90's American Horror Part Forty-Seven

THE VAGRANT

(1992)
Dir - Chris Walas
Overall: GOOD

A ridiculous home invasion thriller comedy from Mel Brooks' production company Brooksfilms, The Vagrant is a bonafide treat for Bill Paxton fans and has some demented glee to excuse its unmistakable shortcomings.  The second and last theatrical effort from special effects man-turned director Chris Walas, its script by Richard Jefferies allegedly sat on the shelf for a decade and is ripe with plot holes and goofy inconsistencies.  Hinging on the premise of a psychotic homeless person obsessively terrorizing Paxton's yuppie dweeb to the point where the latter's sanity is constantly in question and Michael Ironside's police detective goes beyond both his jurisdiction and the ways of the law in order to catch who he thinks is a serial killer, it is all wisely played as a black comedy since how could it not be?  Paxton is delightful as he loses his mind to the point of fleeing the city and taking a management job at a trailer park, shacking up with a jolly Patrika Darbo, and growing a mullet, plus a handful of other familiar faces help keep the nyuck nyucks in check, particularly Colleen Camp, Ironside, and Darbo who all get to indulge in various levels of scenery-chewing.   Even if the story is asinine and the Paxton's frustration is played as a long-winded gag that the audience can share, (for better or worse), it nails its absurd, R-rated tone.

 

SKINNER

(1993)

Dir - Ivan Nagy

Overall: MEH

 

After a decade and a half in television, director Ivan Nagy churned out the oddball, straight-to-video slasher Skinner, which is notable for some of the on-screen personnel, as well as its sloppy tonal issues.  A bargain basement production utilizing sleazy motels and dilapidated industrial parks, it is an ugly-looking movie that basks in the demented exploits of its serial killer antagonist, played by the effortlessly quirky Ted Raimi in a rare top-billed role.  Depending on who you ask, Raimi is either perfectly or miscast as a murderer who skins his victims and is actually named Skinner, (at least as far as we know).  Dweebish and awkward one minute, charmingly adorable the next, making Daffy Duck noises as he runs around covered in his victim's flesh, or, (in the most eyebrow raising instance), literally wearing blackface while donning a stereotypical African American accent, Raimi is anything but boring on screen.  Rikki Lake and Traci Lords are pleasant additions as well, with the later doing her best to chew the scenery even if the sound design renders nearly all of her dialog as incomprehensible whispers.  As gory and monotonously plotted as any other low-rent slasher movie, both its accidental and intentional wackiness and sleaze elevate it just enough to be of interest.

 

DARK CITY

(1998)

Dir - Alex Proyas

Overall: GOOD

Alex Proyas' follow up the the Gothic urban comic book adaptation of The Crow was Dark City; an equally stylish conglomerate of German Expressionism, film noir, The Twilight Zone, Greek mythology, Terry Gilliam's Brazil, and spectacle-infused B-movies.  Shot entirely on sound stages in Sydney, Australia, such a tactic is appropriate for the artificial location of the title which is home to a barrage of perpetually aloof people going about their existence without ever seeing the sun or remembering how to commute away from their metropolis.  The out-of-time set design is wonderfully realized, bathed in dark greens and imposing shadows, with the mysterious Strangers uniquely resembling a cross between giallo serial killers, Darth Vader without his helmet, and Max Schreck in Nosferatu.  Many details are gradually laid out in Proyas, Lem Dobbs, and David S. Goyer's script, which keeps the audience in just the right amount of befuddlement while distracting them with lush visuals and a sinister tone.  The recognizable cast do solid work, with Kiefer Sutherland's "one...word...at...a...time" speaking psychiatrist and Richard O'Brien's menacing Mr. Hand being the most eccentric and scene-stealing.  The big, loud, special effects-laden finale may dip its toes into schlock terrain more than is agreeable, but the movie is otherwise so inventive and effectively puzzling that said final set piece serves as a fun, popcorn-munching note to go out on.