David DeFalco’s directorial debut is a 21st century attempt to satirize the horror genre. Granted, after Wes Craven’s Scream, meeting said agenda with any amount of success is a hefty task to say the least, though The Back Lot Murders tends to rely upon Craven’s postmodern masterpiece a bit too much at times, the work nonetheless stays afloat due in part to its earnest vitality and its own sense of quirky humor.
The Wiseguys, a mediocre band at best, are set to make their first rock video on the back lot of some of Universal Studio’s current productions, due solely to the fact that the lead singer, Dez (Brian Gaskill), is dating the head of Empire Studio’s daughter, Gina (Heather Tindell). However, things are off to a bad start once the band’s bitchy agent, Stephanie (Priscilla Barnes), appears on-set with the effeminate video director, Henry (Charles Fleischer). Yet, to complicate matters outside of the management’s inability to synchronize efforts, the band members and crew begin mysteriously disappearing.
From the offset of the film, one gets the strong impression that, due to the heightened caricatures and humor, DeFalco is moving into Scream territory and, indeed, shortly after the opening scene, we slam head-first into slasher satire but with an ever-so-slight twist: a parody of the superficiality of music videos. Some could argue that the medium needn’t be mocked in that it does so automatically, but considering how many blatant Scream rip-offs are flooding the theaters, brownie points are allotted on this count. The same critic could complain that the characterizations and humor, atop the duel killers (oops, did I say that in a review?), puts DeFalco back in the negatives, yet I would offer that the cynical comedy compensates for the obvious narrative faux pas.
What are we left with after the differences are divided? First, the presence of many has-been actors–Priscilla Barnes, Corey Haim, Ken Sagoes to name a few–poignantly cast as glorified mockeries of their latter-day selves. Two, though some reviewers renounce the filmmakers’ decision to use Universal’s sets after hours as lethargic, for anyone who’s attempted to navigate a film production on a restricted budget, the move is utter genius. Three, The Back Lot Murders, aside from parodying the genre, parodies itself as we are greeted with a masked killer, gratuitous gore, nudity via silicone (with Playboy Bunnies–what else?), and hedonistic sex. Lastly, and perhaps most admirably, is the inclusion of a rock video by the band Shinebox, poorly shot and depicting all of the no-no’s outlined during the film.
Admittedly, the production does get a bit sloppy toward the end, leaving one with the feeling that perhaps DeFalco and Co. ran out of money before everything rapped. Also, I can’t help but feel that a blaring missed opportunity exists in the filmmakers’ opting to put the stalker in an Elvis mask as opposed to, say, a Cory Feldman disguise. But that’s just my two cents.
Overall, David DeFalco’s The Back Lot Murders is an entertaining effort. Though by no means a masterpiece and a third-world nation compared to Wes Craven’s Scream, Charles Fleischer’s performance makes the otherwise standard film a pleasure to watch as the work teeters between typical and fun throughout. If nothing else, how often do you see a director successfully string along a series of truly funny quips about fog?
-Egregious Gurnow
- 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
