Reviews

After watching Jim Haggerty's new film, the answer may be no one. Haggerty's newest film (actually filmed a few years ago, but held up in post-production), is a departure from his normal horror/comedy efforts, and goes the darker route of a more serious, film noir about some very unlikeable people, and the things they are willing to do for money. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to give a plot synopsis without spoilers, so i'm not going to try. Haggerty throws one plot twist after another at you, and after a while, it seems like nothing is what it seems. The story is well-written, and the characters are fleshed out with enough dialog to really make them believable. The acting is the most consistent in any of Haggerty's films, with special mention going to the beautiful Amanda Ladd, who turns in a performance worthy of an award. The film is edited well- it never feels like it's dragging or losing momentum, something which has sometimes been a problem in Haggerty's other films. The film was made on a shoestring budget, so don't expect million dollar production values. However it is an absorbing story/character study, and deserves to be seen. Here's hoping that Haggerty decides to make some more films of this nature in the future.

For Jim Haggerty's fourth film, he has enlisted the help of Phil Lewis, lead singer of the band LA Guns. Lewis shines in the title role as Dr Phineas Gorgon, a doctor with some unusual prescriptions for helping people solve their problems. Vic Martino also does a great job as the detective trying to make sense of it all, and stop Gorgon from his evil ways. The acting in this film overall is the most consistent of Haggerty's films, and combined with some great dialogue and an engrossing story line, really keeps you interested in the film. All the women are gorgeous, and as is the norm with Haggerty's films, there is plenty of nudity. Most of his films also contain a good deal of humor, and this one is no exception. For a film made on practically no budget, it's easy to forgive some of the lighting, sound, and editing flaws, none of which detract from the film in a major way. A couple of the scenes however, didn't come off as well as the rest of the film, especially one featuring two women fighting. They seemed like they were having a laugh and a good time, rather than trying to kill each other. For someone who had never acted in a film before, Lewis is very effective, especially when dishing out some of his "prescriptions"; you can feel the pleasure he takes in the sadism he bestows on his victims. As another commenter noted, there is not a whole lot of special effects or gore in this film. Instead, Haggerty relies on the story, and the characters to keep the film interesting, and that's a welcome change from many of the movies in this genre currently being released. This film is recommended for anyone who enjoys horror movies that rely on atmosphere and plot, as it has the feel of some of the classic Hammer films from the 60's and 70's. If you enjoy those types of films, check this one out.

Jim Haggerty has come up with a winner for this, his third film. A homage to low budget horror anthologies, the film contains three vignettes and a wrap-around story to tie the whole thing together. We begin the film by meeting Becky, who receives a phone call from an anonymous threatening stranger. He demands that she listen to a story, then tell him one, then listen to a third. In our first story, we meet Victor, a man who thinks he is being followed by a man in a tuxedo that only he can see. There is a lot of ambiguity in this story- is the man real, or only in Victor's imagination? The acting in this story was good, with Jae Mosc really shining in the lead role. The other actors were not quite up to par with his performance, but overall, everyone did well, and Haggerty really conveys a sense of confusion, suspense, and dread with this tale. There were a few issues with the lighting in some scenes, but for a movie of this budget, it is to be expected. The second tale is the story of housewife Carol, and her overbearing and abrasive husband Jeff. Vic Martino does such a great job as the Jeff, he practically steals the whole show- he is spot on and most of his raving is hilarious. Haggerty doesn't allow this to veer into cartoonish behavior altogether however, as he makes sure to include the meanness aspect of such behavior. Very smart move on his part. Back to the story, Carol finds a tribal statue in a store, and brings it home, which causes a 180 degree turnaround in her behavior, and leads us to the shocking conclusion to this tale. The segment seemed like it dragged a bit, but not enough that i would say it detracted form the film for me. Haggerty saved the best segment for last, and that is the tale of retired ventriloquist Abe, and his sick wife Isabelle. Bud Stafford and Kaye Bramblett give the best performances in the film as Abe and Isabelle, and i almost thought they were real-life husband and wife. Cathy St George also does a great job as the therapist. Haggerty adds a very human side to this story, and by not being afraid to bring up some topics of real life concern and emotional weight, he lifts this story up far past the level where it could have stayed. As for the story itself, Abe comes out of retirement to help pay for Isabelle's medication, gets hired to perform at a party for some (mostly) obnoxious youths, and we learn why Isabelle had reservations about Abe working with his dummy Phineas again. Haggerty also makes a statement with the behavior of Jenny (the nice girl, whose birthday party Abe is hired to perform at) and her boyfriend, and "friends", a group that make pond scum seem like convent dwellers. Bud and Kaye excluded, some of the acting in this segment was a bit hit or miss, and again there were a few issues with lighting. Also, the voice of Phineas is such that it is sometimes difficult to understand what he is saying. None of this stops this from being the best segment in the film however. We end by returning to the wrap around segment, where Becky learns with surprise who her phone tormentor is, and then Haggerty throws in one last twist to end the film. One thing not mentioned so far is that there is quite a bit of humor in the movie, and Haggerty knows how to make it work in the context of this genre, which is a skill he develops further with each film he releases. There is also quite a bit of nudity and a fair amount of gore and violence, but Haggerty is smart enough not to overdo it with any of these aspects, and keeps the film pretty well-balanced throughout. Overall, this is fun movie, you can tell that a lot of hard work and enthusiasm went into making it, and it makes you look forward to see what Haggerty has in store for us with future releases. One also can't help but wonder what kind of film he could make if he was given a bigger budget to work with. We can only hope that at some point that opportunity will present itself.