Last House on Dead End Street (1977)
Directed by Roger Watkins
Barrel Entertainment DVD
THE FILM
I first saw this film while I was going to film school. I watched that really tough-to-watch bootleg that was slowed down and had huge Spanish subtitles on it. I got to the end of the film and was exhausted. I liked some of it but the slow-mo feel of much of the movie made me sleepy and it felt like bits were missing and, even though the last sequence in the warehouse with the killings was effective, it felt interminable to me. I didn't watch it again until I got the superb Barrel DVD.
Terry Hawkins and his friends make some films for a wealthy group of people. When they're taken advantage of by the rich folk, Terry & his Pirates take out their anger…in blood. And, even after the DVD, I still felt like the missing bits were very missing. The film seems to be going nowhere in particular and then, suddenly, we're in the warehouse and Terry is asking for "the blonde". (Who is that blonde? Why can I never place her? Was she in one of the "naughty" films?)
Being a bit more mature then I was, though, I liked the film much more this time around. I watched it with someone who was very affected by it and that made me realize the Power behind it. But, watching it now, so far after film school, I couldn't help thinking "Well, this is something we might have made in school or right out of it." It has very effective moments and then overdone moments that just seem odd, the way well-intentioned students make something. Is this bad?
Nope. The weird, weird energy carries it along. Roger Watkins's enthusiasm keeps things interesting almost all of the time. And, I learned later that bits were cut out. (Quite a few bits.) That's why it feels strange. I could have passed on some of the drawn out conversations. But, the film keeps you off kilter for (more or less) the first half and suddenly it's in the warehouse and all bets are off. Do I like the movie?
Well, I've seen it four times now and I really don't know. It's a very individual film. It has its own outlook on life. It does its own thing. That's good. But, I'm never terribly satisfied when I hit the end. The feeling I have is that I've almost seen a great film or I've seen the highlights of one. Maybe I really want to see the full version. Maybe I'm thinking that that film is the be-all end-all. Everything we needed to know about life is in that version. I've got the Cliff's Notes Version, and I certainly feel suitably rotten when the film ends, but I'm missing something.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
Looks 100 times better than the old bootleg but still looks gamey. (What I'm saying, with love, is that I think it looks killer.) When the quality jumps to VHS for Mrs. Palmer's big moment…my stomach drops out because I know the horror approaching.
EXTRAS
Jesus, this DVD is packed with shit! (Did I sound like Terry there?) Commentary, kick-ass booklet, outtakes, Joe Franklin...this thing is wow! Oddly enough, I've watched almost none of it. The film ends and I stop to think and, by time I'm done thinking, I've no need for the extras. But, one day, I shall enjoy.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I re-watched Last House On Dead End Street this past weekend right after Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment. I got a similar feeling from them, from a writer's POV. I enjoyed both of them but, somehow, I felt like something was missing. I was doing a bunch of extrapolating to get myself from one spot to another but not in a "Deliberate Fragmented" kind of way. More in a "Where'd the bits go?" kind of way. I harp on this fact because that's the big stumbling block for me. I feel incomplete.
LHODES is rough, ragged and has an attitude that can leave you frightened and disliking life. I think the film (mostly) speaks for itself. I'm taking a trip to an Alternate World to see the complete cut. Full Review when I return...
— Dan Budnik, 04.21.11 |
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