Discopath

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.

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 ...

With a movie named Discopath which is a humorous mix of the words Disco and Psychopath, cause Discomusic really turns the lead into a full-blooded psychopath. You would expect at least some kind of humor in the movie, but no, you would be wrong.

Completely humor-free with the exceptions of a little humor towards the end but by then it's a little too late.

Overall pretty amateurish filmmaking with not much positive to say about it.

Well okay some of the songs on the soundtrack is pretty good, and was surprised they managed to get "Boogeyman" and "I Was Made For Loving You" in the movie, but that's the only surprise this movie will give you.

And it doesn't help that 50% of the movie focuses on some highly uninteresting cops; one with a bad blonde wig investigating the dead bodies the Discopath leaves behind.

Now that was a disappointment. The whole plot of this movie is rather ridiculous. From the opening you know this is a low budget production because the acting and dialog are really bad. its often hard to know if this movie is meant serious or funny. I expected the latter because a psycho killer and 70ies disco victims sound like a fun ride. As soon as they used flashbacks to explain the childhood trauma of the guy I was out because that just must be the dumbest thing i have ever seen. The cops remind me of the Beastie Boys "Sabotage" Music Video... fake haircuts, mustaches and acting all over the place. After all this is a really trashy tribute to old horror movies, kind of a funny homage that fails to deliver the fun which just leaves some gory kills. And for todays standard these just don't keep the movie afloat. Editing is often atrocious and really... there is just too little disco in this movie. When I hear a totally misplaced Wilhelm's scream at the end of the movie I know this was supposed to be funny but either i did not get it or the movie makers failed to deliver. Either way... don't waste your time.

There's some good music in Discopath, mostly electronic rather than disco, but early on we are introduced to the 'trigger' piece that sets the psycho off, and unfortunately it is repeated way too often. The problem is that this piece is better suited to a cartoon than a horror movie. I saw that the filmmaker was trying to fashion a homage to Italian melodrama early on, even before I read the blurb on the back of the dvd. This is achieved I guess, but what is not achieved is actual horror. At no point was there any tension and definitely nothing spooky. Like a bad Tarantino imitation the movie relies on shock value, basically, slash and blood, etc. Despite the story and script being something a 16 year old might of dreamed up, Discopath still had sufficient force to see me through to the end. That's basically down to the filming itself, the costume department and the prettiness of all the girls. In regard to the horror, there are some classic images here and there. Then again there are some dumb ones too. The worst of it all was the 1970s' version of the cops, and although intentional I suspect, it was woeful, both the acting and the story. I'm sorry, much as I enjoyed this attempt at period horror drama, I doubt many others will.