AL FILO DEL TERROR (1990)
Directed by Alfredo B. Crevenna
Mex-American Home Video Corporation
VHS
THE FILM
Suffer, little children. The El
Griego Show is on the air.
There are two sides to every man.
Sometimes, there are two sides to
every movie. But what if those two
entities coalesced? The philosophic
possibilities would be daunting;
infinite, even. Generously, one
film heard the call and answered
with alarming clarity. Two divergent
entities became one...and still
didn't get along. Al Filo Del
Terror has been unearthed.
Clown-midgets see red. Children
weep. Ventriloquists sue. As for
me?
I rejoice. By God, I rejoice.
Meet El Griego. He's a TV kids'
show ventriloquist with several
hang-ups. His jokes stink. His living
room is gaudy. And you know what
else? El G beats on his six year
old daughter Carlita, kills his
father, and slits the throat of
his girlfriend. All in the pursuit
of fame. Ventriloquist fame. Too
bad there aren't any fire-breathing,
gunk-vomiting, sword-wielding clown-midgets
locked in silver trunks in the basement
to even the score. Oh. Pardon me.
There are.
Al Filo Del Terror is a
constant battle between opposites
that never mesh. I couldn't care
less. A Spanish nightmare (with
no subtitles) from prolific exploitation
director Alfredo Crevenna (Aventura
Al Centro De La Tierra),
Al Filo is no figment.
Indeed, it's alive; a deranged hybrid
of The Garbage Pail Kids Movie,
somebody's whipping fetish, and
excerpts from the life of The World's
Worst Father. In other words, this
film will take your breath away.
Two types of scenes hang around.
One features people standing and
talking in the previously mentioned
gaudy living rooms. Yawn. The other
showcases four clown-midgets and
the world which surrounds them.
I'm breathless. This arena includes,
but is not limited to, the following:
Carlita (remember, she's just a
kid) picking up a severed head.
El Griego whipping, slapping, and
chopping the clown-midgets with
an axe. Clown-midget hallucinations.
An aerobics workout scene. Carlita
helping the clown-midgets with a
communal bath. Finally, El Griego
dressing up Carlita as a clown-midget,
then using her in his act. There's
no style, sense of pace, or explicitness
to any of this. As expected, there
is a lot of screaming and crying.
After the first clown-midget opens
his mouth to speak, you'll understand
why things are the way they are.
No, the way they MUST -- and always
will -- be.
Suffer, little children. El Griego
is watching.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
As if you had to ask! It's a masterpiece
of home entertainment technology.
Trust me. I won't go into the details
of how I chanced upon this tape
in a questionable neighborhood,
how my VCR ferociously ate it at
the 40 minute mark, or how it took
me an entire evening to survey,
salvage, and repair the damages.
Salvation is all that matters. The
big box alone was worth the anxiety.
EXTRAS
Trailers for Dos Penitentes
No Tanto and Pandilleros
Asesinos show us the strange
effect that eggs, spandex, feather
earrings, and motorcycles (in that
order) can have on human beings.
At least, I think they were human
beings.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Commemorate this motion picture.
Carlita was most likely scarred
for life. You will be too. Al
Filo Del Terror requires a
touch of fast-forwarding tact, but
that's a harmless technicality.
This is a deeply damaged, yet somehow
innocent, heap of special garbage.
An absolute must for you and yours.
— Joseph A. Ziemba, 01.18.07 |
The mark of El Griego
Carlita's clubhouse
There is a God
There's no business like show business
|
