Although initially attracted by an image of what looked like hook-suspension on the video cover, this movie was recommended to me by someone in the scene, and, afforded the opportunity to purchase it for under $10, i took a chance on watching it. Ultimately, i am glad, and i hope to share it with you folks in HELL at an upcoming meeting.
The "protagonist", Michael Holloway ( Balthazar Getty), a newly married impending father, and a recovering substance abuser stuck in a depressing job at a 24-hr. convenience store, appeared to me more a vehicle for moving the plot along than a three-dimensional character.
The insidious Stuart Chapell, (played by Peter Weller ) proved to be a much more intriguing individual, especially as his true nature became evident. To me he was the epitome of a suave, amoral, cultured sadist, the type that is so seductive and disarming as they lead a confused and impressionable 'submissive" into the "abyss" of their own degeneracy.
Distracted by the somewhat vapid "Eyes Wide Shut" - type beginning, and uninspiring, but ,i suppose, necessary, domestic details,and strange impressionistic repetitions, i did not realize where the film was going - not so much plot-wise as thematically, so i was very impressed by the conclusion
While the "scene" enactment's, both mild and intense, were very compelling and relatively believable,this was not a film about BDSM, but about the dark side of human nature, and its inevitable persistence. ( i was wryly amused that a"mild" erotic BDSM club fell some where on the depravity continuum between campy male strippers, and what appeared to be ostensibly an opium den, while "heavy" S/m directly proceeded a deadly serious game of high-stakes 'Russian Roulette."!
The ending surprised me, until i realized what Chapell was supposed to represent..
And then i began thinking about the movie "Quills", and about the influence a brilliant mind and Dominant personality can exert over others...while bringing to the surface their suppressed, or less honorable desires...
In a word - Chilling - and definitely worth the price "admission"!
~MWv~ "What fresh HELL is this?" ~Dorothy Parker~
The "protagonist", Michael Holloway ( Balthazar Getty), a newly married impending father, and a recovering substance abuser stuck in a depressing job at a 24-hr. convenience store, appeared to me more a vehicle for moving the plot along than a three-dimensional character.
The insidious Stuart Chapell, (played by Peter Weller ) proved to be a much more intriguing individual, especially as his true nature became evident. To me he was the epitome of a suave, amoral, cultured sadist, the type that is so seductive and disarming as they lead a confused and impressionable 'submissive" into the "abyss" of their own degeneracy.
Distracted by the somewhat vapid "Eyes Wide Shut" - type beginning, and uninspiring, but ,i suppose, necessary, domestic details,and strange impressionistic repetitions, i did not realize where the film was going - not so much plot-wise as thematically, so i was very impressed by the conclusion
While the "scene" enactment's, both mild and intense, were very compelling and relatively believable,this was not a film about BDSM, but about the dark side of human nature, and its inevitable persistence. ( i was wryly amused that a"mild" erotic BDSM club fell some where on the depravity continuum between campy male strippers, and what appeared to be ostensibly an opium den, while "heavy" S/m directly proceeded a deadly serious game of high-stakes 'Russian Roulette."!
The ending surprised me, until i realized what Chapell was supposed to represent..
And then i began thinking about the movie "Quills", and about the influence a brilliant mind and Dominant personality can exert over others...while bringing to the surface their suppressed, or less honorable desires...
In a word - Chilling - and definitely worth the price "admission"!
~MWv~ "What fresh HELL is this?" ~Dorothy Parker~