disknerd

At the 2004 Chicago International Film Festival, I had the fortune to see Transit. Two years later, I still remember it. It is very brief, and there is no dialogue, but you cannot help but become absorbed in it. As soon as the film starts, you know everything about the woman. You know who she is, how she feels, what's going on in her life. Two minutes, and you are completely in her world.

Perhaps it is the simplicity of it. Two minutes of looks and glances. Not hard to do, right? But there is so much to it.

I saw a lot movies during the CIFF, but nothing compared to Transit. Nothing pulled me so much into it. Nothing had as much heart.

It was the '70s, and the ratings system was a bit different. We have plenty of graphic violence. Not too horrible, but there's definitely disturbing stuff in there, such as the meat grinder death scene. Not to mention, there is an extended nude shower scene.

I'm not arguing about the content of the movie. I rather enjoyed it. Only you look at movies like this today and wonder how it could ever have been a PG film. The content here is clearly on par with R-rated movies of today. A man is arrested for a murder he didn't commit and put in an asylum. Fortunatley, he's put in a room with a crazy black man who knows voodoo, the best way to get revenge. When he's released, he uses the voodoo man's tools to astrally project himself to dispatch the people he blames for his incarceration (and the death of his mother while he was gone). Hilarious mayhem ensues.

This is the kind of movie to watch on a Saturday afternoon. It's dull, but always entertaining. I recommend it to all fans of '70s b-horror movies.