Operação Pizzagate

I stumbled upon the 2020 conspiracy theory comedy "The Pizzagate Massacre" (aka "Duncan") here in 2021. And I have to say that I was immediately drawn to the movie's cover. It was just oozing with cheesiness, pardon the pun. And reading the movie's synopsis just helped to win me over and I had to sit down to watch what writer and director John Valley had to offer with "The Pizzagate Massacre".

And it was definitely well worth the time to sit down and watch "The Pizzagate Massacre", because this movie was every bit unique as it was entertaining.

The storyline told in "The Pizzagate Massacre" was enjoyable, and it writer John Valley was definitely good at taking jabs at the importance of media, lizard people stories and conspiracy theories. And it was all done in a very entertaining manner. I have to say that I enjoyed the storyline from beginning to end.

I was not familiar with the cast that they had managed to get together for "The Pizzagate Massacre". And watching a movie with unfamiliar cast members is enjoyable to me, as I don't associate them with previously portrayed characters from other movies. I will say that lead actor Tinus Seaux was just phenomenal in the role of Duncan in this movie.

I found "The Pizzagate Massacre" to be a surprisingly good and entertaining movie, and it is certainly one that I can recommend you watch. This was am movie that snuck in under my radar, but I am very happy that I stumbled upon it and picked it up.

My rating of "The Pizzagate Massacre" lands on a seven out of ten stars.

The Pizzagate Massacre Written and directed by John Valley

Exploitation films have a history of taking topics that others may find offensive or downright uncomfortable and turning out entertainment about it. Conspiracy theories used to be fun before they became widely accepted as reality despite evidence to the contrary. I loved listening to late night Coast to Coast AM. It came with a little bit of mockery and a little bit of wonder. But that all changed.

Suddenly everything was a conspiracy and everything was political. People would believe wild and outlandish claims with little to no evidence of its existence. It spread like a wildfire. It began to affect regular people's lives. It culminated in the Pizzagate killings. The theories had become violence. It was too much. It was no longer fun and games.

This movie takes inspiration from that. It is about getting into the mind of somebody like that. His name is Duncan. It understands how insane this actually is. You have to put a satirical edge on it because if you don't laugh, what are you going to do. Duncan lives in his van. He's a gun enthusiast and he is part of a local militia. He listens to the Terri Lee show which is InfoWars in a different form. Karen is an amateur journalist who after losing her job at the Terri Lee show begins her own investigation into the Pizzagate conspiracy. She needs somebody to watch her back and enlists the help of Duncan.

This movie sounds like a terrifying thriller. It is not played that way, not entirely. It has a foreboding atmosphere and the soundtrack follows suit. It carries a big Taxi Driver vibe with it as well. It is undeniable that Taxi Driver is the inspiration for this movie. Duncan contains so much anger at the world. He feels outside looking in and he feels constantly humiliated.

This movie was originally called Duncan and the focus is upon his character. There is a good article about this movie's production history. Duncan seems like a cut and dried lunatic fringe. He's not and while the title might be misleading somewhat, it is still accurate. Things escalate as the pizza place is brought into it.

This movie is really good. I was surprised by how much emotion and character is brought out in Duncan. The performance by Tinus Seaux as Duncan shows the different sides of him. He feels lost by not recognizing his world anymore. He is definitely confused by the information that is being fed to him. His life is in flux.

He is paired with Karen Black. She is using Duncan to create her film. You're not entirely sure what she believes in. It is a swirling mix of people who don't trust each other or what they hear. They believe in things that go against what most rational people know to be true.

It does have out there characters and wild situations. Most people who don't watch these shows and don't frequent these circles will be scratching your head but keep an open mind at least about this movie. I know it's called The Pizzagate Massacre and it does play on what you expect from a title like that but at the same time it expands the characters. The comparison to Taxi Driver is extremely apt and it is a well made and interesting low budget film. I give this movie a B.

I went into this film holding my breath. I had heard an excellent podcast interview with the director/writer, but was worried the film would not translate his vision and message adequately. It totally did.

This movie was produced and filmed for less than $250k. I couldn't find anything that gave away the limited budget. The filming was obviously done by a talented and experienced crew, while the acting was earnest and sincere. The dialogue was smart, quick and often funny, with more than a few striking/poignant moments.

Most especially, and this is where the podcast interview really held true, was that the film allowed empathy with those like the main characters Duncan and Karen, and, by extension, those on the conspiracy encumbered political right in the US. Yes, I know, in our hyper polarized, identity politics driven duopoly we are not supposed to feel such things towards the Others, so this is where The Pizzagate Massacre really triumphs.

And as the title of this review states, which I feel I must restate, this is a satire, so go into the film please with that understanding in mind.

I hope this film leads to the writer/director, John M Valley, receiving more and greater financial and production backing for upcoming works because he deserves it.

For those interested in the podcast interview, you can find it on the Parallax Views Podcast with JG Michael.

The only people this film could upset are those Qanon idiots that got sucked into that garbage. Other's might not like it because it's got that awkward Napoleon Dynamite style of humour to it. Given the budget it's an excellent production all-round. The care given to the dialogue gives Duncan's character full dimensions, he's not simply a stereotype, though there's hamming up of stereotypes throughout the film. Simply marvellous.

I watch a lot of tv, i love B movies and i gotta say this was done pretty well. I was entertained thru the whole thing. It kept me engaged the whole time and was pretty funny. I give it 8 stars for a B movies (dark comedy) under A films it would probably be a 3-4. Stop rating A and B movies under the same.