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DEADLINE (1981)
Directed by Mario Azzopardi
Paragon Video VHS
Reviewed 06.01.06
Review by Joseph A. Ziemba
THE FILM
Have you seen First Born
with Teri Garr (cocaine mom), Corey
Haim (problem kid), and Peter Weller
(asshole father figure)? Well, Deadline
is just like that, but with extreme
gore and ten times the depression.
The first round of drinks are on
me.
Filmed in Toronto by eternal TV
director Mario Azzopardi, Deadline
hits you like a brick in the mouth.
The film simultaneously shuffles
the lives of an extremely dysfunctional
family with random scenes of shocking
brutality, polishing it all up with
the bluntest of social commentary.
It's harsh. And heavy. The weight
might chew on you 'til morning,
but in the end, the experience is
worth it. This is horror in the
basest sense; sometimes real, sometimes
overblown, but always disturbing.
As soon as you hear a nine year
old kid mumble "Motherfucker..."
at his Dad, you'll know what I mean.
Steven Lessey (Stephen Young, Patton)
is a cold man. And a rich one. Making
a mint off of his horror novels
and subsequent trash film adaptations,
Steve finds himself in a tight spot:
writer's blocked by his mind, pressured
by his agent, and criticized by
the public. The stress hits its
mark. After a series of terrible
domestic disputes (slapping his
coked-up wife in front of the children
and screaming "You fuckin'
bitch!", leaving the little
kids home alone), Lessey's life
completely unravels. Disastrous
tragedy strikes. Will all the money,
hookers, and ego in the world save
Steve and his family from his own
demons? Probably not.
That's the story. The delivery is
an entirely different matter. Interspersed
within the non-stop plot movement
are random acts of intense violence
from Steven's films; a mechanic
is torn apart, cannibal nuns feast
on a priest at the alter, kids light
their grandma on fire, a Nazi goth
band's music forces bums to poop
themselves and explode. Insane,
yes? Deadline weaves an
unfettered portrait of grown man
falling to pieces, while raising
several questions pertaining to
violence in the media, the creative
process, and the affluent world.
When the various strands meet up,
the film is like a cross between
The Shining and Faces
Of Death; well acted and produced,
but filled with over the top shocks.
It'll leave you in a gloomy place.
Harrowing, unanticipated, and most
of all, anomalous. Deadline
gets all of these jobs done, despite
a jagged method of delivery. Ready
for another round?
AUDIO AND VIDEO
Looks great from here. Paragon presents
the fully uncut version of the film
with a sharp print, free of defects
and consistent overall. The mono
sound was a little hissy. Sometimes,
the inappropriate Rocky
music cue rips were too loud, so
I had to turn the volume down.
EXTRAS
Aw, shucks. It's the same 15 minute
reel of previews that Paragon revved
up on a majority of their small
box releases (Just
Before Dawn, Boarding
House, et al). This time,
we get a dot matrix parental warning
beforehand. The PTA must have stepped
in.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Leave the kids at home. Deadline
is a disheartening socio-horror
film with little time for sympathy
and a knack for jarring you out
of your seat. I'll probably never
watch it again, but that shouldn't
discourage you. |
The pitch
Ratzi rock
Where's the love?
The priest they called him
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