Shredder Orpheus

My review was written in May 1990 after watching the movie on AIP video cassette.

The Greek legend that produced arthouse faves "Orpheus" and "Black Orpheus" crashes to Earth in the idiotic punk sci-fi feature "Shredder Orpheus". It's for fans of in-jokes only.

Helmer Robert McGinley also toplines as Orpheus, a band leader (of the Shredders) in a post-apocalyptic world where hipsters live in shanty towns known as the Grey Zone. McGinley's underdeveloped script posits an easy enemy, the Euthanasia Broadcasting Network, which involves Cronenberg-style philosophizing) out of his "Videodrome") as weak satire.

Punk tv programmers want Eurydice (Megan Murphy) for their new show. The underworld in this sci-fi universe is a place where people's memories are shredded faster than you can say Oliver North.

Orpheus becomes a tv star playing an electronic lyre instrument supposedly invented by Jimi Hendrix. Heroine disappears after Orpheus violates the "Don't look back" warning and gazes at her; rest of the film is him searching for her. Finale involving skateboarders is stupid.

Apparently McGinley didn't watch Jean Cocteau's 1950 classic very closely since he leaves out the poignant role of Heurtebise (played eloquently in "Orphee" by Francois Perier). He also fails to find any equivalent to Cocteau's inspired anachronisms, and is instead content to littering the dialog with advertising slogans and catchphrases.

Acting is amateurish and technical quality, mixing film and video footage, subpar.

I found this movie at the flea market for cheap. I was so psyched because I thought it was a skateboarding movie. I got home put it on, the previews rules and the opening scene with the old guy rolling down the street on the skateboard was awesome. At that moment I realized it was a post-apocalyptic movie but I still had high hopes for it. This movie was awful. A friend of mine was stoned out of his mind when we watched it and even he thought it was horrible and a waste of being high. I kept falling asleep during the movie because it was so boring and the music was utterly awful. I don't know if during the apocalypse all the good music, and all the music that is only kind of crappy is destroyed and everyones memory of how to play it is wiped clean but I think I would rather die than have to endure that crap. Also what the hell was up with the TV studio? I can only assume that this movie was adapted from an old Greek play, with the names and title, but some plays are not meant to be adapted into a futuristic sci-fi setting. Or at least not by the people who were involved with this movie. If you are forced to watch this movie, I can only suggest bringing a hand gun and finishing yourself off before the end. It would be a good movie to kill yourself too, everyone will understand why.

In a bleak alternate world where urban skateboarding miscreants live in a shanty-town of metal shipping cars, young musician Orpheus and beautiful dancer Eurydice are in love. Meanwhile, the evil forces of Hell(broadcasting to televisions everywhere on a pirate network) have set their sights on Eurydice, and intend to have her for their own.

Here we have a smartly made low-budget production, surprisingly well handled for an obviously very minor-league project, and the largely amateur cast performs acceptably. The post-punk, otherworldly mien is variably redolent of oddball cult titles like THE DARK BACKWARD, FORBIDDEN ZONE, and LIQUID SKY. I found myself quite enjoying SHREDDER ORPHEUS and all its skate-punk nihilism, despite its forgivable shortcomings.

Certainly not for all tastes, but a worthy watch for fans of off-road amateur obscurities - 5.5/10.

Radical skate film full of nostalgic bits. The film's underlying message about corporate media mind control makes it's prescient and worth seeing today.

This movie is a masterwork of nonsense. It is the funniest movie I've seen in years. Of course, none of the humor is intentional, but that's why it's so great.

As for genuine positives, some of the shots looked kind of cool. One of the actors, the one who plays Orpheus' dad, isn't too bad. That's it though, everything else is pretty bad.

The low quality of this film is what turns an otherwise bad movie into a magnum opus. The "skate-rock adventure" to end all skate-rock adventures.

The story? Oh, no, no, no. There is no story. They skateboarded on camera and added the film around it. What little plot there is, it's really corny. Basically, it's a retelling of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, but instead of ancient Greece we get storage containers in Seattle. No spoilers on the particulars, because I think if you haven't seen it, you owe it to yourself.

The characters are laughable. There's a really offensive portrayal of a disabled veteran, three villains that look like Rocky Horror Picture Show was eaten by Son Of The Mask, a skater who has a weird whispery voice that isn't convincing, and an overacting producer character. Just to name a few.

The set design is nonexistent. It's bad skater gear and cheesy setpieces all the way, and I wouldn't change a thing.

The cinematography is the best aspect of the film, but it's still not very good. There are a few interesting shots, but there's no discernable personality to it. Also, the DVD copy is formatted so that the image is letterboxed on either side into a 4:3 aspect ratio. The film is closer to a 16:9 aspect ratio, so there are also bars on the top and bottom. The whole picture is slightly above the center, it looks bad.

This is why I'm officially asking whoever owns the rights to this film to please redistribute it on Digital and Blu-Ray. I know a remaster is probably asking too much, but the film must be seen. It needs the widespread love it deserves.

If I were rating it seriously as a film, I would give it a 2/10, but it's more than just a movie. It's an experience.