Star Time

This film was better then I expected. The story was a little predictable, but the acting held it together. I thought Michael St.Gerard was haunting in this role, and the cast was overall pretty good. I did find the film a little too bloody, even though there isn't much violence in it. The camera work is unusual and the soundtrack adds to the effect. The locations are very cold and isolated which takes you into the mind of the lead character. J.P. Ryan plays devil-like character, who lives in Henry's imagination. If you like strange, artsy films, this film might appeal to you.

There's nothing wrong with a depressing horror film. A lot of really good ones are, but when you're as unappealing and downbeat as Star Time is, it becomes a real chore to get through.

The surprising part is that this movie doesn't look like some long lost, crummy straight to video production. It looks fairly glossy with some striking shots and good production design. The acting isn't awful either, but there's nothing very gripping about it and the film never allows us to develop any major feelings for its characters.

You have a wannabe star who is convinced by an agent to start killing people to make himself famous, which sounds like an interesting enough concept, but it's hard to care what happens when the lead character is neither intimidating enough to scare us or pathetic and well developed enough for us to be on his side.

This movie was one I ran across via an old video store going out of business. Michael St. Gerard plays a guy who gets upset because his favorite TV show has been taken off the air and he gets a little homicidal. John P. Ryan gives a stunning performance as a mysterious character on TV who is giving our main character some interesting direction. You won't see another movie quite like this one. I also wish I knew how to get a copy of the song at the end of the movie, also titled "Star Time". Overall, it is worth a look indeed if you can actually find it. I was lucky enough to. It is a tense film with a little satire, a little disturbing commentary and a little mystery- all accentuated by some good performances.

Star Time (1992)

** (out of 4)

Henry Pinkle (Michael St. Gerard) is a troubled young man who takes a dark turn when his favorite television show is canceled. He then meets an agent who tells him that he could be a star but first he needs to kill certain people.

Alexander Cassini wrote and directed STAR TIME and I must admit that I give him a lot of credit for trying to do something new with the horror genre. This here very well could have taken the easy road and just delivered a bunch of gory death scenes as most slashers did but instead the director tried to do something different. I didn't think the film was a complete success but I at least tip my hat to the filmmakers for their attempt.

The film is basically a look at mental illness and the desire to have that "15 minutes of fame" that so many go after. The film has a lot of very interesting thoughts and ideas and especially the obsession of becoming someone famous. The problem is that the execution isn't what it needed to be because there were times where I just wasn't all that invested in what I was watching. I thought it was hard to connect with the lead character and his illness.

I did think St. Gerard gave a nice performance in the lead role. His performance wasn't great enough to really carry the film but he did a good job. The same is true for John P. Ryan who plays the mysterious man giving Henry all of his advice. The third cast member is Maureen Teefy as a friend of Henry's but her role wasn't the most interesting.

Visually STAR TIME looks quite good and I'd argue that it contains a nice atmosphere. Again, there are many interesting ideas floating around here but I don't think they all come together as well as they could have. STAR TIME is interesting but certainly flawed.

If you really enjoy slasher movies like "Halloween" or "My Bloody Valentine," you'll probably hate this film. It's an arthouse thriller examining mental illness and just happens to feature a mass murderer as the protagonist. You won't find any gory deaths or teenager cliches in this movie.

My only major complaint was that it was so short. 84 minutes just wasn't enough.