THE DANMAN CAN

Not quite perfect but pretty close. Recommended for fans of  Dario Argento ,  Darren Aronofsky ,  David Lynch , and  Brian De Palma .

Russell Mulcahy ’s "nature run amok" giant boar horror film,  Razorback  (1984), is not quite a home-run debut but has loads of style to spare. Cinematographer  Dean Semler 's—who three years earlier shot  George Miller 's  Mad Max 2   ( review) —stunningly beautiful imagery captures the Australian Outback like few films have. Composer  Iva Davies ' cool, moody, and ominous synth score (created using the  Fairlight CMI ) provides a perfect backdrop to the suid carnage. Mulcahy's highly stylized narrative music video background (more on than in my  review  of 1986's  Highlander ) informs the frenetic energy of the film and a trippy dream sequence is a particular highlight. Unfortunately, some of the gorier bits of the film were cut, the action is sloppy, the finale a bit weak, and the brilliant creature effects are never quite highlighted in the way that they deserve to be but  Razorback  is nonetheless a very entertaining thriller. Recommend for fans of  J

I've always unironically liked Showgirls  (1995). I first saw it on VHS and, having been a fan of  Paul Verhoeven 's previous American films— RoboCop   (1987) ( review ),  Total Recall   (1990) ( review ), and  Basic Instinct (1992)—it didn't feel terribly out of character for the director. Verhoeven has always been an over the top provocateur and SG  simply pushed his extreme tendencies into a mega-budget mainstream version of  All About Eve   (1950) ( review ) in Vegas (which was always intended to carry an NC-17 rating). Overflowing with nudity, visually dazzling, and featuring a fearless central performance by Elizabeth Berkley , SG  is deliberately excessive, satirical, glittery, glamorous, frenetic, and it's an incredibly entertaining, quotable, and rewatchable film. Paul Verhoeven Feature Films Ranked

Matthew Bright ’s direct-to-video in-name-only sequel, Freeway II: Confessions Of A Trickbaby  (1999), offers up another trash odyssey, dabbling in the same genre-mashing as its 1996 predecessor ( review ). You have a bit of the women’s prison picture, the serial killer psychological horror, and the road movie—all laced throughout with Bright's blackly comic sense of humor.  As with the first film, the story concerns a troubled young girl—whom the system has failed—on a dark journey to redemption. Bright again taps into Brothers Grimm folk tale lore—while  Freeway   was a take on  Little Red Riding Hood , for FWII  it's  Hansel And Gretel . This time around, we follow a duo (one of which is a serial killer and a lesbian) so there's more of a  Natural Born Killers   (1994) ( review ) (if it were made by John Waters ) or Thelma & Louise (1991) (if it were made by Gregg Araki ) feel to the film. (Coincidentally  Oliver Stone  executive produced the first  Freeway .) I wa

Dead Heat   (1988) is a total over the top ‘80s romp. How many other films can claim to be a buddy cop zombie comedy?  Mark Goldblatt 's (whose editing career includes some serious hits) directorial debut is fast and lean, the visual effects are a blast, and there's plenty of goofy but fun dialogue.  DH  is not concerned with deep character or story development—it deals in tropes and playfully pokes fun of them without being overly cutesy or meta about it.  Treat Williams  is, well, a treat,  Joe Piscopo  is obnoxious but in a lovable way, and  Vincent Price  is wonderful, as always, in a small but memorable role (one of his last). 

Up until its finale, when the film takes a turn for the director's more familiar camp territory,  Paul Bartel 's 1972 feature debut, Private Parts , has a lot in common with the giallo ,  Psycho  (1960), Peeping Tom  (1960) ( review ), and  Sisters  ( review ), released the same year. While there is silly humor sprinkled throughout, there are some genuinely dark and disturbing scenes that I wasn't expecting in a Bartel film. The three leads are all really well cast in their respective roles and give strong performances. PP  never quite satisfactorily develops its characters or fully explores its themes of gender, obsession, and psychosexual desires but it's still a very good film. It would have been really interesting to see Bartel make more movies in this vein and—as much as I love his signature campy style—it's a shame he never did. Paul Bartel Feature Films Ranked

Blood Harvest (1987) is a ploddingly paced, laughably rote and predictable, excruciatingly awkward, and disturbingly sleazy   regional horror film from Wisconsin. Tiny Tim does some good, creepy work here in the vein of  Joe Spinell  à la  Maniac  (1980) ( review ) but lead actress Itonia Salchek 's (who never appeared in a single other thing) performance is lacking and her character is insipidly stupid. Director Bill Rebane  lingers a lot  on Salchek's frequently nude body and it's one of the main contributing factors to the aforementioned awkwardness. Peter Krause —of TV's  Six Feet Under  (2001–2005) fame—appears in his feature film debut as well (I didn't even realize it was him until I looked it up after watching the film). There are a few decent gore gags but nothing to write home about. Still, BH  is a compulsively watchable, at times hilarious, little flick (though I think the alternate title The Marvelous Mervo  is more fun).