Despiser

This is a neat little independent film, produced with barely a budget and lots of initially cheesy digital effects, but the creativity of the filmmakers and cast shines through, and I found this to be quite enjoyable once I accepted the appearance of the effects. The film is almost entirely filmed with digital effects providing all the backgrounds and sets, with the exception of scenes in the protagonist's home, which were filmed at writer/director Philip Cooke's own home. The CGI effects are video-game quality, lacking the kind of realism we are used to in big budget films like LOTR and the lot, but they actually add to the film's fun and sense of unreality, as the protagonist joins a band of freedom fighters struggling to survive in purgatory. Nicely scored with at atmospheric electronic ambience, good action, enjoyable film. Put aside your notions of ILM-grade CGI effects, and enjoy the film for what it is, a visual comic book story made with love and creativity. Yes, it's made on a home computer with off-the-shelf digital effects software, but it works. Giving the film's style the same suspension of disbelief you give to its fantastic storyline will result in an enjoyable experience. The DVD extras are good, and Cooke provides a running director's commentary enhanced in a few places by a couple of the actors. The commentary is great; Cooke describes candidly how the film was put together, the challenges and solutions, and gives credit to his handful of compatriots.

I saw this thing and thought, ";Hmmm. People trapped in Purgatory. Have to fight demons to get out. COOL!"; Well, I took it home and watched it. It was a genuinely decent film. Now, I know there are some draw backs that will effect people in a negative way. In fact, this is why I rated it lower on the stars ratio. The story itself: Good. The acting: Good if not Great. If this had been a Stephen King film or Clive Barker even, it might have gotten a budget it deserved. As I watched it, I kept waiting for a commercial as it looked like something I'd watch on FOX some evening. If you're a horror/action fan, it's a decent flick worthy of seeing at least once on a night you have nothing better to do.

I was cruising the sell-through bin at Hollywood Video. You know the one? Pickup a previewed movie for a few bucks? So I see this one with a CG beast on the cover called DESPISER. It's about purgatory. Okay, I'll bite. How bad can it be considering the price I paid? Well … first let me say this is not mainstream Hollywood. This is a little no-budget picture shot in 1998 before the advent of SIN CITY, SKY CAPTAIN and other hi-budget fare. So, needless to say, it's a bit crude by that standard. However, considering its budget, it's really quite impressive. Mind you, it needs a bit of suspension of disbelief, but it has heart and it has soul. It concerns the quest of an artist (Mark Redfield) who travels to purgatory to rescue his wife from despotic forces. He encounters a band of men and women from different times -- I'm reminded of the Piers Anthony story with a similar conceit. He teams up with these folks (Doug Brown, Michael Weitz, Frank Smith, and Tara Bilkins) and they head out on a CG adventure to face down the Despiser -- a CG critter who's holding the hero's wife in his "bad guy" castle. All in all, it's a bit juvenile. But hey, what fantasy ultimately isn't? I enjoyed the film. I got into it. I suspended disbelief. I wanted Gordon to succeed. I was sad when the hero's hit the fan.

Somehow this picture seem to invite love/hate reviews! Wow. What's with that? Chill out folks. For six bucks, it's a fun view. I liked it. If you have a heart for fantasy, then perhaps you may like DESPISER too.

Ham acting, cheesy computer-game graphics, and some of the worst dialog since "Titanic" combine to yield a surprisingly entertaining movie -- provided you're willing to suspend your good taste for a while. You can tell this movie was, well, if not exactly a labor of love, then a collaboration that was a lot of fun for the filmmakers -- most of whom take on two or three jobs, according to the credits.

Despite its super-low-budget production values and garbled symbolism, and despite the fact that the filmmakers never really seem to decide whether their film is serious or farcical, a lot of imagination went into the making of "Despiser" -- enough to make it worth watching if you get the chance.

Yes, there are more CGI scenes than life action scenes. Yes, the CGI isn't up to the "Final Fantasy The Movie" level. Still, the plot and acting here are VERY good, and I for one didn't find the CGI all that distracting. I guess that since I see a LOT of truly bad movies, with godawful effects, this one being a CGI vehicle didn't ruin it for me. Its a low budget flick, what do you expect, Jurassic Park? Its better than "Conversation with An Alien".