DAHMER VS. GACY -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 5/2/11

 

When I first saw the DVD cover for DAHMER VS. GACY (2011), it seemed as though watching a bloody FREDDY VS. JASON-type horror flick featuring the two notorious serial killers going at it would, at best, go beyond "guilty pleasure" into actual hate-myself guilt.  What I didn't suspect is that it would turn out to be an all-out screwball comedy, and that I'd end up wishing it actually was the relatively straight, though somewhat tongue-in-cheek horror flick I'd envisioned in the first place.

The main reason for this, to put it simply, is that the movie isn't all that funny.  Not that cinematic jack-of-all-trades Ford Austin isn't trying--not only does he play two of the lead roles, but he also directs with the manic hyperactivity of a deranged Tex Avery, wielding the screenplay like a blunt instrument and trying to beat the funny into our skulls.  Unfortunately, most of what passes for humor here consists of wacky caricatures endlessly screaming incredibly graphic profanity at each other and engaging in grotesque slapstick atrocities that would make John Waters reach for the Tums. 

Austin plays Jeffrey Dahmer, or actually his clone, created during a secret government project designed to bring the worst serial killers back from the dead as super soldiers for the military.  Naturally, Dahmer escapes along with John Wayne Gacy (Randal Malone, playing the role like a watered-down version of Divine) and the two maniacs start murdering their way across the country until they finally run into each other and battle it out for serial-killer supremacy.  Also getting into the act is a drunken redneck named Ringo (also played by Austin) who's haunted by the voice of God (Harland Williams) talking to him through his household appliances and ordering him to go after the killers himself.
 


Sight gags and random comedy sketches come flying at us like confetti out of a wind tunnel and some of them can't help but be amusing now and then, especially when a local news show interrupts the action with updates featuring gorgeous serial-killer groupies and zoned-out eyewitnesses (including SLEEPAWAY CAMP's Felissa Rose).  The film opens promisingly as an author being interviewed by the news anchor gets murdered on air while ridiculous entertainment-news items scroll along the bottom of the screen.  Familiar character actor Art LaFleur then makes a welcome but all-too-brief appearance as a scientist drafted into the ill-fated cloning project before it goes haywire.

Bonnie Aarons tries her best to dredge the funny out of her role as vulture-like, cigar-chomping General Arbogast, who coordinates the search for the killers.  As project leader Dr. Stravinski, Peter Zhmutski is a retake or two away from a decent performance.  Austin himself is hit-and-miss as Ringo, earning a few chuckles during his battle with some ninjas (don't ask) and a frantic phone call to a prayer hotline for advice (Colby Veil is funny as the laconic operator).  But aside from a few bright spots, this character gets tiresome pretty fast. 

Former Munchkin Jerry Maren turns up in a vignette in which Gacy, in full clown regalia, harasses a midget street mime before killing him.  Maren sets the general tone of the dialogue here by spewing extreme profanities meant to shock us into laughter.  Dahmer is then shown luring a shaggy-haired barfly into a basement with drugs, forcing him to perform fellatio on him, and then gleefully raping his corpse while drilling blood-spewing holes in his head with a power drill. 

This doesn't even sound funny in print, so it's hard to imagine who the heck thought it would translate into giggles and yucks onscreen.  As with an earlier scene in which a bum fishes a live rat out of a dumpster and chows down on it in extreme closeup, it's the cinematic equivalent of someone taking an unusual-looking dump and then summoning his friends into the bathroom to see it.



Things come to a head when Dahmer, Gacy, and Ringo end up in the same room and the film goes into cartoon-chaos overdrive with all the fast-motion, zippy editing, and violent slapstick buffoonery that director Austin can throw at us.  What it all amounts to mainly is a bunch of blood-splattered mugging and mindless action punctuated by moments of graphic gore as the titans of terror alternately wrestle (Gacy sits on Dahmer's face, Dahmer bites him in the ass) and threaten each other with insults that are outlandishly vile enough to get them tossed out of a Tourette's convention.  In the midst of all this, X-13, a super-super serial killer clone designed to defeat them (Ethan Phillips of "Star Trek: Voyager") shows up and throws his two cents into the mix.  With all this stuff going on, the best bit is when a gay neighbor shows up with some housewarming tarts.

The DVD from Virgil Films & Entertainment is in 16:9 widescreen with Dolby 5.1 and 2.0 sound.  There are no extras. 

While fleeting flashes of funny bubble up from this dense, desperate epileptic seizure of a film, most of DAHMER VS. GACY comes off like a bad improv comedy troup on speed performing an autopsy on a fat guy while screaming insults at his mom.  Even if you enjoyed the outrageous antics of Divine and her disgusting brood in John Waters' PINK FLAMINGOS, this may be enough to make you feel like hosing off your DVD player after watching it.  Then again, if it sounds like your kind of movie--go for it!

DAHMER VS. GACY -- DVD Review by Porfle

THE SECRET LIFE: JEFFREY DAHMER -- DVD Review by Porfle

 Originally posted on 7/9/11

 

Out of all the low-budget serial killer biopics I've seen, THE SECRET LIFE: JEFFREY DAHMER (1993) may be the most interesting to watch as a film.  Mainly because (a) it's well made, and (b) it doesn't use a sensationalistic real-life story simply as an easy excuse to churn out yet another gory horror film. 

Screenwriter Carl Crew claims to have done his research, and, based on my limited knowledge of the case, the film seems to bear this out.  The familiar bases are covered--Jeffrey Dahmer's unhappy family life, his childhood fascination with dead animals, and his eventual transformation into a coldblooded predator who murdered up to seventeen young men. 

The fact that Dahmer got away with it for so long is accurately portrayed here as a combination of cunning, insane luck, and police incompetence.  We follow the story of his crimes from his first kill (as a teen, he murdered a hitchhiker at his family home), through a series of murders while living with his grandmother, and, after moving into his own apartment, his final rampage in which he was luring victims into his clutches at the rate of one per week.



The pattern of seducing men by offering to pay them to pose for photographs and then drugging them as a prelude to murder becomes somewhat monotonous at times, yet each individual victim adds his own unique elements to the story.  Some even escape, although their stories are dismissed by the police.  The most tragic of these incidents involves an underage boy who gets away and then, incredibly, is delivered right back into Dahmer's hands.  

As Dahmer, Crew's acting isn't always polished but he's intense and convincing, and the fact that he bears little resemblance to the actual person becomes less of a factor as one gets used to his portrayal.  Initially, Dahmer is shown as less of a maniac than an introspective loser who fears being left alone so much that he's compelled to kill those he feels attracted to and keep parts of their bodies as souvenirs.  (You almost sympathize with him as he lovingly cradles a severed head for companionship.)  As the attacks escalate, so does his sadistic streak as the murder sequences become more horrific and brutally graphic.

One of the more disturbing scenes finds Dahmer attempting to turn a hapless captive into a zombie by drilling holes in his head and filling them with chemicals.  Another is lowered into a barrel of acid and fastened inside while still alive.  Perhaps the most elaborate sequence involves some deft directorial touches, a well-crafted build-up with Dahmer displaying some wry behavorial quirks, and an extremely realistic fake head.

Still, the film isn't as exploitative as it could have been, and these powerful scenes of violence and gore are done with an understated, nonsensational style that makes them even eerier while sometimes evoking a sense of melancholy.  Originally hired to score the film before being promoted to director, David R. Bowen's subtle stylistic touches add to the mood while the lighting and cinematography give everything the look of a high-end 70s or 80s exploitation flick.



Adding to the effect is the drive-in quality print used for this DVD release, with its jagged edits and often gritty look that almost make it seem like a rough cut at times.  Despite these factors (and if you liked GRINDHOUSE, they should be a plus), the film looks good for a low-budget 35mm feature and is made with care.  Bowen states in the commentary track that he was aiming for a theatrical release--hindered in part by the controversy of the subject--and this is borne out by the obvious effort put into making it more than just the average exploitation flick.

The DVD from Intervision is in full-screen with Dolby 2.0 sound.  No subtitles.  Extras include a commentary track with director Bowen and writer/star Crew, plus trailers for this and other Intervision releases.

Outstanding performances by most of the actors playing Dahmer's victims help sell the film's realism.  Other castmembers, particularly a couple of Jeffrey's neighbor ladies who complain vehemently about the stench eminating from his apartment, are also fine, as is the beautiful Lisa Marks as Dahmer's probation officer.  But it's Crew who carries the film, both as writer and star, and he makes THE SECRET LIFE: JEFFREY DAHMER a portrait of a serial killer that's worth looking at even though you probably won't like what you see.  And it's all the more disturbing because, in this case, the monster is real.

THE SECRET LIFE: JEFFREY DAHMER -- DVD Review by Porfle