The Dark Backward

You have got to say one thing about this film whether you like it or don't. It's completely original.

There's never been anything quite like it on-screen. In form, it's a Fairy Tale of the very Grimm variety. In tone, it's closest to the absurdist theatre works of Beckett, Pirandello and Ionesco. There's also a whole lot of allegory and symbolism going on here. Though everything is told simply there's a tremendous amount of depth to ponder in the issues the film raises and in the way the characters deal with living in this metaphor for Hell. Understanding the universe they are inhabiting is the key to appreciating this film.

The "Dark Backward" explores a world that is overwhelmed with scum and filth. One of the characters, Gus, is so dirty he looks like a live action version of "Pigpen".

As this character Bill Paxton gives one of the bravest, most fascinating performances I've ever seen. He walks a tightwire of contradictions playing a character who is at once both innocence and evil incarnate.

He's loud, lustful and obnoxious. He's quiet, virginal and caring. At one moment, he's as stupid as a post; in the next, he's cunningly manipulitive and deceitful. To oversimplify-it's like being asked to play Forrest Gump AND Iago in the same character. Miraculously, Paxton not only pulls it off but makes it appear as though all these opposing traits could easily belong to a single creature.

The rest of the cast is magnificent in the way they embrace the excesses of their respective characters. As mentioned earlier, this is an absurdist story and these actors realize the importance of exaggeration to make the genre work. This is also why those who have dismissed Paxton's work as over-the-top should not be heeded. This is a film that shows a world where there is no top to be gone over. There is nothing which can be considered too much.

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

I really love "The Dark Backward". Does that make me some kind of weirdo? Perhaps, but I don't think so. Frankly, I consider people who watch "American Idol" weirdos, so there you go.

Anyone reading this review probably knows the basic storyline. Mary Malt (Judd Nelson) is a garbage man who moonlights as a (really awful) stand-up comic. Audiences hate his act but his disgusting best friend and fellow garbage man Gus (Bill Paxton) keeps assuring him he's great and that the crowds love him. One day an arm starts growing out of Marty's back and Gus, who plays the accordian during Marty's act, convinces him to work it into their routine. They get a talent agent (sleazy Wayne Newton) and a succession of bookings follow. The whole things plays out as a coal-black parable about the foibles of decency in an oportunistic world.

The plot is simplistic, really. What this film is is texture, texture, texture. And that texture is filth, evil, and scum.

There is more scum and evil in this film than in ten David Lynch films. Marty and Gus live in a parallel universe (by way of Newark, New Jersey) comprised of vast amounts of garbage and shrugging indifference. Three-quarters of the characters in this film spend their time on screen asleep. The remaining two-thirds are hysterical, conniving, moronic, or flat-out sinister (with the exception of a child-comprised studio audience we see briefly).

Marty spends the film bent over as though his spine were warped and with his face drenched in sweat. Gus is so dirty he practically blends into the garabage he and Marty dig through at the dump. When Gus opens Marty's refrigerator he can only find some green and toxic chicken that looks left over from Mesolithic era (he eats it anyway).

When Marty and Gus get their big break is when the film really broke the mold for me. Marty has a three-armed suit made and during their act (after each joke) he does a slow turn so the audience can see his extra appendage and it's really amazing. It's looks totally surreal!!! It's beautiful!!

I can't totally explain why I love this film so much, except to say that I find it beautiful when someone puts so much work into making something so absolutely pure.

In many ways the world that we live in is beautiful. There are things that are special and fragile and new. However, this world is also filled with great deal of hatred and rage. We have made this world a very toxic place (and I mean that in the literal sense) Life can be (and is, for some) hell. It would be incorrect to assume expression only need represent the happy skippy joys of life.

Personally, I think this is one of the best representations of a "hell on earth" ever on film.

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.