I know the fans of director Abel Ferrara are out there. They
praise his work and compare him to auteurs from the past all the time. And yet
to date I’ve seen one out of the 42 movies he’s directed that I kind of
enjoyed. None of the rest do anything for me, including this one.
The plot line is fairly simple. Ferrara stars as well as
directs here, playing an artist struggling to make it in New York City. He’s
been working on one project in particular, influenced by the violence and
street scenes around him and he’s being pushed to complete the project. As he
continues working to survive and to create his art he slowly descends into
madness. Taking to the streets at night he begins killing people with a power
drill.
So why does this film get mentioned time and time again, why
the notoriety? To being with it was part of the infamous “video nasties”, a
term designating a list of films that at one time were prohibited from being
seen in England. That label guaranteed the fact that people would seek out
these movies to watch. With that in mind those movies became ones that were
watched more than others and thus gained their fame.
The movie has so many flaws it’s hard to know where to
start. The acting is sub-par for even a low budget film. The cinematography is
barely passable. The effects are some of the worst with a bright orange blood
used in scenes of carnage. The pacing is so slow you may find yourself dozing
off from time to time while trying to watch it. The scenes of New York depict
the city at its worst. This is not a place you’d want to visit. But for some
they love that sleazier, filthy depiction of the city that way and bemoan the
fact that it was cleaned up later on. Sorry, not my thing.
In the end I found no enjoyment in watching this movie. I’ve
seen a ton of slasher films and enjoyed many of them. I love horror movies.
This one left me longing to go back and watch a good one or at least a passable
one. This movie relies on its title and its legendary status to lay claim to
fame but as a movie it is one of the worst. Honestly I think I enjoy watching
PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE more than this one.
All that being said Arrow Video has gone out of their way to
provide the best copy of this movie for fans who still love it. They’re
presenting it in hi def with a restoration from original film elements and
extras include audio commentary by Ferrara moderated by Brad Stevens (who wrote
ABEL FERRARA: THE MORAL VISION) recorded specifically for this release, a new
interview with Ferrara, WILLING AND ABEL: FERRARAOLGY 101 a visual essay guide
to the films and career of Ferrara by author Alexandra Heller-Nicholas,
MULBERRY STREET a feature length documentary portrait of New York by Ferrara
and the theatrical trailer.
While this may not be my cup of tea it is important that
movies of all kinds be kept alive and in the best condition possible. Praise to
Arrow Video for making the effort to do so with films like this one.
Click here to order.
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