Adverse

 "Adverse" (2020, Brian Metcalf, Black Jellybeans Productions, Potato Eater Productions, Red Compass Media, Lionsgate).

Ethan (Thomas Nicholas) is trying to make up for a shady past. He is the sole guardian of his little sister, Mia (Kelly Arjen), and is barely making ends meet with a job as a ride share driver. His life is about to turn upside down, however, when it transpires that Mia has gotten herself into debt with some dangerous people. Taking the job as the driver for chief gangster, Kaden (Mickey Rourke), Ethan infiltrates the crime syndicate in an attempt to exact some revenge.

A dark tale with no true winners. The film starts off as a gritty neo noir thriller before ramping up into a more action driven piece. We follow Ethan as he reluctantly invades the criminals' operation, driving not only Kaden around, but also his associate Jake (Matt Ryan), who is suspicious of Ethan and has an unpredictable temper. Ethan also has to win over the other gang members in order to work his way up to Kaden; swallowing his pride to get close to them. 

The film takes its time to introduce Ethan, Mia and their world before ramping up in pacing. We meet Ethan's parole officer, Dr. Cruz (Lou Diamond Phillips) and his overbearing ride share boss (Sean Astin) and are introduced to his lonely, chain-smoking neighbour. Metcalf himself appears as the desperate nightclub owner and drug dealer who sets the whole sorry tale into motion. 

As Ethan's world begins to collapse, he attempts to take back control. The film boasts some impressively violent scenes and a fantastic 'first shooter' (or should I say, 'first tyre iron') style scene in a warehouse that demonstrates that Ethan has been pushed over a line he will not be able to come back from. 

Despite the short time we spend with the characters, the cast bring a depth to them. Mickey Rourke delivers an excellent performance as the ailing crime boss, Kaden, who is both disgusted at but resigned to continue his crime legacy. The film also lets Thomas Nicholas pull away from the more comedic roles he's known for to deliver the sympathetic, but gritty performance as lead man, Ethan. Kelly Arjen brings out the vulnerability in the feisty, headstrong Mia. And Matt Ryan's Jake is a quick tempered sadist who takes pleasure in violence, but also has a separate, softer façade for the outside world.

Available now on several VOD services in the US and also available to purchase on Region 1 DVD. The film is also playing the Ramsgate International Film Festival in the UK on 3rd June 2021. Hopefully, it will roll out onto other platforms globally in the not too distant future.

[Image: Lionsgate, et al]

Hani

Fade to Black

"Fade to Black" (1980, Vernon Zimmerman, Leisure Investment Company, Movie Ventures) is about a movie buff assuming the personalities of his favourite antagonists from the screen to exact bloody revenge on those who have done him wrong.

Eric Binford (Dennis Christopher) is a lonely and awkward young man living with a woman he believes to be his aunt (Eve Brent) in LA. She is confined to a wheelchair and constantly shouts at and belittles him, blaming him for her current state of affairs. Eric works at a movie distribution company and is constantly heckled by workplace bullies (including Mickey Rourke) and lives only to watch movies. That is until he sees the beautiful Marilyn O-Connor (Linda Kerridge) an Australian Marilyn Monroe lookalike and aspiring actress, and becomes completely obsessed with her.

When the heckling becomes too much for him, and Marilyn seemingly stands him up on a date something snaps in Eric and he begins to disguise himself as the villains from his favourite movies and murdering those responsible for his misery in ways inspired by the movies...

A pretty dark premise and a very engaging film that starts as an intrigue and underdog story, and ends with a tragedy about mental health, loneliness and obsession. But there's humour to be found in there, too.

The film takes care to set up the kill scenes with lighting and effects reminiscent of the films Eric is mimicking. It's all in the killer's mind, of course, but it lets the viewer experience the way he's seeing the world from his perspective. Eric is the hero of his own movie, and what he's doing is completely justified. But the fact he selects, with exception of Hop-along Cassidy, mostly villains; the mummy, Dracula, Tommy Udo... hint towards Eric's recognition that deep down he knows he's not really the hero.

The makeup and costumes are good fun and, although the kill scenes have a fair bit of silliness to them, there's an excellent scene with the Dracula makeup that seems to hint at some of Eric's personality still behind the obsession. But he completes the look and loses his senses once again.

Dennis Christopher creates a creepy and distasteful character, but also manages to inspire our sympathies despite his murderous and grim antics and annoying air of superiority when talking about his obsession; cinema. His descent into madness is caricaturish, but the climatic scenes at the Chinese Theatre in LA are intense and tragic.

Managing to be a film about the dangers of movie obsession leading too far, and also oddly not fully condemning cinephiles as a whole (at the end of the day, the target audience), "Fade to Black" remains an effective film today and is definitely worth checking out.

[Image: Movie Ventures, et al]

Hani

Angel Heart

"Angel Heart" (1987, Alan Parker, Carolco Pictures) is a neo-noir horror set in 1950s New Orleans.

Harry Angel (Mickey Rourke) is a New York P.I. who finds himself hired by the mysterious Louis Cyphre (Robert De Niro) to find a missing singer known as Johnny Favourite. As Angel gets further into his investigations he finds that things may not be as they seem...

An interesting thriller that takes the viewer on the unsettling journey with Angel as he slowly begins to unravel the nightmare he's found himself in and work out how he's connected. The film enjoys some dark imagery and, although for today's viewer it might seem clear from early on where the plot is headed, the journey is enjoyable. The dark noir atmosphere is punctuated by some effective gore and a haunting ending. There is also a violent and stylistic love scene featuring Rourke and Lisa Bonet which leads to a somewhat disturbing climax.

[Image: Carolco Pictures]

Hani