stexe Reviews

The Driller Killer (1979)

It's not THAT bad...

[4 January 2004]

Actually, I think it's excellent. The only reason I'm contributing a review is because there are so many negative ones here, and I think it's because it's been miscategorized. One reviewer here said you'd be better off watching "The Evil Dead". But Abel Ferrara didn't aspire to make a horror movie. Instead, he made a disturbing personal statement. I'm seeing this problem a lot of people have with trying to place films into tidy genres. I'm making up this term on the spot: The Blockbuster Syndrome. This should be avoided; it's what made Hollywood so boring.

It has an exploitive title and a reputation as a slasher film, so it hasn't found the right crowd. Psychotic 16-year old boys, its most likely audience, will be disappointed for it not being gory enough, and intellectuals will avoid it because it seems lowbrow. But get over it. There's a great Punk Rock atmosphere, Ferarra throws himself into his role, and those are some cool surrealist paintings. More importantly, it's an honest and troubling portrait of an artist who's driven over the edge by his own fear of failure, loud neighbors, getting dumped by his girlfriend, and all the other stress of the big city. Unable to channel these frustrations through his paintings, he turns to killing innocent derilects (In the opening scene it's suggested that is father is homeless, and he's afraid of ending up the same way). And then there's the ambiguous and haunting ending, which will stick with you for a while. Yes, it's technically lacking. But filmmakers are more than technicians. I would rate this alongside Taxi Driver as a brutal portrayal of alienation.

The Children (1980)

Great Potential, Poor Execution

[24 December 2003]

I saw the newspaper ads for this when I was in the fifth grade. I was fascinated. Then I went to summer camp, and one lucky kid had seen it and was describing it in detail at the campfire. I've been wanting to see it ever since. Never came across it on video, until last night when I was at my local hipster video store. They had a bootleg dvd-r available for rental. What luck!

But it's not so hot. The pacing is real, real slow. And although the idea of zombie children is inspired, no effort was put into developing an interesting screenplay. There's a scene of a parent getting fried by a kid, followed by a scene of the sheriff discovering the corpse. And so it goes for 70 minutes or so. But there is something to be said for the last few minutes, when they discover the only way to kill them is to chop off their hands with a sword.

I love low-budget, poor-taste movies, but the filmmakers didn't have enough to sustain a feature film. I almost want to make a 10-minute edit, though, because the premise is just so sick. I always thought this was the reason it's been hard to find on video, but it's more likely because it's boring, badly shot, and not campy enough to be entertaining.