Monday, May 30, 2011

DVD Review: he (2009)

he (2009)
Label: MVD Visual
Region: Region 0 NTSC
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 70 mins
Video: 16x9 Widescreen
Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Director: Creep Creepersin
Cast: Creep Creepersin, Ariauna Albright, Matt Turek, Trent Haaga, Sean Cain, Jordan Lawson, Marlina Germanova, Destiny Jasmine Rodreguiez, Julie Rose
Tagline: he is misunderstood... and his wife wants him dead.


Film: The multi-talented writer/director/musician Creep Creepersin is back not only directing this time but starring in this no-budget psychological thriller as the titular "he" whom is married to "wife" (Ariuna Albright, Witchouse). He's a sad, unemployed guy who's coming unglued a bit more each day. He's quite the paranoiac and is convinced that someone is watching him. When his wife catches him staring out the window with binoculars in hand he tells her that he's watching the Watchers so they know they're being watched also. The guy definitely has a few screws loose but his wife ain't no picnic to be around either but then again living with an unemployed nut can't be easy, right?  He is plagued by visions of a mysterious Russian speaking woman  and another in a black burka as well as a hitman who may or may not have been hired by his wife. In one of the films most schizophrenic moments he encounters his own doppelganger who taunts and ridicules him, it's a very surreal David Lynchian dream logic moment and I think Creepersin's has done an admirable job capturing the  surreal mental breakdown of someone slipping into psychosis. While not nearly on the level of Cronenberg's Spider (2002) or Adam Green's Spiral (2007) I think the film is dialing up a very similar number.


The main issue I have with the film is Creepersin himself who's not much of an actor and my advice to him would be to stay behind the camera. Technically we get some growth as far as film composition, narrative structure and dialogue when cm[pared to his previous film Frankenstein but this is still gonna be a difficult watch to anyone other than the most die hard of indie-film fans.


DVD: The film is presented in 16x9 widescreen with English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio, no subtitles are offered. Much like Frankenstein before it the film appears to be shot on consumer grade digital video and looks like it. The shot composition is getting better but still not great, the lightning is still pretty rough but we can see the director and his crew making progress though there are several  instances during the film when the video and audio fall out of sync. I wasn't sure if this was an effect to enhance the schizophrenic nature of the film or a technical error but I am going to assume it was technical in nature. The special features include a 13 minute behind the scenes featurette with some informative cast and crew interviews, way better than the rather wandering doc we saw with Frankenstein. There's also a director's commentary and several trailers for Creepersin's other films.


Special Features:
- Behind the Scenes Retrospective (13:46)
- Director's Commentary
- Trailers: The Cut Throat Corporate Massacre (1:16), Ding Dong Dead (1:02), Erection (2:11), Frankenstein (2:17), he (2:08), Peeping Blog (2:16)


Verdict: Creepersin is making progress as a filmmaker but this is still  not a completely watchable film. At it's heart this film is about a sad man who's lost touch with reality and while I think Creepersin's ambitions may have overstretched his resources and capabilities the film comes through with some nicely done  surreal flourishes that will have you  scratching your head and muttering "what the...." if not rewatching it anytime soon. 
2 outta 5