Mostly influenced by Paul Schrader and Martin Scorcese films: From "Taxi driver": The hero is a taxi driver working night shifts and dealing with prostitutes, pimps, punks and generally the scum of the earth. He tries to protect a girl who just escaped from some guys shooting a sex/ snuff film. This brings to mind Schrader's "Hardcore". There's also the odd humor and funny sequence here and there and some plot twists that reminded me of "After hours". In the end our man arms himself with a gun and takes care of the criminals, but not without suffering loss himself. It's worth mentioning that the bad guys are so over the top and exaggerated , they almost are comic book creations. And their dress code makes them look as if they stepped out of some early Fassbinder b&w film( Drugs and drug use are also prominent). Supposedly the baddies are making "snuff" films. But nothing is really explained. They are seen laughing satanically over a couple of young frightened things, but they don't actually do anything. Perhaps they kill them with their evil laugh (?!). Cyndy (Cynthia)Preston's role certainly called for some "revelations" since she's supposedly making nudes, but she's only shown in underwear or under the bed sheets, otherwise she's pretty much covered. All in all, a b movie, low production values, cheap performances, cheesy action, but not with some merit for the connoisseurs of the genre.
Review of The Dark Side
