Nutbag

In Nick Palumbo's debut movie Nutbag, a screwed-up serial killer at work in Las Vegas (Mack Hail) attempts to bore horror film viewers to death by delivering 80 minutes of badly written, introspective dialogue, only stopping to off chesty bimbos in spectacularly unconvincing fashion, or to pet his tarantula Heinrich.

Hail, an imposing, broad-shouldered figure with a mean glare and shaven head, certainly looks as though he is a few sandwiches short of a picnic, but he lacks the necessary acting chops to convincingly portray a multiple murderer, delivering his lines in a flat, monotonous manner that I imagine is meant to convey the emotionless state of the killer, but which, in reality, has the numbing effect of a heavy sedative.

Four years after he made Nutbag, director Palumbo gave the horror world Murder-Set-Pieces, another film about a crazed killer; that film succeeded by shocking viewers with an endless gallery of nasty OTT gore (provided by the talented Toe Tag FX team). Nutbug's kill scenes, however, are laughably amateurish, with several stabbings that seem to utilise a joke-shop knife (you know... the type that has a retractable blade), and a really bad throat slashing featuring a patently obvious prosthesis.

Admittedly, Nutbag isn't an entirely worthless experience (for blokes, at any rate) since it does feature an endless parade of skin from a series of hot, nekkid chicks. All I can say is that it's a good job for Palumbo that a city like Vegas has no shortage of big breasted strippers desperate to become famous, because without the gratuitous nudity, his film would be totally unwatchable.

I made the mistake of watching this at a friend's apt. His wife saw us watching it and therefore had a huge fight with my friend. This movie is about a wierdo in Vegas who wants to kill people for no reason. He hangs out at graveyards and gets mad when he sees people having a good time. He gets so mad that he acts out his rage by pulling grass. He always talks to himself and at one point he confides all his secrets to a stupid spider. There are many rape scenes and lots of nudity. The killer walks around vegas and just get's more and more upset. A majority of this movie was just of him talking. It was all shot on a cheap video camera. Worst movie I have ever seen.

Poor Serial Killer. His mom left the family. His dad beat him He watched his dad kill an unspecified woman (we even get to see a McCauly Caulkin impression!). All he wants to do is take care of his pet spider, quote Goodfellas and be racist and misogynistic. Is that so wroooooooong?

This is laughably incompetent on all levels. I'm not sure whose performance the other reviewers were watching but there is zero subtly in Mack Hall's performance. Or in the lines written for him. Or in the camera work. Anyone who thinks there's something deep or insightful going on to expose the mind of a serial killer has never watched...well...any other movie about a serial killer. Just hating "whores" isn't enough. Nor is having some high school dropout use the (misspelled) word "shan't).

It's kind of amusing but only to mock.

Let me preface this review by stating that I am much more forgiving than most reviewers. I have a high tolerance for trash, and I often find myself enjoying movies that have been poorly reviewed by most. That being said, I can say without reservation that this is one of the worst movies I have seen in quite awhile...

Lately I have been off on a tangent exploring the dark world of shot-on-video horror/exploitation films. In the last week I have seen quite a few ('Scrapbook', 'August Mordum's Underground', 'Murder-Set-Pieces (Director's Cut), 'Devil's Bloody Plaything'). Of all of the above mentioned movies (and others), this was by far the worst, and least entertaining of the lot...

Perhaps it was the unconvincing Mack Hail as the lead. He just didn't work for me. He appeared empty and vacant. He didn't have the fire and desire necessary to portray a believable on screen serial killer. This film seemed like a grade-Z, poorly acted remake of 'Maniac'. Mack Hail and Joe Spinell are not even in the same universe....

The killings did not really work for me either. The gore effects were decent, but there just wasn't any fire or emotion behind Mack Hail's murderings. He seemed to be going through the motions. There just wasn't very much emotion behind his physical actions...

In addition, there were some going-ons in this movie (not a film) that made absolutely no sense. For example, you see him approaching a very large African-American male and woman at the park. The camera cuts away, and then you see both of them bound and in the Nutbag's hotel room. OK, how did our serial killer manage to abduct a strong full-grown man and a woman by himself? This makes no sense at all as I do not recall Hail having any superhuman powers...

The voice-over internal dialogue provided by Hail got on my nerves early and often. It sounded as if he was reading (and not very well) from an angry 12 year old's diary. His readings contained zero emotion and not an inkling of believability. Perhaps this movie would've been better if these infernal narratives has been omitted...

All in all, there is no way I can recommend this movie. The most important criteria I consider when offering a recommendation is whether or not I was entertained. In the case of 'Nutbag' I was most definitely not entertained. It was quite possibly the most boring slasher movie I have ever witnessed. I can think of many other serial killer films (yes, actual films) that are much better. Off the top of my head,'Maniac', 'Schramm', 'Man Bites Dog', and 'Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer'). Hell, even 'New York Ripper'was better than this tripe. Do yourself a favor and seek out another DVD to fulfill your cinematic bloodlust. If curiosity compels you to see this little mess, please rent before you buy...

I viewed Nick Palumbo's "Nutbag" around 12 months after the much maligned "Murder-Set-Pieces". As a result, my appreciation of "Nutbag" is perhaps not as great as it would have been had I watched the two films the other way 'round.

"Nutbag" is in many ways a prototype of the excellent "Murder-Set-Pieces". Shot on a zero budget with video, "Nutbag" lacks the visual flair and pace of its successor, not to mention the audacious effects by the Toe Tag crew. This is not to say "Nutbag" is a bad film, that simply isn't the case. It's just missing the "x" factor that makes "M-S-P" such a powerful and taboo-shattering experience.

What "Nutbag" has going for it are some simple but impressive scenes, a riveting and convincing portrayal of the killer and a decent score.

Mack Hail is excellent as the lead role. His physical presence and self-assured movements are chilling on screen - this is a man who is believable as a cold-blooded killer. Hail portrays the anguish of his character brilliantly. In a scene where he starts to lose it within the claustrophobic quarters of his rented accommodation, you can see the character's sanity slipping. His monologues (where he talks to his spider, Heinrich) reveal an insight into how the Killer has turned out the way he has.

As with "M-S-P", Palumbo's film contains a cast of lovely actresses. He's also able to extract from some of his cast terrific and terrifying performances. There are members of the cast who truly give 100% here and it's not surprising that some wish to remain nameless. There is a real sense of vulnerability and gritty peril in this film.

One thing that interested me was the references to other movies in this film. Among the pornography adorning his walls, The Killer has memorabilia from "Texas Chainsaw Massacre", "The Burning" and "Psycho" is his home. Although not inspired by such characters, it's a sign that perhaps he uses them to justify his actions.

While not a masterpiece by any means, "Nutbag" shows that Nick Palumbo is a talented director. Only the budget lets him down in this film.

Worthy of a rental, "Nutbag" won't be to everybody's taste. It's a relatively short film and is quite episodic in nature. For those with an interest in zero-budget film-making, this is an interesting film and one that rises above its limitations.