Written and Directed by Insane Mike Saunders
From Iowa’s Prescribed Films comes Lights, Camera . . . KILL!, the young filmmaking group’s tenth effort. A take on media and modern true crime (LCK claims to be “Based on a true story”), the film weaves a twisted web of voyeurism and murder that leaves no one unscathed.
It all starts with a couple of young punks out for a night of crime, breaking into cars “for shits and giggles.” Said shits and giggles are rudely interrupted by a wandering beat cop, who chases the kids away and ends up getting his out-of-shape ass hit by a car in the process.
Having apparently gotten away clean the boys, Kyle (Jacob Pollmann) and Hawk (Steven Tracy), examine their haul of an 8mm camcorder. With a tape inside; hoping for a little amateur porn the guys sit down for a look, but instead of sex they get what appears to be snuff. The flickering video shows a chubby blonde tied to a table, stripped of her top, and mercilessly butchered by a dark figure in a lace mask. The disturbing video takes an even more sinister turn when the figure pauses midway through his work to stare directly into the camera, saying in a low distorted voice, “I know you’re watching.”
Completely stunned, the lads now find themselves in a vicious little quandary; having just heard a news report on the escalating number of car break-ins in the area, going to the police and explaining where the camera came from doesn’t seem like a good idea. Further shattering any notion of contacting the authorities is a bulletin reporting on the death of the officer who attempted to apprehend the thieves, accompanied by a shot of the dead cop’s partner swearing revenge on the punks who killed his buddy.
Hawk’s conscience starts working overtime, but Kyle is adamantly against turning in the camera and facing the consequences. Soon the police aren’t the greatest of their worries however, as the video killer begins stalking the pair with threatening letters. Arguments and nightmares ensue under the pressure of being hunted by a vigilante cop and a psychotic killer, and the dire situation escalates when the boys destroy the tape in an effort to eliminate the evidence and escape from their mounting paranoia, only to have the killer contact them with his decision to make new tapes. The ever-increasing anxiety is heightened by the domestic and interpersonal problems of the boys and their families, who are also gradually and fatally drawn into the killer’s ever-enclosing design.
As the body count grows, thanks to multiple stabbings and ax murders, the killer arranges a climactic confrontation intended to dispatch all interlopers and at the same time demonstrate his perversely moral “message.” In the process he leaves behind a legacy that’s not only meant to warn others away from interfering with his work, but also insures that he will remain busy for quite some time . . .
From Videodrome to The Ring the theme of video vengeance, or of less-than-scrupulous aficionados becoming tragically entangled in some particularly shady genre, is not a new one. Which makes a novice film’s entry into a field traversed by more notable filmmakers somewhat questionable. It’s an enthralling idea, combining elements of the supernatural (in this case the killer’s eerie knowledge of his intended victims’ actions) with the snuff film motif, and one that has great potential. But it’s a potential that’s not entirely maximized in this presentation – the idea comes through quite clearly, and is somewhat chilling, but the execution leaves something to be desired.
As befits an independent film the acting is all of decidedly amateur quality, which matches the less-than-sparkling dialogue. But the filmmakers do their best to overshadow these flaws with an elaborately intertwining scenario. Storyline touches such as the dead cop’s partner’s drug problem, Hawk’s affair with Kyle’s sister Selina (Jill Emmert), and the problems between Hawk and his family all help flesh out the characters and script. The dichotomy between the two main characters is fairly well-handled as well, as Kyle is a lazy, undisciplined and amoral brat for whom it is impossible to feel any sympathy, while Hawk is a more likeable and complex character, a difference that creates ample opportunity for conflict.
A definite homemade feel pervades Lights, Camera . . . KILL!, as on top of the rather flat shot-on-MiniDV look of the production the apparent use of the homes and friends & family members of the filmmakers imparts a bland, homey look to the picture. While this bleakness may be somewhat less than captivating, it does underscore the boredom that led the boys to petty crime, and thus their predicament, in the first place.
The film’s low budget also shows not only in the unadorned sets (and the wardrobe by “Thrift”), but in some scenes’ lack of detail. For example, the TV news anchor whose set is simply a black backdrop, the beat cop’s “partner” who is always seen in plainclothes and running shoes, and the scene in which it looks like the weapon of choice is an empty 1.75 liter plastic liquor bottle (?!). The action sequences can be a little lazy as well, beginning with the lackluster footchase and car accident. Blows are all clear misses, and there’s yet another one of those laughable scenes in which a guy on foot outruns a pursuing car on a straightaway.
But at other times the filmmaking is engagingly sharp, as in the way in which the killer’s first video is presented as a jumpy flawed recording that both enhances the sordidness of the scenario captured therein and reinforces the notion that the video is from an outside source. Some of the homemade makeup effects are rather effective as well: although the crew isn’t quite able to accomplish a scene of the knife plunging directly into the bare flesh of the first victim, her gagging and spitting through her own blood very capably conveys her demise. And in one dream sequence there’s a nice Savini-esque stabbing as the nightmare victim gets it in the back and out through the chest. (The simple but effective score by Assistant Director Jason Bolinger is worth mentioning as well.)
With more extensive casting and location shooting, some actual filmstock, and practice with the FX, Prescribed has the potential to create a stable of minor horror classics. They’re not quite there yet, but may be worth watching until they arrive.
NOTE: The screener to Lights, Camera . . . KILL! Came on VHS, so any features available on the DVD version were unavailable for review.
-Crites
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
