|
EVIL LAUGH (1988)
Directed by Dominick Brascia
Program Power/Lucky 13 DVD
Reviewed 12.08.05
Review by Joseph A. Ziemba
THE FILM
Right around the halfway point of
Evil Laugh, I felt the
need to sober up. No drinks had
sloshed down the pipes, but my head
was in a funk. I walked to the window,
lifted the glass, and winced as
the cold December air bit through
my face. Peering at the city skyline,
I said to myself, "You are
the only person within a 1000 mile
radius watching Evil Laugh
at this very moment. Therefore,
you are distinguished." That
did it. I was ready for round two.
Oh, Evil Laugh. Just when
I think I've laughed my
last laugh in the spellbinding land
of terrible slashers, there you
are; arms opened wide with a ruthless
house cleaning montage, dozens of
homoerotic tendencies, and the fattiest
fatty-fat Police Chief of them all.
Ah, but you've also made a fatal
mistake. Intentional tongue-in-cheek
comedy in a late 80s slasher means
certain death. You pile it on. I'm
torn. Then the killer shows up in
off-the-rack dishpan gloves and
a pair of orthopedic Nikes (complete
with gray velcro!). Naturally, you
are forgiven.
A group of college interns (aged
27 to 38) convene at a secluded
California mansion. Their feathered-hair
friend, Jerry, is studying to be
a Pediatrician; everyone's gonna
help out to get the house in shape
for his new practice. Nice. If you
think that's weird, wait'll you
hear buff dudes in tight shorts
peppering their conversations with
"C'mon, help us load the jack
and tighten the nuts!" and
"C'mon, rub yourself...like
this!" All of the sudden, there's
a naked guy's ass, a nerd's groping
hand, and a big-boobed bimbo's ecstasy...all
for a practical joke. Move over,
Bob Hope! The killer conjures up
an evil Popeye cackle and the blood
flows, be it by microwave head baking
or sledgehammer to the eyes. Sometimes,
gut-wrenching rock songs overlap
each other. Is it all intentional?
Or is everyone involved really that
dumb? Go rub yourself.
Lame horror references (Fangoria,
Freddy K., Jason). Reaction shots
galore. A gay actor failing to convince
us otherwise. Yes, Evil Laugh, you
are a dated fiasco with an awful
name. I thank you for that. To avoid
passing out in dumbfounded bliss,
I made another leap for the window.
Questions began to swirl. Is it
possible for a man to breathe while
wearing such confining jockey shorts?
Does the crashing of a lamp really
sound like the pay-off of a slot
machine? Can people really accidentally
pee on each other in broad daylight?
The cold air rushed in again. I
was at ease...even after the second
ending.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
This early, long out of print DVD
from defunct company Program Power
looks OK; exactly like a 16 mm horror
film from '88 should. The full frame
picture is a little fuzzy, but imperfections
are nil. The colors are nice and
washy, while the Dolby Stereo (!)
soundtrack showcases the advantage
of train tunnel recording.
EXTRAS
Evil or not, the laughs just don't
stop. In a thorough 28 minute camcorder
interview, director Dominick Brascia
and writer/star Steven Baio (yep,
Chachi's brother) name drop Charlie
Sheen and Vestron Video before it
all goes to hell: "Also, there's
the Hitchcock thing. Suspense is
key." I fully realize that
seeing an independent film to completion
is an amazing feat unto itself.
However, Evil Laugh has very little
to do with Alfred Hitchcock. Baio
seems to understand, if only slightly.
Brascia does not agree. I tried
hard to stifle my laffs, but comparing
your cheapo slasher-comedy to the
work of Alfred Hitchcock is hysterical.
That's a fact.
Also included is a small behind
the scenes photo gallery and a feature
length commentary track with Brascia
and Baio. Sure, I started listening.
After ten minutes of inaudible voices
and generous back-pats, my next
move was obvious. I stopped the
disc and pressed eject. Shameful,
I know, but entirely necessary.
You can also insert the DVD into
your DVD-ROM drive and check out
a few PDFs. Zzzzz-town.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Finally, someone stepped up to the
plate. Evil Laugh has the
market cornered on that most popular
horror sub-genre, the gay slasher-comedy.
You will gape in awe at the stupidity
that wafts from the television set.
Then, you will laugh uncontrollably.
Either way, you will be satisfied. |
To the pubs
Yeah, he's a big 'un
A gay parade
Sinus killer
|
