, horror is a step-up, but not quite, and any other genre doesn't prove satisfactory. It is simply film, in which we watch and immensely try and grasp long after the event is over.

In a way, the film reminds me of Martin Scorsese's The King of Comedy, starring Robert De Niro and Jerry Lewis. In that picture, we were given characters we were depressed and saddened to watch for a long period of time. I felt nothing but moroseness watching the picture, seeing De Niro's Rupert Pupkin wander aimlessly scene after scene, believing every encounter he had with someone was a genuinely meaningful one, and after watching Marty being led through his career as a comedian and a sideshow attraction by his friend Gus, I feel the same sort of moroseness.

I'm a fan of cult cinema and The Dark Backward unnervingly pushes my envelope. It is satire of epic proportions, a comedic exercise so dark and so saddening that it almost must be seen to be believed. I mean, if you can handle such a thing.

Starring: Judd Nelson, Bill Paxton, Wayne Newton, Lara Flynn Boyle, James Caan, and Rob Lowe. Directed by: Adam Rifkin.

Part fable, part nightmare, part black comedy, part cult film, and a whole lot of fun, is how I would describe "The Dark Backward". Way up there on the "strange scale", Wayne Newton, Bill Paxton, Judd Nelson and the rest of a perfect cast project their enthusiasm in every scene. Obviously aimed squarely at the "midnight movie" crowd, it hits a bullseye with the target audience. Mainstream comedy "Wedding Crashers" viewers are warned to avoid at all costs. Highly recommended to admirers of filmmakers who would dare to be different, take risks, and produce a movie looking for a specific audience. Give "The Dark Backward" three thumbs up, one from each arm. - MERK

This movie is creepy and amazing. It's like an overlong Liquid Television sketch. The actors, the sets, everything looks dirty and depressing. Bil Paxton is never clean, Jud Nelson never stops sweating, Laura Flynn Boyle never looks happy, and the town never has sunlight. It'll throw you off if not prepared, but honestly, it's a great movie. It makes no sense, except in the world it created, and that's the beauty of it. This movie is great.

Adam Rifkin has a resume of films that could have been. They are inspired, ambitious, original, but at the same time almost incomplete. The Dark Backward encompasses all these qualities and more.

The film opens promising enough. Judd Nelson as Marty, looking something like Crispin Glover in Back to the Future, sweats on stage delivering some horrible stand up comedy. We then meet Gus, Marty's "friend" played with villainous comic timing by Bill Paxton. He urges Marty on to keep at the stand up.

The film plays off like a twisted moral anti fairy tale. It's the almost rags to riches story gone awry, as Nelson plays a horrible stand up comic who's only talent seems to be an extra appendage out of his back.

Rifkin's allegory is great and the ending is a spectacular take on show-business and what it truly takes to come to fame. But it's the middle that sort of fails. It's painful to watch. Such pains are great to see in some films when writers are able to spice it up with great dialogue or endearing characters, but most of it is just revolting schlock. Rifkin goes to great lengths to show how pathetic the lives of Gus and Marty are. It's a bit much.

The saving grace of the film is Bill Paxton. He makes some of the disgusting material work, going from pure disgust to some shocking laughs. Sadly, Paxton doesn't do much comedy. For better or worse, this film may be the reason why. He is unbelievable and the way he sinks into the material (and other things) makes the film almost work.

Adam Rifkin seems to be full of half baked ideas. They're good ideas and strange ones at that. His projects never seem to have a fullness to them, but they are full of strange inspired moments that are unlike any other film. I don't know if we'll ever see Rifkin's material reach their maximum potential as these ideas don't sell to the mainstream, but we should enjoy strange sick gems like the Dark Backward from time to time.

Adam Rifkin's off-the-wall "The Dark Backward" is one of those films one could say suffers from the "trying too hard" syndrome. In this case, it really does go out of its way to come off as some instant sort of cult film. It does work as a minor commentary on the nature of show business, and how important a gimmick can be. In this case, the gimmick is the third arm growing out of garbageman Marty Malt's back. Malt, you see, is also a stand-up comedian who keeps plugging away, telling the same terrible jokes over and over, spurred on by a maniacal "pal", Gus, who has very big show biz aspirations. When the arm appears, they believe that this is all the edge that they will need, and their new agent Jackie Chrome believes so too. Sometimes the film seems to be weird just for the sake of being weird, and absolutely revels in its filth. It may be one of the grimiest films you'll ever see. The production designer, Sherman Williams, and cinematographer, Joey Forsyte, do stylize this to a high degree; this film takes place in a truly decrepit and seedy world, populated by seedy people. There's also a fair bit of grossness to the story, as well, at least when it comes to the character of Gus, played with his customary exuberance by Bill Paxton, who is utterly fearless throughout this thing. This is a guy who licks corpses before stealing their jewelry. Judd Nelson is perfect as the nerdy Malt, completely disappearing into the character. And Wayne Newton is spot on as the agent. The eclectic assemblage of actors also includes James Caan as a doctor, King Moody (at one time a portrayer of Ronald McDonald!) as a kiddie show host, Rob Lowe as a grease ball who picks Malt to be on a TV show, and Claudia Christian as a nurse. Presenting itself as something of a fable, "The Dark Backward" is not for everybody and in fact may be something of an endurance test for some viewers; others may embrace its oddness. It's not altogether unique, but it does have its moments (it's hard to forget that human xylophone). However, it goes on just a little too long. Curious and patient cult movie lovers may want to give it a look. Five out of 10.