Roadkill (1994)

Not even a pittance of hope here

I first caught snippets of this one through a Necrophagia music video and didn't realize I had already seen another by director Jim Van Bebber just prior, which made me search out "Dead Beat at Dawn" and think the guy should have done more with the down, dirty and depraved talent he's got. This is along the lines of a really seedy version of "Eraserhead." The picture quality of "Roadkill: The Last Days of John Martin" makes it seem much older than the '90s, though it still adds a certain washed out grime and includes an atmosphere that feels surreal with strange and abstract music. This 14 minute film is nothing short of a nightmare as there's no resolve, just pain and a kind of dehumanization that comes with chills and sweats when the credits roll.

Enter a dwelling that any "flip this house" money maker would save the investment and move on as it looks like one of the nastiest hellholes imaginable. Never mind how someone could feel so at home there. A homeless man in a third world country would even be put off with the trash, rats, nonsensical writing, blood and even human skin masks on the walls. If they could make a special smelling device for the cinematic experience, then I'm sure it would implode in on itself with this one. Though he miraculously has a shower and a razor to keep up a regular front on the outside. This is like a roller coaster, you anticipate the risk beforehand, live the danger when riding by building to a culmination, and then finally the experience ends but with a plethora of sensations rather than a narrative story to tell afterwards.

John Martin is a loner, a cemetery stroller, a raw animal muncher, a binge drinker, an excessive TV watcher and who could forget a maniacal cackler. The beginning setup shows you just how crazy and unlikable he is until he steps out of his depressive dwelling and puts on the nice guy act when he meets two unsuspecting people who need a lift after their car conks out in the middle of nowhere. It creates an unpreventable trap with predator and prey to account for, but not a hero in sight. Not to mention the audience has no way to stop it and is given no way out, so you look on just to witness how far he takes the depravity that includes some gore and unsensual nudity. Even in the survival-of-the-fittest animal kingdom certain species will have competition among themselves, though they'll still form pacts to hunt outside species. This, on the other hand, has one antisocial human using cunning manipulation on desperate human beings for a sadistic gain. It shows that you can't let your guard down for anyone, because people aren't always who they seem, and with some much more worse than others. Just as you'd see a lion interact and go out on a hunt in a documentary, this is essentially the before and after of how a psycopath named John Martin stalks. Except in a way that's as filthy and disgusting as you can imagine to get that insider's look without holding back.

What makes this effective as a short is it gets right to it, no prancing around, no letting up with the oppressive feeling, no explanations so as to keep up the mystery and morbid curiosity, just a candid look at the sadistic and detestable. The experience is essentially more about those sometimes unexplainable emotions, rather than a constructive story to follow. So as a longer piece it most likely wouldn't have worked as it might have desensitized or lost the focus of viewers, but as is it packs a severe punch to the lower gut.

Rating: 8/10

Director: Jim Van Bebber
Stars: Mark Gillespie, Marc Pitman, Maureen Allise
Link: IMDB

Prowl (2010)

Look it's a bird, it's a plane...I don't know what that is

This starts out like a coming-of-age drama with a young woman named Amber who's sick of small town life in Famfield despite her close friends, mother and part time job. There are some unexplained snippets with ominous visions that include people chasing her and decomposing bodies. Is something calling her, or is it just the stress and mounting pressure of cabin fever? She wants to move away and get her own apartment in Chicago but first she has to get there with a deposit before another prospective tenant. Her five friends tag along for the road trip, until right outside of the city limits their car breaks down. As chance would have it, a friendly semi-truck driver pulls over and they beg him to take them to the windy city, but not before telling him they want to snap his picture, that one should ride up front and, of course, their family should know who they're with for safety's sake. Can never be too careful, or can you?

They hang loose in the back cargo area by playing games, drinking and smoking drugs. Suddenly they take a nasty swerve and get thrown about. They call the driver and he gives them the run around to stop, which makes them suspicious enough to call 911, though where they just entered the signal doesn't go through. The driver backs into a loading area of an abandoned warehouse that looks like it used to be a slaughterhouse. After the back door opens, everything turns into chaos when they step out into the factory with no visible way out and strange creatures who fly through the air, crawl on the walls and want to consume their flesh sooner than they can rip it off. From then on out it ends up being something like "The Most Dangerous Game" as these victims are treated like not only lunch but challenging sport.

"Prowl" is a director's film first and foremost. It has a steady pacing that keeps up a certain element of mystery without laying out a full view of its blueprints, as well as it manages to escalate the story to different levels while still slowing down in a few areas to catch its breath and explain. The dialogue also dances around and doesn't lay it all out for the audience, which gives it some challenge and curious questions even after the credits roll. It manages to cover up its plotholes--sometimes after the fact, which makes you wonder about a few in the meantime--such as certain physicalities. It gradually unveils the blood-craving beasts from quick shots to extended, which keeps a viewer guessing as to what they are and what it all means while--thank the horror Gods!--doesn't fold in on itself and make what they have going too cheesy. This is more intriguing and mysterious like a thriller than it is continually scary like a horror, though there are still a few jumping shocks used to rile one's pulse, even if not terrifying.

What at first seems like it's only prolonging the inevitable, comes full circle and turns into a tale of finding out what Amber's life means before she even gets to her promised land. The blood is more watery than the truly crimson looking stuff and there are frantic camera shots that go a little overboard. Though this was a quick, basic and entertaining piece that could have been a run-of-the-mill movie with different direction, less measurement and passion put into, not to mention it's a simple story that only has a few conventions tweaked around and isn't the most original out there, but the way it carried itself was turned into an effective experience that urges forward. One where it's a little more unexpected than other don't-take-rides-from-strangers fare.

Rating: 7/10

Director: Patrik Syversen
Stars: Ruta Gedmintas, Courtney Hope, Joshua Bowman, Perdita Weeks
Link: IMDB


10 things to learn from "Prowl":

10. Guys with glasses never get the hot girl, Clark Kent included.
9. Abstinence from sex = survival in a horror tale
8. It's cheaper to shoot a film in Bulgaria, as it's cheaper to make products in China.
7. You can fly without wings.
6. You can leap highly without frog legs.
5. Women have ass kicking abilities too.
4. Don't do drugs while taking rides from a stranger, as it will only make things stranger.
3. Don't trust nice guys--they're often not so nice.
2. Stay put in the same town, as it's safer.

And finally:
1. Don't take rides from strangers--ever!