Slasher (2004) (TV)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

John Landis

Release Date:

19 June 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

A documentary on a stereotypically shady used car salesman, one who convinces customers to buy vehicles that others have deemed unfit for sale. |

Plot Keywords:

Salesman | Used Car

Cast

Christin Ackerman	...	Hostess
Michael Bennett	...	Himself (the Slasher)

Directed by
John Landis

Produced by
Alison Palmer Bourke	....	executive producer
Steven Cantor	....	producer
Ed Carroll	....	executive producer
Gary DePew	....	line producer
Matthew Galkin	....	co-producer
Julie Goldman	....	executive producer
Krysanne Katsoolis	....	executive producer
Chris Kobin	....	producer
Daniel Laikind	....	producer
Mandy Stein	....	co-producer
Caroline Stevens	....	executive producer
Jessica Wolfson	....	associate producer

Cinematography by
Paul Dokuchitz		(director of photography)
Peter Rieveschl		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Martin Apelbaum

Production Management
Owen Levin	....	production manager

Sound Department
Andy Black	....	sound recordist
Nathan Black	....	sound mixer
Hayden Jackson	....	sound recordist
Aaron Rihel	....	sound recordist
Rich Weingart	....	sound re-recording mixer

Visual Effects by
Michael Brodersen	....	digital film mastering

Camera and Electrical Department
Armanda Costanza	....	camera operator
Harris Done	....	camera operator
Jonathan Furmanski	....	camera operator
Matthew Galkin	....	camera operator
Michelle Hood	....	still photographer
Peter Rieveschl	....	camera operator

Editorial Department
Michael Garber	....	assistant editor
Daishi Takiishi	....	assistant editor
Pax Wassermann	....	supervising editor

Music Department
Mandy Stein	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Joe Marino	....	production coordinator
Margaret McCombs	....	production assistant
Derrick Mullins	....	production assistant
Tim Sullivan	....	production assistant
Daniel Vest	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Independent Film Channel (IFC)
• Stick Figure Productions

Distributors

• Independent Film Channel (IFC) (2004) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• New Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

USA:85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Filming Locations:

Huntington Beach, California, USA

Company:

Independent Film Channel (IFC)

Quotes:

Terry (Inventory Manager): "Slasher". That looks like some blood gonna be in that, don't it? You know, like Jason.

Movie Connections:

References Tombstone (1993)

Not as interesting as it could be

Michael Bennett, the titular character in John Landis' documentary, is a free-lance car salesman who travels the country helping car dealerships boost their sales on particular weekends by, you guessed it, slashing prices.

Apparently Bennett's very good at this and he puts on a carnival barker-like show that is in turns funny, hectic, tiring and obnoxious. Watching Bennett do his shtick exhausts the viewer because this chap runs like a fast-paced motor without an off-switch.

The problem is Landis films just one weekend in Bennett's life - when the "Slasher" travels to a dealership in Memphis, Tenn., "the bankruptcy capital of the world." In an interview on IFC, Landis said he initially planned to make a documentary about the effects of President Bush's economic policies, but wound up going in a different direction when he met Bennett.

Landis lets us peek at some of the inner workings of Bennett and his two friends - a DJ and a "mercenary" salesman. We get to see them work the crowd, as well as hear their asides when interviewing young women for the weekend gig (some of their comments are a bit cruel) and reacting to customers' comments (we see how they manipulate customers).

But as engaging as Bennett is - a wound-up beer-guzzling machine who also is a loving husband and father - a little bit of him goes a long way, a very long way. If Landis wanted to capture one weekend in Bennett's life, a documentary short would have sufficed.

For a feature, we need to see more, not more of the same thing, which is what we get here. Landis should have spent more time with Bennett's wife, who sees her husband two days a week. We see only a few snippets of Bennett with his family and it would have made for great cinema. Also, seeing whether Bennett changed from city to city, whether his routine varied depending on the economic and geographic conditions of the area, would have made for a better story.

And two crucial questions Landis does not even raise, much less answer, are how did Bennett get into this business and why does he do it? Yes, the money's great, but is there something else that draws Bennett to do this, to be away from his family for five days per week, especially when he says he'd like to be home with them? We never find out what attracts Bennett to this job.

Although it runs under 90 minutes, "Slasher" seems like it's about 30 minutes too long. Many scenes seem redundant and at the end of the film we don't know much more about Bennett than we did in the first few minutes. It's still worth a look, though.