Discopathe

Duane Lewis(Jérémie Earp-Lavergne)is an awkward and very shy man who works in a burger joint.But this soft-spoken and slightly weird guy has murderous dark side:when he hears pulsating disco music he turns into savage and merciless slasher of young women.His first victim roller-skating girl is murdered in New York night club during disco number.Duane catches the first flight to Montreal and begins his next killing spree there.What I especially enjoyed in "Discopathe" is an obvious influence of 70's grindhouse exploitation cinema and low-budget slasher flicks like Joseph Ellison's "Don't Go in the House"(1980).The film is pretty bloody and sleazy,so I can't complain.The direction of Renaud Gauthier is quite good and the cinematography is splendid.There are some silly scenes in "Discopathe",but if you like your slasher movies cheesy and bloody you can't go wrong with this groovy slasher indie.8 discopathic killers out of 10.Lots of fun.

Sometimes it is better to be deaf, but more on that later. Let's take the positive things first. We're talking about great technical aspects surrounding this movie. The camera work is exceptional, the lighting is really good. The overall quality is way better than some other similar low budget efforts. Someone had a vision and that vision came to life in quite some fashion.

Having said that, the movie also has some issues. It pays homage to "old" horror movies. Just the fact it's playing in the Disco era (hence the title and the music, both fitting) alone should be a giveaway. And it's not a bad thing, it's just that sometimes there are bumps and quite a few hiccups along the way. If the story was a tight as the look of the movie, we could have had a real winner. And while some of it is done on purpose (or as a tribute to the movies this was inspired by), you'd wish they'd have spent a bit more time on the script ...

Discopathe tells the story of a young man whose childhood is traumatized by an incident involving Disco music. Since that time he cannot bear to listen to this music and even becomes a psychotic killer when exposed to its groovy bass lines and pumping bass drum.

Okay, it's all a bit silly really but with that in mind, this movie is such a cool load of fun.

Exploitation genre fans of stuff like Maniac, Tenebrae and The New York Ripper are likely to find much to enjoy in this tongue-in-cheek gore fest. When it gets gruesome, it ticks the splatter box pretty well so that hardened gore hounds can get their fix, yet it manages to keep the mood light, unlike the movies which it pays homage to.

The language switch halfway through the film is a bit jarring for the English speaking viewer, as the film kind of presses a reset button but it manages to regain pace fairly quickly and get back on track. Unlike many films these days, it has a very satisfying ending.

If you really can't stand disco music, this film might get a bit tedious, with the soundtrack being truly awash with the stuff but personally, I thought it was its beating heart.

If in recent years you have enjoyed the likes of Hatchet, House of the Devil and Planet Terror which look back fondly on the golden era of splatter, then this one will probably join those on your list. I'm not too sure if it is likely appeal to the rest of the movie-going public but then I don't think director Renaud Gauthier would care that much.

He certainly wears his heart on his sleeve for Discopathe.

A Canadian slasher movie that resembles films like Cruising, Maniac and Dernière Séance. This serial killer gets crazy upon hearing disco music. As soon as the first tunes reach his eardrums, his eyes turn black and he gets in a killing trance (triggered by some childhood trauma). Although Discopathe is an atmospheric picture with some truly interesting and horrific moments, it couldn't ever grab me by the throat, nor scare me at any time. I suppose this movie hasn't got the intention to shock, but more to generate a dismal vibe like Dernière Séance and 1970s feeling like Cruising. This is definitely something for aficionado's and exactly therein lies its charm. It just didn't work for me this time.

When I started watching this I thought I was in for a treat. A good horror (from the reviews), decent music, and lots of great memories of the 70s.

None of those 'treats' came along.

The story of this movie is OK, but the 'horror' part of the film is missing. It's almost a comedy - but its not funny. In fact, it is awful.

A few 'effects' obviously using dummies and some dodgy cardboard.

The film makers manage to replicate the 70s quite well at the beginning of the film - especially the very beautiful dark haired skater girl - the kind of girl I used to chase after in my teenage years - but they missed some attention to detail.

The movie starts in English then switched to French, so be warned if you are not fortunate to be bilingual or able to read subtitles.

Jérémie Earp-Lavergne gives a very poor performance as the lead character. Nothing much more to be said about his acting really.

I'd say one to miss and leave on the shelf.