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Frisk More at IMDbPro »
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| Index | 17 reviews in total |
16 out of 19 people found the following review useful:
Not for the faint of heart, 31 July 2000
Author:
Ronald-Philip Tanner (GWMJedi) from San Leandro, California, US of freakin' A
This is a very difficult film to review.
First of all, if you are not a gay man then you might as well not bother
with this film. Even if you are a gay man, it is still important to note
that it is *supposed* to be a revolting and disgusting film. I read the
book
first, and let me tell you -- it messes with your mind.
What disturbs the s**t out of you when seeing the movie is also what is so
"awful" about the book: if you stop to think about what the central
character's thought process is, then you see certain basic pieces of it
that
actually make some sense. THAT is what stayed with me and actually gave me
a
nightmare.
Unfortunately, this is where the film is lacking. In the book, we get into
the head of the central character, and we hear his thoughts. In the film,
Dennis's thought process is implied but not stated sufficiently. The result
is a muddled film that just gets more and more violent as it goes
on.
The men in this film are VERY attractive, and this of course makes it all
the more disturbing -- everyone wants to see killers be like Charles Manson
-- it's scarier when they look like the boy next door, and they get off on
disemboweling other boys next door.
I would say that the high point of the film is probably Parker Posey. Lordy
lordy, that woman... Tales of the City to Scream 3, with a stop in the
middle in Frisk. She brought her usual perkiness to a role that is, well,
murderous.
To sum up: definitely made for a queer male audience. Far too disturbing
for
the average sensitive gayboy. Hard to follow if you haven't read the book.
A
few moments of brilliance, but overall it's muddled. Worth seeing if you
have nothing else to do and have a strong constitution and a sick mind.
Otherwise, don't bother.
13 out of 16 people found the following review useful:
An edgy and uncompromising transgressive cult flick, 23 May 2001
Author:
Mattydee74 from Sydney, Australia
Frisk is one of a number of films by new film-makers (such as Todd Solondz, Tom Kalin, John Hewitt) who are for no-one. I love this disturbing new genre. Neither guided by morality nor restricted by the reality/fantasy divide, these films don't seek a wide audience. Instead, these films explore the underground, less explored territories of desire in its darker manifestations. This film isn't simply about sex and power, it concerns being gay in the era of AIDS and the insistency of desire. Frisk plays into the gay=death equation but this is only natural when being gay still remains for some blind people a lifestyle choice if not an aberration. Its a film about killing lovers, put blankly, and about experiencing the forbidden reaches of passion and obsession. Its a cold film and relentlessly reminiscent of De Sade's writing. Transgression and shock rule here but there's no easy comfort zones. A film of lust, decadence, cruelty and annihilation. Be warned.
10 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
Controversial, thought provoking, 18 January 1999
Author:
Val Mara (valmara69@aol.com)
Tired of coming out movies? Jeffrey and the Birdcage say nothing about your life? Fall asleep during Celluloid Closet? Then rent Frisk- refreshingly grotesque and lands all the right satirical punches on late 20th century gay culture. A litmus test for the politically correct.
12 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
violent, perverted, immoral...I love it!, 12 July 1999
Author:
zane (dethboi@yahoo.com) from santa cruz, ca
The flip side to optimistic, hopelessly naive, queer-positive films like "Beautiful Thing", in fact this movie could be called "ugly thing". This movie shows the dark side of human sexuality in all people, not just gay ones. With a great book as source material, an awesome cast, and a terrific score by Coil (the greatest), this movie has everything going for it, even if those uptight queens at the SF gay and lesbian film festival booed it off the screen. Anyway, this isn't a movie for mainstream audiences, whether they be homophobic heteros or gay yuppies. There is a plot to this movie but it doesn't seem to be that important, taking a back seat to the striking visuals and twisted eroticism on the screen. Snuff films, bondage, violent sexual mutilation, and brother-to-brother incest are just a few of the trangressive delights in this film. Performances of note include Parker Posey who makes an extended cameo as a wild-eyed serial killer and Raoul O'Connell who is notable only because he is hot, hot, hot!
6 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Fascinating but ultimately pointless, 18 August 2001
Author:
Havan_IronOak from NYC/FL
This is another of those art films that goes nowhere but gets there in style. This film is gritty and fascinating in a sick, can't help but look at the car wreck on the highway sort of way. It's not bad enough to turn off so you keep watching hoping that sanity will be restored. It won't be but you watch nonetheless.
4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Disturbing behavior, 2 January 2003
Author:
strangekindaboy from Ohio, United States
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Being an avid fan of Cooper's novels, I purchased this film hoping that it
would capture the truly disturbing yet poetic quality of his books. This
film succeeds in being disturbing but falls short of being poetic.
Although
at times certain scenes or frames of the film border on indie film
brilliance, unless you have read the book, it's certainly hard to
follow--as
it probably was intended to be.
Parker Posey is the redeeming quality in this film--a strange quirkiness
to
a murderous she-devil who shows no remorse and offers no motive. It's a
shame she was not introduced until much later in the film.
Some other thoughts:
The odd underground electronic soundtrack compliments the film well. The
foreign porn star is incredibly eerie. The lead is not terribly convincing
as a murderer. And...the most disturbing scene is the duct tape and broom
scene.
7 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Gay serial killers in love, 5 January 2005
Author:
Wayne Malin (wwaayynnee51@hotmail.com) from United States
Incomprehensible. It's something about a gay guy who may (or may not)
be a serial killer. The film jumps all over the place--there are flash
backs, flash forwards, dream sequences all mashed together. Supposedly
if you read the book you'll understand the movie. Well--I haven't read
the book and I don't think I should have to read it to make heads or
tails out of the movie. A movie should stand on its own and this one
certainly doesn't.
It looks grimy (but I heard that was on purpose); the acting is truly
abominable (some of the guys are cute but that's about it); the same
actors play multiple roles (which is confusing), and the dialogue read
during the killings is just so matter of fact I didn't know HOW to take
it! And I didn't find it disturbing or confusing--just dull and
irritating.
The only saving grace is Parker Posey--she manages to take a nothing
role and actually make something of it. She has lousy dialogue too but
she makes it work.
So--aside from Posey and some cute guys there's nothing to recommend
this. I give it a 1.
7 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
Homophobic piece of trash, 3 October 2006
Author:
kyle-153 from United States
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
I watched this movie on a bet. I hated every minute of it. Why?
1. Bad acting (except for Parker Posey, who can make a telephone book
seem interesting...and should have done so instead of taking this trash
on).
2. Insipid script filled with self-important dialog and voice-over that
sounded like fake high-school ennui laced with a dash of faux
philosophy 101.
3. A-B-C directing.
4. Pseudo-stylish editing flashes that even MTV would find silly.
5. Nothing sets.
6. 1-2-3 style lighting.
7. A loathing of all things homosexual and the fag-hags who adore them.
Not one normal person was allowed to counterpoint the non-stop anti-gay
depiction of gay men as self-mutilating drug abusers into kinky
anything so long as it winds up with them ejaculating at the end.
8. The wimpy non-stop suggestion that it's all in Dennis' mind. Maybe.
Except it might not be. Or might be. Maybe. Sort of. Except it isn't.
Or is it? And on and on and on, ad nauseum.
Edgy? Avant guarde? A whole new genre of in your face "I don't care
about anybody" sort of movies, with this being a prime piece? Give me a
break. At best, this is limp- wiener porn gussied up with occasional
flashes of male genitalia and a low-rent idea that self-destruction and
serial murder are part of the queer gene.
That this homophobic piece of trash was (supposedly) shown at Sundance
and the Berlin Film Festival only shows how second rate those venues
have become. You want to see a real serial killer movie full of "I
don't care about anybody" done right? Rent "Henry, Portrait Of A Serial
Killer" or "Monster" or even "Citizen X". Anything but this garbage.
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
A B-movie not at all as described in the comments, 2 June 2009
Author:
true9999 from United States
I make it a general rule to dismiss any comment by someone using
"trangressive" somewhere in the review.
Folks I braced myself for a horrible, bloody, unredeeming movie and
came away underwhelmed. Frankly, there is no gore and there is less
blood in the entire movie than one sees in the first 3 minutes of any
slasher film.
The only reason to rate this movie low is because it is a B-movie with
cheap production values and some wooden acting. Other than that, it
managed to keep my interest throughout the entire film.
I cannot believe people would boo this film. That is absurd. If the
characters were straight, no one would have a problem. But the main
characters are gay and all of a sudden, we now have "social commentary"
instead of just mindless entertainment.
Except for some male frontal nudity, this movie could be shown on
network TV, although late-night.
For those that believe all gay movies should be affirming, this movie
is not for you. For those that are looking for yet another gay romantic
comedy with lots of eye candy and bad acting, well there is some eye
candy and bad acting, but not much romance or humor.
It's not the greatest movie, it has flaws, but I didn't come away
feeling as if I totally wasted my time watching it.
Ignore the prudes. See the movie. Make up your own mind. You will be
shocked at how mild this movie is given the strange plot and subject
matter.
5 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
um, sure..., 23 October 2002
Author:
deathrockgrrl from Florida, USA
I really don't see how anyone that hasn't read the book could possibly
really understand what this film is supposed to be about. The character
development was pretty weak, making me constantly wonder *why* the
characters were doing what they were doing... and never getting an
answer.
And the acting really didn't help either. It was just... well, bad. It
made
the characters look cheap and one dimensional. Dialogue was spoken as if
it
was the actors' first times going over the script. You know, porn-like. I
really don't get why people act like this was such a disturbing movie...
I
was bored throughout mostly the entire thing. If the characters had been
straight, it may very well have been just another late night HBO erotic
thriller.
If I had to guess, I'd say this film was made solely to shock, not to
actually tell a really quite interesting story written by a brilliant
author.
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