Still Life (1990)

User Rating:

3.6/10   

Director:

Graeme Campbell

Writers:

Graeme Campbell (writer)
Dean Parisot (writer)

Release Date:

1990 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller

Tagline:

You've got to kill yourself to make it in the art world.

Plot Keywords:

Independent Film

Cast

Jason Gedrick	...	Peter Sherwood
Jessica Steen	...	Nellie Ambrose
Stephen Shellen	...	Teddy Bullock
Gary Farmer	...	Billy
Sam Malkin	...	Frank
Lubomir Mykytiuk	...	Lieutenant Topolski
Dave McKay	...	Dave (cameraman)
Johnie Chase	...	Officer #2
Ted Loviscek	...	Stan
Beverly Murray	...	Performance Space Lady
Eric Murphy	...	Al
Elena Kudara	...	Maggie Stefanova
Lawrence Mayles	...	Confessed Art Killer
Jane Schoettle	...	Margaret
Gene Mack	...	Man in Beret

Also Known As:

Art Killer Framed
Still Life: The Fine Art of Murder (USA)

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Company:

Bucko Pictures

Quotes:

[first lines]
Nellie Ambrose: The Art Killer has struck again. Another homeless man has been found shot to death through the forehead and turned into a macabre piece of modern art. This time, similar to the last, the murderer artist has left his mark: a sign near the body inscribed "A.K.": Art Killer.

With Little Talent Available, Very Little Is Accomplished.

Filmed in a Toronto that is meant to depict New York City, this carelessly produced low-budget piece is loosely organized from its beginning, with most of its shortcomings stemming from a scenario concerning a serial killer operating in a rundown artist's loft district, the victims being indigents who, after being shot in the head, are ensconced within over-sized picture frames and arranged as pastiches of popular paintings, e.g., Whistler's Mother, with an accompanying "A.K." (Art Killer) signature. A painfully untalented musician, Peter Sherwood (Jason Gedrick), whose uninventive electronic ability with keyboard and sampler fails to bring him fiscal success, his live-in girlfriend Nellie (Jessica Steen), and their performing artist pal Teddy (Stephen Shellen) reside within the stricken area amid the homicide hullabaloo, with Nellie a New York television journalist reporting upon the slayings as they occur. A trifling attempt is made to depict how the killer has become a "popular" figure with fringe members of the citizenry, and Nellie and Teddy each enjoys benefits from publicity, but when Peter is assaulted by a pair of non-lethal "A.K." copycats and subsequently attached to a frame in a junkyard, this particular media event has come too near the trio for their comfort. Additionally, local police, essentially it would seem limited in number to one rather seedy detective, have begun to suspect Sherwood of being "A.K." as some type of disturbed ploy with which to further his stuttering music career, and personal forms of danger increase for Peter and his kidnapped lover. With a working title of ART KILLER FRAMED wisely changed, this film, despite its macabre theme and trappings of violence, lacks that important ingredient of suspense, critical to all genres, since even a semi-comatose viewer will have solved the case in short order, and no character as portrayed will gain audience sympathy. Direction is soft, particularly noticeable when players are forced to weakly ad lib, and post-production efforts fail to correct flaws, notably relative to the generally poorly written dialogue and other sound issues, and the unimpressive actors obviously lack oversight; requisite attention to planning plainly was not available for this work.