The Electric Chair/He/Ding Dong Dead/Corporate Cutthroat Massacre (1985/2009/2010/MVD Visual DVDs)

Picture: C-     Sound: D     Extras: B-     Films: C/D/D/D


Creep Creepersin has been at is again and all shall suffer.  Here's a batch of some of his recent offerings from MVD Visual as well as a lost Mark Eisenstein film from MVD's Wild Eye division.

 

2009's He is first up. The film concerns a disconnected and delusional man who has grown apart from his wife and believes that she wants him killed.  There are attempts at keeping the audience guessing as to whether or not the events are actually happening, or just in his head.  It's lazily written and terribly acted, but there are some signs of improving finesse with the camera.  All the same, I'd say to pass this on by.

 

Next we have Corporate Cutthroat Massacre, a poor man's American Psycho that is boring and nonsensical as all hell; so much so that even Creep seems to acknowledge that it's a piece of crap in the special features where he and writer/star Elina Madison discuss the film.  Originally, this was a short called Late Shift that Madison had taken to the director and additional plot was tacked on to expand it to almost feature length.  Some of the original's footage has survived in this version, but it's hard to see why they bothered – it doesn't amount to much, and only adds to continuity errors.  The short is included on the DVD... neither it or its expansion is any good however.  Pass.

 

If I can say anything positive about Ding Dong Ditch, it's that at the very least it's an idea that hasn't been done before... not that that makes it worth watching, but I'll give credit where credit's due. The story follows Doug as he tries to put a stop to the girl gang who has been mischievously playing late night games of ding-dong-ditch and depriving him of his much needed sleep.  A girl ends up dead, and sparks an all out war between Doug and the self proclaimed Ding Dong Ditchers. There's little sense to be found here and the film ends up being every bit a turkey as those he's made before it.  Yet another pass.

 

It is baffling that someone possessing such a limited set of talents as Creep Creepersin has been able to gain even a modest following from his work, but if that's what the people want, I guess he can go on supplying.  My personal advice would be to ignore any movie with his name on it and not look back.  However, there is a glimmer of hope in this crop of DVDs, and that comes from New York underground filmmaker Mark Eisenstein's The Electric Chair.

 

The Electric Chair isn't the best made film ever, but getting to watch Victor Argo's intense delivery in one of his few leading roles is worth your time.  He stars as a failed comedian who has a gig at a club filled with people he's known throughout his life in attendance.  They watch his performance in silence, waiting with bated breath as they wait for the moment when he will be strapped to the electric chair that he shares the stage with and the switch is thrown.

 

There are moments of tedium that take place on an empty island with only some light voice-over, and it’s these moments that bog down the momentum.  They're pretty unnecessary, and if they were omitted, I believe the film would stand stronger as a short.  This complaint aside, the movie is something of a lost gem that fans of David Lynch would likely appreciate, as it has a tone hat is somewhat similar to his earlier works.  I'd say to give this one a watch.

Picture and sound for each of the films is relatively poor, and MVD has supplied very little data as far as particulars go for the specs.  Best among these in both looks and sound is The Electric Chair, which was shot on the Super 16 format in black and white.  The Creepersin films are all in widescreen with no aspect ratio given, but are likely 1.78 X 1.

 

Extra features are somewhat plentiful, with commentary tracks, short films, behind the scenes and trailers on almost all of the discs.  Quality varies slightly, but seeing some bonuses is nice for a change since distributors seems to have been getting pretty scanty in this department.

 

 

-   David Milchick