Even more than Wiseau ('The Room') or Ngyuen ('Birdemic') watching these films is like looking at outsider art. It's as if Breen wanted all his life to make movies featuring himself, his friends, and his family, and then got the chance but never bothered to learn the first thing about acting, scriptwriting, set design, production design, or cinematography before he started.
This movie isn't terrible the way, say, "Manos" is terrible - and Manos was made with a handheld camera, with all dialog subbed in ADR by four actors. And it's not terrible the way most Jesse Franco films can be terrible. For all their faults, movies like "She Kills In Ecstasy" and "Castle Of Fu Manchu" were cheesy fun. But "fun" has been completely extracted from this particular film.
Think home movies. Now think of a director who seemingly just points the camera and lets it roll. Now think of that same director starring in that movie in nearly every scene, but having dead eyes and a flat monotone that shows no emotion or vitality no matter what he's playing. Now also making sure that attractive young women (who are nevertheless terrible on camera) come onto him as some kind of ego boost. Now think of a screen play that tries to ape Philip K Dick or David Lynch, but completely leaves out any actual emotion, empathy, or tension. Or even cause and effect.
I'd go back and watch "Birdemic" TWICE before I'd watch this movie again. I'd watch ANY Jesse Franco film half-a-dozen times before I'd watch this movie again.
This movie isn't terrible the way, say, "Manos" is terrible - and Manos was made with a handheld camera, with all dialog subbed in ADR by four actors. And it's not terrible the way most Jesse Franco films can be terrible. For all their faults, movies like "She Kills In Ecstasy" and "Castle Of Fu Manchu" were cheesy fun. But "fun" has been completely extracted from this particular film.
Think home movies. Now think of a director who seemingly just points the camera and lets it roll. Now think of that same director starring in that movie in nearly every scene, but having dead eyes and a flat monotone that shows no emotion or vitality no matter what he's playing. Now also making sure that attractive young women (who are nevertheless terrible on camera) come onto him as some kind of ego boost. Now think of a screen play that tries to ape Philip K Dick or David Lynch, but completely leaves out any actual emotion, empathy, or tension. Or even cause and effect.
I'd go back and watch "Birdemic" TWICE before I'd watch this movie again. I'd watch ANY Jesse Franco film half-a-dozen times before I'd watch this movie again.