OK, so I usually don't do this, but I felt compelled after watching this film to ward off other viewers who might be interested. I am a lover of bad movies and trash flicks. Troll 2 was hysterical, Showgirls is on my top 20 favorites, and there will always be a special place in my heart for Ray Dennis Steckler (far more deserving than Ed Wood of worst/underrated director). All that said, Straight to Hell sucks. And not in a "so bad its funny" or in any cool cult way (yes Grace Jones, Joe Strummer, Dennis Hopper, The Pogues, and Dennis Hopper are in it). It's boring. Like really boring, and not in an interesting Andy Warhol/European art film way. The plot of a bunch of bungling bandits who encounter a small town controlled by the Pogues that leads to a bloody showdown is muddled by, well, its hard to say. The director's films aren't bad, Walker is totally underrated (oh and do not believe for an instant anyone who states "if you like Repo Man, you'll like this". You won't.)The cast isn't really that terrible either. In fact the bad acting might of worked for the film. Even Courtney Love who gets a lot of sh*t for her obnoxious whiny role might have been mildly entertaining (though there is a lot stacked up against her outside this film I guess to warrant contempt). The setting is well realized (easy, a desert sh*thole). The problem is the execution of the script, if there was one. One does get the feeling this was just a big excuse for some hipster party, and we, the outsider audience, are left with the consequences. But there is no build up in tension, character interactions are proved meaningless or are not developed by the films end, there is a lot of standing around talking about coffee, Elvis, sex, and other pseudo-pretentious whatever, which is fine and dandy except it amounts to squat. Characters come and go, and unless you're REALLY paying attention, you'll get an explanation. And the purposeful jokes fall flat due to the bad execution of timing. The film drags. Even Dennis Hopper's cameo is deadened by the supposed rivalry between the two gangs (and the fact his weapons are useless, another unfunny joke). Oddly enough, the film might of fared better if it focused more on Grace Jones and Hopper, as their (very) brief appearance usually gets credited as the best part in the film. I'm being as honest as I possibly can be, this is an awful movie. If you want bizzarro convoluted Western weirdness, watch Alejandro Jodorwsky> If you want a cameo filled punk film filled with dated pretension, watch Jubilee. Hell, re-watch a movie you really really love instead. Let this film be forgotten. Really.
Review of Straight to Hell
Straight to Hell
(1987)
Die Hipster Scum (A Warning to the Interested Victims, er, Viewers)
4 March 2008