Director's Cut
Catch it on HBO
I have to be honest; the DVD print of this film was so artifacted that I could not actually watch it on my DVD player. Ultimately I had to stick it in my computer to watch it, which is not the best atmosphere for a feature film to shine. Even in that player, the reproduction was labored and pixellated and difficult to hear and see. I feel like I should let you know about that up front so that 1. You don't rent it and then give your video store a hard time unnecessarily and 2. You know that some of the frustration I had was mechanical and not artistic and 3. I may have missed some good stuff in there due to the difficulties in playing the film.
That said, what the heck is Director's Cut? A wee little movie produced by Landfall Productions, Director's Cut is a spoof on 1970s horror B-films and the call to Hollywood. Four young Hollywood Hopefuls (well, two and their idiot boyfriends) hoof it to the west coast to be in the next film by the famous horror film hack, Cole Wilder. Wilder has some radical ideas for making a sort of reality program out of his next horror film, which is of course an excuse for real blood to flow and no one to be the wiser. Needless to say, mayhem ensues.
Like a porno, this movie exists specifically to showcase the creative ways people can die when they think they are being fake-killed, and the inbetween stuff is just tedious shoeleather to get to the next set piece. In this film's case, they try to make the gaps as small as possible and also squeeze in some comedy. Comedy is hard, as we all know, and some of it does fall flat in this film. One has to applaud the efforts of the actors who are playing characters you really really want to die as soon as possible. Their vapidity and stupidity know no bounds, and when the cutting starts, so does the cheering.
The slasher aspects of the film and make up effects are quite up to par, and quite professional-looking, which belies the could-stand-a-rewrite dialogue. I especially enjoyed some of the more absurd props in Mr. Wilder's arsenal of evil.
It's an odd premise with an odder subplot, which comes together at the last minute, coincidentally right at the point where it appears the film ran out of money. Cole and Katrina Wilder are the best actors in the film; I wish I could give you their names but with a title like "Director's Cut," even the IMDB.com has its limitations. Thematically, the idea of movies vs. reality has been handled in such films as The Purple Rose of Cairo and the Last Action Hero, and more subtly in movies like The Singing Detective . Director's Cut seeks to follow in their tradition, but leans more toward straight slasher film with absurdist interludes. It may not have been their intent, but if you're into that, this is the flick for you.
-- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ These reviews (c) 2003 Karina Montgomery. Please feel free to forward but credit the reviewer in the text. Thanks. You can check out previous reviews at: http://www.cinerina.com and http://ofcs.rottentomatoes.com - the Online Film Critics Society http://www.hsbr.net/reviews/karina/listing.hsbr - Hollywood Stock Exchange Brokerage Resource
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