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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.

Yes. What can I say. I liked this movie. Slimey, sleazy, often crude but kept me interested. It's the kind of movie you feel you need a shower after. The plot is bizarre. The cast are just right. Bill Paxton is superb! Can't wait for it to come out on DVD.

This movie is creepy and amazing. It's like an overlong Liquid Television sketch. The actors, the sets, everything looks dirty and depressing. Bil Paxton is never clean, Jud Nelson never stops sweating, Laura Flynn Boyle never looks happy, and the town never has sunlight. It'll throw you off if not prepared, but honestly, it's a great movie. It makes no sense, except in the world it created, and that's the beauty of it. This movie is great.

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.

I don't know whether I've ever encountered another film with quite as much on screen filth as this one... not filth in the pornographic sense, but in the sense that there is a layer of dirt covering just about everything all through the film. I remember looking at the case and seeing the claim that it compared to Brazil, Pink Flamingos and Eraserhead. At the time I thought it would be worth the money just to be able to tear it to shreds after watching it... but it turned out to be a very endearing film that paints a sinister picture of opportunism. Of course, The Dark Backward isn't going to appeal to just anyone, but anyone who finds humour in scenes of perversion and obvious discomfort will recognise this one as a gem.