THEY
DON'T CUT THE GRASS ANYMORE (1985)
Directed by Nathan Schiff
Image Entertainment DVD
THE FILM
Welcome to the edge of unreality.
Don’t get too close though,
as beyond that cliff lies complete
insanity. Wait...I said don’t
get that close...too late! Nathan
Schiff, armed with his magical Super
8 camera, has pushed you completely
over. You are now insane. Being
in this state of mind, you can now
attempt to make your way through
They Don’t Cut The
Grass Anymore, the third
and final entry in Schiff’s
Super 8 gore trilogy. There’s
no turning back.
Disgustingly unsettling? One of
the weirdest films ever made? I’d
have to say that both apply to Grass.
Shot in five days as a response
to Nathan Schiff’s then-recent
experiences working in a corporate
atmosphere, Grass grazes the line between humorous
satire and voracious gore. It’s
a marked change from his previous
two films, Weasels Rip My
Flesh (sci-fi giddiness)
and Long Island Cannibal
Massacre (semi-serious weirdo
horror), coming across as some kind
of warped nightmare, not fit for
waking eyes.
In place of a traditional plot,
Grass goes for the
literal jugular. In essence, it’s
a 70 minute extreme-gore set piece,
somewhat tied together by various
commentaries regarding material
wants and the upper crust of the
hoi-poloi. The whole film is inhabited
by living cartoon characters, propelled
to live by violence and hilariously
deadpan dialogue. Two bumpkin Texans
arrive in Long Island, taking up
work as gardeners in the affluent
‘burbs. Billy Buck, the brains
of the operation (John Smihula),
wears overalls, clown make-up, and
a straw hat. The other, Jacob, wears
a hooded-old man rubber mask. All
the time. Yes, these two roam the
streets, go to the movies (a strange
gore-movie-within-a-gore-movie lights
up the screen), and spout off about
the cocaine-sniffin’ yuppies...always
dressed to the Halloween hilt. About
every five to ten minutes, B.B.
and J. bump off and mutilate various
cast members, who are introduced
seconds before. No one finds it
odd. The abrupt ending will leave
you scratching your head forever.
I found Nathan Schiff’s previous
films to be lo-fi masterpieces.
Grass left me in a
different place, enjoying the weirdness
on display, but ultimately bumming
me out. What’s the downfall?
Mostly, it was the gore, which literally
made me sweat. Over and above any
H.G. Lewis concoction, we witness
several full on face mutilations,
complete with skull scooping and
eyeball smashing, tons of flesh/entrails
ripping, and a dog chowing the insides
of a shotgun-blasted woman’s
crotch. Yes, some of it was humorous,
like the firecracker-mouthed dummy,
but for the most part, the endlessly
lingering, Super 8-rough gore was
just way too over the top.
All in all, if the gore was scaled
back, Grass could’ve
been just as strong as Schiff’s
other offbeat and charming work.
In fact, the non-grue scenes are
a distillation of Schiff’s
brand of surreal and bizarre cinema
-- gore drenched Barbie dolls, complete
with deadpan narration on the state
of of the world, an axe attack to
“Town & Country”
magazine, and the Jacob character
puking through his mask at the sight
of some carnage. As is, the insane
gruesomeness completely overpowers
the smart and humorous underpinnings,
making for a uneven watch.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
This full frame print isn’t
quite as crisp as Long Island
Cannibal Massacre, Schiff’s
second film, but more in league
with his first, Weasels Rip
My Flesh. Scratches and lines
are plentiful, but what do you expect?
This is a feature length Super 8
film from 1985. Imperfections exist
and that’s what Super 8 is
all about. I want the scratches,
dirt, and film grain. I want the
genuine experience of filming in
someone’s backyard. I was
not disappointed. The soundtrack,
a mish mash of Orgy Of The
Dead by way of Beast
Of Yucca Flats and some old
78s, came through nice and clear,
in all it’s record scratchin’,
camera noise glory.
EXTRAS
Another home run, carrying on the
top notch extras featured on each
successive Schiff disc. Following
the general pattern of the previous
two releases, we have an eighteen
minute Grass specific
interview with Director Schiff,
a nine minute interview with star
John Smihula and friend Fred Borges,
a still gallery (this time comprised
of actual on-set photos as opposed
to screen grabs), four of Nathan’s
teenaged Super 8 shorts, and finally,
a fantastic full length director’s
commentary.
Ironically, after being somewhat
put off after viewing Grass,
Schiff’s commentary ended
up being the most enjoyable yet.
We find out his personal reasons
behind the creation of the film
(thanks to the “cutthroat
world of corporate corruption”),
how it wasn’t originally intended
to be such a gore-fest, and the
need to cut ninety percent of the
humorous aspect due to a rushed
shooting schedule. Unfortunately,
he seems to shy away from exposing
the ingredients in most of the gore
effects, aside from some painted
Bisquik and soaked cotton. I guess
it’s true -- a magician never
reveals his secrets. An involved
and lively track that I thoroughly
enjoyed.
The four shorts contained herein
are far more interesting and elaborate
than those appearing on the Weasels disc. We get some rubber monster
masks, Dracula on the loose, a pet
turtle rampage, and a mind-bending
look at germ obsession. Couldn’t
be better.
FINAL THOUGHTS
If you’re a fan of Nathan
Schiff films, you’ll want
to pick up this DVD for the total
package. The supplements are essential
to the completist. If you’re
new to Mr. Schiff’s oeuvre
and not particularly fond of extreme
gore, you may want to check out
his previous two films and leave
it at that.
— Joseph A. Ziemba, 05.30.04 |
Chops are licked
Sneakers & saws
Patterns alive
Real stuff?
|
