Reviews: Sean Weathers Presents: The Trade Off; Vault of Terror

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2014
Images from the Internet

                            

The Trade Off: The Uncut Version That Goes All the Way

Directed by Sean Weathers        
80 minutes, 2009 / re: 2013
www.fullcirclefilmworks.com
www.facebook.com/TheTradeOffMovie
www.MVDvisual.com

I’ve seen quite a few (all?) of director Sean Weathers’ released movies, and this one seems to be by far the most ambitious, and also the most accomplished. Weathers is, as far as I know, the only (Ghana-born) African-American auteur filmmaker, not to mention that he’s from the other side of the tracks of Brooklyn. But as he shows on his influential podcast radio interview show (HERE), he knows his indie genres in quite detail.

 

The Trade Off is less a horror film as much as, well, I guess the best descriptor I can think of is a Blaxploitation sex thriller. Casting himself in the lead role of Arthur, we meet him as he is involved in connubial relations with one of his paramours (Anna Brown). Nice way to set the tone of the film (sans sarcasm).

 

Arthur is a morally bankrupt person just oozing masculinist training (as feminist theory may say). He sees nothing wrong in dropping his pants for a two bi-women three-way, his ex-boss’s wife, and his best friend’s wife (he mentions it happens once a week). It is hardly surprising his life is in a bit of a tailspin. Early on he loses his corporate job at the age of 30, and thinks his live is “over,” which is ridiculous, of course. There is a scene where the person who takes over Arthur’s accounts asks him for his help. This actually once happened to a good friend of mine in the same situation, who rightfully refused.

 

My point is that wrapped up in this relatively explicit (softcore) film is a dressing of social conditions that come with living in the modern world. We see the calloused and self-centered view Arthur has for his loving and pregnant wife and, the corporatization of culture (his wife Rose, played by Stephany Ramirez, says upon hearing of his job loss, “The cold, hard fact is, this is par for the course in the corporate world, baby”), and the emotional detachment of a mediated world that focuses so hard on selling sex and instant gratification.  

 

Even though Arthur is no saint, he is hardly the only villainous (as it were) one in the film. There are no black and white roles here, everyone having various levels of flaws and cracks. That shows some development in characters from Weathers’ previous films.

 

Weathers is definitely betting better at writing dialog, especially for himself (yes, here I meant that as a snicker) such as, ”You see my back? Why don’t you get off of it,” and “Holy fuck. I ask you what time it is and you tell me how to build a clock.”

 

There is no real gore to speak of here, other than a bloody lip, but there is plenty of sex with a multitude of partners. Even in his love-making, if you want to call it that, Arthur is rough and ready.  There is no emotion, no care, just “wham-bam.” It also gives Weathers a chance to show off his six-pack, and be nekkid with a bunch of attractive women.

 

I also enjoyed the “establishment” shots of Brooklyn, mostly around Prospect Park, such as the Grand Army Plaza Arch and the main branch of the Brooklyn Library (down the block – Eastern Parkway – from the Brooklyn Museum and the Brooklyn Botanical Garden…I miss Brooklyn).

 

The shooting name of this film was Tortured by Regret, but Weathers was correct in changing the name. The Trade Off says much more of the direction of the story, and is certainly more accurate.

 

There are oodles of extras including bloopers, rehearsals, screen tests, podcasts, (female) cast interviews, and all of his trailers (thanks for using my quote in one of them, Sean!).

 

I see so much potential in Sean Weathers films, and I’m hoping he can focus his direction in stories like this, as much as the exploitation parts.

 

 

Sean Weathers Presents: Vault of Terror
Directed by Sean Weathers, Aswad Issa, George Romero, Abel Ferrara     
250 minutes, 1968 / 1979 / 2012 / re: 2013
www.fullcirclefilmworks.com
www.facebook.com/VaultOfTerror
www.MVDvisual.com

It has been a year and a half or so since I interviewed Sean Weathers [HERE] about his films and life as a writer, director, and musician, and I am happy to see something (partially) new by now there is this collection of “4 nihilistic tales of dread & horror.” The two centerpiece films are public domain horror classics, and the two bookends are new. Let’s go in order, though for this review I am going to focus more on the new material.

The series opens up with the 41-minute “Maniac Too,” directed by Weathers. In a somewhat plotless story, we follow a serial rapist as he stalks and attacks a series of women, and then strangles them barehanded. Lots of female flesh is flashed, but none of the title villain. The women play scared, but don’t seem to fight very hard (especially the first one, who amusedly watches not to hit her head on a guardrail as she becomes horizontal. They all tend to stand in one spot and cry while the guy takes off their clothes and assaults them.

The box describes this as a “sex horror,” which is apparently accurate. It’s interesting that while the rapist is black, most of the victims are white. If a white person were directing this, I might think that he was racist portraying a black rapist attacking whites. If any other black director was making this other than Sean, I would say it was racist because all the women that are attacked are white. But from what I know about Sean, he is trying to make a comment on modern culture, using the horror theme as its vehicle, much like Romero so often did.

When we finally do see an interaction between the guy and an African-American woman, she is a hooker/prostitute, who spends five minutes stripping to some rap music and then meets a similar end, before he goes out again to perpetrate more attacks.

This seems to happen all in one night, and he must be some kind of superman to be able to be aroused through completion (in less than 15 seconds a time) within a one night timespan. In fact, there is actually nearly no threading plot line, just a series of set pieces of attacks. Because of this, I wonder if this is all meant to be inside the perpetrator’s head, much like in Russ Meyer’s much gentler comedy, The Immoral Mr. Teas (1959).

Sure he feels regret each time, but it sure doesn’t stop him. However, we have no idea why he is on this sudden rape and kill spiral, as there is literally zero character development, just the set pieces. Skill wise, Sean’s work has improved, even with the handheld running camera shot. Personally, I would have liked more of a story than just a series of unexplained violence. I’ve seen lots of excruciating brutality, including A Serbian Film (2010) and Weathers’ own They All Must Die! (1998), but even with that one, there was a motivation.

The second film is the public domain 1979 film called The Driller Killer, directed by (and starring) Abel Ferrara. It is introduced and ended by an audio discussion between Sean and Aswad. It makes sense that this film is included because like the first film in this collection, it deals with someone with a compulsion to commit horrendous acts.

While The Driller Killer can never be called a good film, it is important for a number of reasons. First of all, it was a lynchpin in the history of video in British history. Despite the space between the bloody murders, supposedly the VHS cover was considered so gruesome that it changed the laws of what was permissible to be shown in that country..

Another reason is that part of it is filmed at Max’s Kansas City (d. 1981). Sure, they moved the tables for filming so people can dance, but actually no one danced in front of the stage at Max’s in real life, which was one of the complaints of Eddie & the Hotrods when I saw them play there about 1977.

Lastly, it is a pretty accurate picture of what the Lower East Side was like at that time, before the whole Koch-Giuliani-Bloomberg sanitation/gentrification of the grittier parts of the city. Lots of artists, winos, drugs, black mold, and bad bands (the one at the center of the film, the Roosters, was typical at the time; the lead singer here sounds like Mario Cantone on helium). Plus there are little moments, like when pizza is eaten and the crust is left in the box - this was common when I was growing up - or the thick New York accents, especially the girlfriend of the Roosters’ singer.

The third film is Romero’s classic 1968 groundbreaker, Night of the Living Dead. I’m not going to discuss it because is there anyone reading this who has not seen it? Hell, not seen it numerous times? The one comment I will make is that I can understand why this is included here, because the interactions between races is a key component. As with The Driller Killer, Sean and Aswad discuss the film at the intro and outro, with the latter being the most interesting.

Last up is another original film, this time directed by Sean’s cinematographer, Aswad Issa. Lasting only 4 minutes, it tells a subway story of “no good deed goes unpunished.” Shot guerrilla style, this three-part fable is based on a true story, as we are told in the opening credits), and it’s not hard to believe if you’ve ever ridden the subways late at night as I have more times than I can count; I’ve been phenomenally lucky.

Sean Weathers acts in it as the titular character, as he swaps directing roles. Issa does a great job in that amount of time of telling a “postcard” story that is completely believable. Weathers and Issa make a good team, no getting around that. If I was to be assumptive and make any suggestions (as I’ve never made a film other than a couple of group super-8 nothings in college for a class), Weathers works better with long-form, full-length tales that tell a story. Some of his later stuff is super violent but sometimes feels gratuitous. I like the guy, and I like his indie style. I do wish he would go back to more straight horror stories, rather than gangster/gangsta or rape, violence and/or revenge. He’s a good storyteller, and I want to see more of his nightmares, not just slash and burn.