If you have read any of the other reviews on this page, or have actually chatted with me, then I'm sure you have heard me go on about the great Independant Film Makers of yesteryear. You've heard me lament about the greats like Russ Meyer, Jack Hill, Ed Wood or even Ray Dennis Steckler. But Independant Film Makers, despite what Di$ney and Hollywood would have you believe (and like to see, I'm sure), are still out there working hard, sweating and struggling to make ART!
Of course, there is TROMA who have been relatively lucky ...err successful (with Llyod Kaufman at the helm, how could they not be), but most Independant Filmakers seem to make one shot deals and then disappear. Likely because they have mortgaged the house, spent their inheritance and sold everthing to make their flick, only to have no theatrical release and have it swallowed up at the video stores by a 100 copies of the lastest Hollywood formulaic eye candy.
There are, of course, exceptions. And the Film Maker of the flick I've chosen to be this weeks MOVIE OF THE WEEK is one of them.
For about a decade now, Kevin J. Lindenmuth, has been making indie horror films with his BRIMSTONE PRODUCTIONS. I've chosen his most successful flick, not necessarily my favourite (but it is a great movie), for this review. I'm also reviewing one of his flicks over at WORST OF THE WORST this week.
So here it is, the Kevin Lindenmuth flick you can find over at Cockbuster..err Blockbuster (actually I hear you can find his ALIEN AGENDA movies there too):
ADDICTED TO MURDER
Now serial killers and vampires are favourite subject matters for the independant horror film maker, but ADDICTED TO MURDER goes one step further to combine the two. And surprisingly enough, it works. I think a lot of thought must have gone into the story, and it shows.
The plot goes something like this. This guy namede Joel comes from a somewhat disfunctional family and as a kid meets a Vampire named Racheal in the forest by his home. This vampire takes a liking to Joel and comes back to see him during his teen years. Now this vampire has the desire to remember what it is like to be human, and so has Joel kill her in various ways to pretend like she is mortal (plus I think she gets some sexual type masochistic thrill out of it too). So Joel is killing her and they have a thing going but one day she disappears from Joels life. Needless to say, this leaves a void in his life which he fills by serial killing, but he never really gives up his search for Racheal. As an adult he is coping with the death of his mother, with a divorce and with his ever increasing desire to kill. And to stir the pot up, he heads to New York and meets another vampire. And this one wants him to embrace his killing nature and become a vampire himself.
The story moves around time quite a bit, yet it is not overly confusing. The main story takes place with Joel as an adult but flashes back to his childhood and teen years. Plus inter-mixed is a series of documentary style interviews with people from Joel's life, foreshadowing the coming climax of the movie.
For an independant movie in this budget range, you would be hard pressed to find a movie as technically well done. It's well edited, well shot, and even well acted.
If you are one of those grab-the-new-release-spoon-fed-by-hollywood types, try this out as a introduction to independant movies. I'm sure you won't be disappointed. In fact, I've read talk of a big budget remake of ADDICTED TO MURDER that is to begin shooting this year.
AND, unlike most movies I review here, you can rent this movie at the local video store (if you are lucky, if not ask them to get it) or buy it almost anywhere. Or you can even check it out online at CINEMANOW.
This movie has spawned 3 sequels also and all are pretty cool (well at least the two I've seen), so check out the ongoing adventure of Joel...gee, it's funny how Hollywood put out BLADE (not that that was too bad of a flick) just about the same time as ADDICTED FROM MURDER 2....makes you go hmmm...
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