Off Ramp is never subtle. Within the first five minutes, when Trey (Jon Oswald) is released from prison and says a heartfelt goodbye to correctional officer and fellow Juggalo (devoted fan of Insane Clown Posse) Faith (Laura Cayouette), the film begins delivering its message that found family, particularly Juggalo family, is often more loving than blood family. Over the next hour and a half, the movie repeatedly emphasizes that message through plot points, voiceover, a visual motif, and the declarations of love between its central pair. The film follows Trey and his best friend Silas (Scott Turner Schofield), who is introduced caring for his non-verbal grandmother, as they set out for the annual Gathering of the Juggalos. It’s a classic road movie set up, and...
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- 4/8/2024
- Screen Anarchy
One of the most impressive directorial debuts I’ve seen so far in 2018 is Ryan Prows’ Lowlife, the viciously entertaining comedic caper that follows a variety of eclectic characters over the course of one day in Los Angeles, including a famed luchador with a temper (Ricardo Adam Zarate), his pregnant wife (Santana Dempsey), a motel owner (Nicki Micheaux) desperate to save her ailing husband, ana a pair of friends (Jon Oswald and Shaye Ogbonna) who see their friendship tested in unusual ways, with mob boss Teddy “Bear” Haynes (Mark Burnham) squarely at the center of it all.
Daily Dead caught up with Prows earlier this week, and he discussed the process of putting together the script for Lowlife with the writing collective known as Tomm Fondle (the group includes Tim Cairo, Jake Gibson, Maxwell Michael Towson, Ogbonna, and of course, Prows as well), the difficulties of pitching his wildly surprising crime story,...
Daily Dead caught up with Prows earlier this week, and he discussed the process of putting together the script for Lowlife with the writing collective known as Tomm Fondle (the group includes Tim Cairo, Jake Gibson, Maxwell Michael Towson, Ogbonna, and of course, Prows as well), the difficulties of pitching his wildly surprising crime story,...
- 4/7/2018
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
“Lowlife” is not the movie you’d expect from a comedy collective making its first feature: While mordantly humorous, this tale of several lives fatefully intertwining in the dank underbelly of Los Angeles plays its violent, over-the-top events in pokerfaced fashion. Though the backtracking, overlapping episodic structure is reminiscent of “Pulp Fiction,” there’s none of the garrulous snark or fanboy winking Tarantino wannabes customarily indulge in. Instead, this team-written effort by L.A.-based crew Tomm Fondle (of which director Ryan Prows is a member) nicely calibrates a twisty course between straight crime melodrama and black comedy, one that has cult-following potential among adventurous genre fans.
The four chaptered narrative sections rewind to offer backstory, and replay specific action, from different perspectives, though there’s little to no actual repetition. The thing that unites virtually all protagonists is that they’re each eventually imperiled by ties to the ruthless...
The four chaptered narrative sections rewind to offer backstory, and replay specific action, from different perspectives, though there’s little to no actual repetition. The thing that unites virtually all protagonists is that they’re each eventually imperiled by ties to the ruthless...
- 4/3/2018
- by Dennis Harvey
- Variety Film + TV
With a pulpy, non-linear approach to his narrative, co-writer/director Ryan Prows weaves a felonious web with Lowlife, his pitch-black crime comedy that brings together an eclectic crop of characters for an unexpected ride through the sun-drenched streets of Los Angeles through the course of one day. While the film may garner a few Quentin Tarantino comparisons, rest assured that Lowlife confidently marches to the beat of its own unique drum, making this debut feature from Prows one of the most surprising films I’ve seen so far this year.
Lowlife is centered on a rage-fueled Luchador named El Monstruo (Ricardo Adam Zarate), who feels inadequate living in the shadow of his family’s legacy. His penchant for pain makes him the perfect muscle to work for the depraved mob boss Teddy Haynes (Mark Burnham), who dabbles in a bit of everything, from drugs to organ harvesting to sex trafficking.
Lowlife is centered on a rage-fueled Luchador named El Monstruo (Ricardo Adam Zarate), who feels inadequate living in the shadow of his family’s legacy. His penchant for pain makes him the perfect muscle to work for the depraved mob boss Teddy Haynes (Mark Burnham), who dabbles in a bit of everything, from drugs to organ harvesting to sex trafficking.
- 3/28/2018
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Coming to theaters and select VOD platforms in early April from IFC Midnight, the new movie Lowlife is teased in a trailer that has to be seen to be believed.
Directed by Ryan Prows, Lowlife stars Nicki Micheaux, Ricardo Adam Zarate, and Jon Oswald. IFC Midnight will release Lowlife in theaters and on VOD platforms beginning April 6th.
Synopsis: "What happens when you throw together a fallen Mexican wrestler with serious rage issues, a just-out-of-prison ex-con with a regrettable face tattoo, and a recovering junkie motel owner in search of a kidney? That’s the premise of the berserk, blood-spattered, and wickedly entertaining feature debut from Ryan Prows. Set amidst the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles, Lowlife zigzags back and forth in time as it charts how fate—and a ruthless crime boss—connects three down-and-out reprobates mixed up in an organ harvesting scheme that goes from bad to worse to off-the-rails insane.
Directed by Ryan Prows, Lowlife stars Nicki Micheaux, Ricardo Adam Zarate, and Jon Oswald. IFC Midnight will release Lowlife in theaters and on VOD platforms beginning April 6th.
Synopsis: "What happens when you throw together a fallen Mexican wrestler with serious rage issues, a just-out-of-prison ex-con with a regrettable face tattoo, and a recovering junkie motel owner in search of a kidney? That’s the premise of the berserk, blood-spattered, and wickedly entertaining feature debut from Ryan Prows. Set amidst the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles, Lowlife zigzags back and forth in time as it charts how fate—and a ruthless crime boss—connects three down-and-out reprobates mixed up in an organ harvesting scheme that goes from bad to worse to off-the-rails insane.
- 3/28/2018
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
An insane trailer for a new film has been released for a movie called Lowlife. This thing looks like a wild and wacky dark horror action comedy. It certainly looks entertaining!
The sordid lives of small-time criminals collide when an organ harvesting caper goes very, very wrong. A Mexican wrestler with rage issues, a felon with a regrettable face tattoo, and an ex-junkie in search of a kidney collide in this wild, blood splattered adrenaline rush.
The movie obviously isn't going to be for everyone, but if you're a little on the demented side, you'll probably like what you will see in this trailer.
The movie comes from director Ryan Prows and it stars Nicki Micheaux, Ricardo Adam Zarate, Jon Oswald, Shaye Ogbonna, Santana Dempsey, and Mark Burnham. Lowlife in select theaters + on VOD starting April 6th this spring.
The sordid lives of small-time criminals collide when an organ harvesting caper goes very, very wrong. A Mexican wrestler with rage issues, a felon with a regrettable face tattoo, and an ex-junkie in search of a kidney collide in this wild, blood splattered adrenaline rush.
The movie obviously isn't going to be for everyone, but if you're a little on the demented side, you'll probably like what you will see in this trailer.
The movie comes from director Ryan Prows and it stars Nicki Micheaux, Ricardo Adam Zarate, Jon Oswald, Shaye Ogbonna, Santana Dempsey, and Mark Burnham. Lowlife in select theaters + on VOD starting April 6th this spring.
- 3/13/2018
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Exclusive: IFC Midnight has taken U.S. rights to Ryan Prows' directorial debut Lowlife. The audacious black comedy, which premiered at Fantasia Film Festival, centers on a group of small-time criminals whose stories collide when an organ harvesting caper goes very, very wrong. The movie recently had its U.S. premiere at Chicago’s Cinepocalypse Film Festival where it won Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor (for Jon Oswald). IFC Midnight plans a theatrical release in…...
- 11/28/2017
- Deadline
The underbelly of Los Angeles and following characters who are constantly struggling to survive by barely scraping by can feel pretty stale for fans of crime films. The 90’s explored every nook and cranny of this courtesy of Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction and the films that tried to benefit off its success. On paper, you’d think that in 2017, a film like Lowlife where it follows characters who have some connection would be celebrating its 20th anniversary. Yet, Lowlife is a new film and it is one of my favorite independent films of the year.
I will admit that having a luchador as a character in your film will always grab my curiosity, you still need to have a good film to hold my interest. A luchador named El Monstruo (played brilliantly by Ricardo Adam Zarate), who is not as big as his father or his brothers and therefore...
I will admit that having a luchador as a character in your film will always grab my curiosity, you still need to have a good film to hold my interest. A luchador named El Monstruo (played brilliantly by Ricardo Adam Zarate), who is not as big as his father or his brothers and therefore...
- 8/14/2017
- by Andy Triefenbach
- Destroy the Brain
An ex-junkie, ex-convict, and luchador enter a fish taco shack … the punch line is a three-pronged adventure through Compton while engulfed by the shadow of a lunatic pimp moonlighting as a black market organ wholesaler. Director Ryan Prows and the rest of his quintet of writers (Tim Cairo, Jake Gibson, Shaye Ogbonna, and Maxwell Michael Towson) bring together a menagerie of monsters, fiends, thugs, and criminals all searching for an escape in their violently heart-warming film Lowlife. Full of heinous acts justified by a universal goal to save the ones they love, every eccentrically drawn character earns our sympathy despite the blood spilled by their hands. With their worlds colliding just as each appears ready to implode, a common enemy unites the hope within to reclaim their honor.
That villain is Teddy Bear Haynes (Mark Burnham): restaurateur to the public, homicidal madman to the streets. The guy has a...
That villain is Teddy Bear Haynes (Mark Burnham): restaurateur to the public, homicidal madman to the streets. The guy has a...
- 7/25/2017
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
Ryan Prows’ Lowlife is a true-to-form sonofabitch. From frame one, the film smacks of Tarantino hoodishness – but sustainability is key. A larger story is divided into chapters, as Prows navigates this messy grey zone where “decent” people merely hope to survive. Lives collide, all connected by a single taco-slinging underworld boss. There’s vibrant character work and a surprising fluidity in jagged narration, but one segment remains the ugly ducking of this cartoonish Barrio calamity. That’s the only thing bogging down Prows’ big-picture vision, and even at that, remaining cinematics do all the talking.
The fun of Lowlife is experiencing scenes as they come at you, so I’ll be brief and spoiler-free. Necessary information is that Teddy “Bear” Haynes (Mark Burnham) is an asshole you don’t want to mess with. El Monstruo (Ricardo Adam Zarate) swears allegiance to his “Jefe,” but finds himself betrayed but pregnant wife...
The fun of Lowlife is experiencing scenes as they come at you, so I’ll be brief and spoiler-free. Necessary information is that Teddy “Bear” Haynes (Mark Burnham) is an asshole you don’t want to mess with. El Monstruo (Ricardo Adam Zarate) swears allegiance to his “Jefe,” but finds himself betrayed but pregnant wife...
- 7/22/2017
- by Matt Donato
- We Got This Covered
Mix the insane violence and weaving vignettes of “Pulp Fiction” with the seedy underbelly of “Breaking Bad,” and you have Ryan Prows’ directorial debut, “Lowlife,” a messy but ultimately interesting look a a group of downtrodden individuals who get mixed up in an organ harvesting scheme.
“Lowlife” is broken into four interweaving vignettes that move back and forth through time, slowly revealing different sides to each character, coloring in the story, and tangling them up even tighter into a web of blackmail, deception, kidnapping, and revenge. And the film’s title can certainly be applied to every character in their own right, as each vignette reveals more about their character and the mess they all have found themselves in.
The film opens with an Ice agent pulling off a sketchy, solo raid of a cheap motel at night. Crystal (Nicki Micheaux), the motel owner, tries to step in and save...
“Lowlife” is broken into four interweaving vignettes that move back and forth through time, slowly revealing different sides to each character, coloring in the story, and tangling them up even tighter into a web of blackmail, deception, kidnapping, and revenge. And the film’s title can certainly be applied to every character in their own right, as each vignette reveals more about their character and the mess they all have found themselves in.
The film opens with an Ice agent pulling off a sketchy, solo raid of a cheap motel at night. Crystal (Nicki Micheaux), the motel owner, tries to step in and save...
- 7/21/2017
- by Jamie Righetti
- Indiewire
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