Customer Reviews

Smash Cut

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For just a minute, forget about the number of stars used to rate this film. Anyone who watches this movie will fit into one of two categories: Those familiar with shlock horror flicks of the 60's and 70's, and those who aren't.

The movie is meant to be a nod to Herschell Gordon Lewis, considered by horror fans to be the Godfather of Gore. What you need to know going into the movie is that it's meant to be an over-the-top splatterfest that simultaneously seems to poke fun and pay tribute to horror movies of old. Even though it was shot for only 400k in Canada, the movie is intentionally given a low-budget look.

That being said, diehard fans of 60's and 70's horror movies will probably love this movie. There's plenty of gore, and terrific 1970's erotic film music. But if you don't fall into that group that digs the older stuff, you'll more than likely hate this film.

While I understood the entire point of the movie, I personally didn't find it entertaining, though I can see how some fans of old-school horror movies will eat it up. The most interesting aspect of the film to me was that it starred Sasha Grey, who I thought did a great job in Steven Soderbergh's film the Girlfriend Experience. She did Smash Cut first, but this movie was actually released after Girlfriend Experience elevated her beyond adult video work.

The verdict: Fans of old school horror movies should absolutely check it out. But if that's not you, I doubt that you would enjoy this movie the slightest bit.

It was fun watching the director go mad and basically kill everyone around him for this and the reason. The deaths were intense and there were some good yucky moments. I have never seen any adult films with Sasha Grey, but i think she did a good job in this film. All the people he killed, he used for his new film starring Sasha as the main and only actor. It's another film about killing people in real life for their films, but it's still a good one to see.

In recent years we've seen a buttload of horror films that claim to be spoof/homage/throwbacks to horror films of yesteryear. The Tarantino/Rodriguez "Grindhouse" project being one of the more popular examples of this. Most of these films are rather lousy in my opinion, and they usually make me wish I were watching one of the original films that they are spoofing to begin with.
I really liked Smash Cut though. Unfortunately it's only weirdos like me that will really like it. Sure, it kinda stands on it's own, but it's numerous references to the films of Herschell Gordon Lewis and it's obvious hatred for big studio film companies will be lost on the average Avatar fan.
Specifically the film is an homage to H.G. Lewis(Lewis makes a cameo, as well as Ray Sager who played The Wizard of Gore), but the plot seems to borrow not only from Blood Feast and Color Me Blood Red, but also from Corman's Bucket of Blood. There's a little Brian De Palma homage thrown in there too. In the film, a schlock director, Able Whitman, who is universally hated by critics and moviegoers alike gets the idea to use real body parts as the effects in his newest gore film. His bosses(one of them played by genre favorite Michael Berryman, who keeps a Oscar statue with a blank nameplate on his desk) are breathing down his neck to deliver a financial hit, but Whitman sees himself as an artist and hates being pushed around. Soon his superiors and members of his crew end up as props for the new film. Whitman enlists the help of his screenwriter to figure out how to go about his murders, all the time disguising it to look like script changes to his film.
I thought it was a fun movie, better than alot of the homage-to-old-horror-movie type films that come out. Director Lee Demarbre is obviously a hardcore H.G. Lewis fan. The subplot involving a journalist who enlists the help of an arrogant, slightly gayish, cane toting private detective to investigate the murders is straight out of Lewis' The Gore-Gore Girls. In fact, you could make a drinking game from the Lewis references.
Cult horror hero David Hess takes the lead as Able Whitman. Haven't see him in awhile have we? He's not too bad here. Hess has always played a psychotic, but instead of the savage, woman beating bully he always plays, here he gets to do a little more. He's not a terribly deep character, but it is fun watching a zanier side to Hess. I'm very glad to see him in a leading role again.
Gore? Not too extreme(it certainly doesn't surpass The Gore-Gore Girls), but plentiful and mushy. Considering this is a Lewis homage you'd think there'd actually be more though.
Either way, I can't say that Smash Cut is the must-see horror film of the year, but it was a good time, especially if you're already a fan of the exploitation trash that it's worshiping.

Most indie filmakers couldn't pull off a tongue in cheek H.G. Lewis tribute without it being groan inducing. For the most part, SMASH CUT exceeds expectations. It has a few bad ideas/performances here and there, but more often than not, it succeeds in the most important aspect: It's a lot of fun! David Hess is a joy to watch, and Lewis himself pops in for a few scenes. Sasha Grey doesn't fare quite as well. She's gorgeous to look at, but her delivery is stilted at best. Michael Berryman is always nice to see (even in a ridiculous wig). The gore level is relatively low, but it doesn't really matter. Lewis fans will enjoy the film. Pick it up!