Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films,
2017
Images from the Internet
Killer Waves
Produced, directed and
edited (among others) by James Balsamo
Acid Bath Productions
90
minutes, 2017
www.facebook.com/killerwavesmovie
Most
directors have a shtick. Some call it
auteur, but when you’re dealing those
who tend to dispense comedic horror, each has their own thing, be it gender
politics, absurdity with a sharp wink towards its own genre, or relying on a
body of knowledge about the history of horror, directors have their strong
points. For James Balsamo, it’s – for lack of a better word – the pun. Hell, he even has a book out of
this kind of word play (Total Pun-ishment, HERE).
Balsamo’s
film are self-depreciating (he gets beaten up in just about every one, usually
by some heavy metal musician doing a cameo); he is the trickster, the hustler, and
the – okay – pun-isher. And that’s
exactly why he has so many fans.
I
love it when killers have a name.
Sure Meyers, Kruger and Voorhees are great, but I like the ones with designations
like Ghostface, The Subway Vigilante, or the Shropshire Strangler. For this
film, we are dealing with the Unholy Diver, someone dressed in a full and
antique-style deep-sea diving outfit, including a Robot Monster-like full mask. But instead of what should be seen
through the helmet, there is a skull face.
This
is a slasher crime comedy that is a culmination of the direction Balsamo has
been driving towards in his previous releases, all in the fast lane, in that
his work is consistently inconsistent. What I mean by that is there are some
constants, and not all of them are written in stone (though many are). As Desi
once said, “Let me ‘splain”: With the possibly arguable exception of one (I Spill Your Guts, 2012), all of his six
features have been loony comedies, some more outrageous than others, but all of
them somewhat over the top. That descriptor is, of course, not meant as an insult.
Also,
there is a lot of gratuitous female nudity (usually upper body, but not
always), blood and gore (including the red stuff always pouring from mouths), a
large body count, body parts (or visceral matter) separating from the victim,
the aforementioned puns, and the cameos. Balsamo goes to many, many genre conventions and gets either
musicians (sometimes solo, sometimes the entire band) or genre cult idols (such
as Joel M. Reed) to do brief stints in the film, usually on the street, in an
alley, or a hallway. Hell, if he doesn’t have any idea what to do with them,
they just riff and he puts them in somewhere; most of the time, they beat him
up, or say nasty things about his character. Yes, that is another thing,
Balsamo is nearly almost always the lead in his films which, again, I don’t really
have a problem with that.
Each
film has a growing number of actors who appear regularly, such as the wonderful
Carmine Capobianco and Genoveva Rossi; hopefully Chloe Berman joins this list.
Then there’s a guy named Frank Mullen who always amuses me, even when he looks
like he’s reading cue cards while doing his scenes. His spiel is to go into an
angry, curse-filled rant, and I always cheer when he does.
Then
there are, again, the puns. Beyond the excruciating ones during the dialogue
that make Freddy’s look like Shakespeare (okay, maybe Robert Frost…), even the
character names are jokes, such as Katie Crest (get it, a film about waves…), Brian
Blackwater, Billy Bermuda, Blue Crush Vicky, and so forth. There are some
snarky names as well, such as there both being a Vicky and a Vicki (“I’m Vicki
with an ‘I’” is how she introduces herself), and Jenny and a Jenni (“I’m Jenni
with an ‘I’”, I kid you not).
The
loose (very loose) story is centered
around the Killer Waves Surf Contest.
The Unholy Diver (I guessed wrong at who it was for a while) is murdering the
surfers – and nearly anyone else who crosses his path – in part to make a
surfboard make of human flesh; the end products is one of the goofiest things
you’ll ever see…again, not an insult. There are any number of ways of
dispatching the victims, from various blades to electric eels, and so forth.
If
you are familiar with Balsamo’s earlier films, there are a few self-references
to his work, such as a mention of an Acid Bath (his production company), and someone
else wearing a torn version of a Cool as
Hell tee. This could be a drinking game. I’m up to my fourth glass of Lemon
Ginger Echinacea drink from Trader Joe’s. Yeah, I’m a wild spirit.
While
this was being filmed, I know that Balsamo (and his brother) were in the
process of moving from Long Island, NY, to California, and it’s pretty obvious
to tell it was recorded on both coasts. I mean, there are shots on a beach or
street with palm trees, mixed with scenes obviously on the streets of Manhattan;
during a key cop investigation scene at a dock, the Park City ferry (going
between Bridgeport and Port Jefferson, Long Island) passes behind them. Made me
smile.
As
for inconsistent, well, the story is more of a series of vignettes and bits
rather than a cohesive narrative. The core remains the same, of the events
surrounding the surfing contest, but each bit (and murder) is more hodgepodge
scenes than a storyline. Much of the movie could be a series of short films
ranging from a few seconds to a few minutes. Occasionally this can be confusing
if not distracting, especially with the improvisational feel of the overall
product, but somehow it manages to work. Everything that seems a bit wonky is
part of its charm; I don’t really know how to explain it more than that.
If
one were to see just this film, it might be a bit of a headscratcher, but in
the overall Balsamo canon, if one is familiar with his style and work, it’s
more of the inconsistent consistency charm that I was discussing before, just
more so.
The
puns are cool as hell, the blood and gore graphic, the cameos superb, the
nudity is nice, and the acting is, well, as these are mostly non-professional
actors or winging it off the cuff in some alleyway, it’s adequate if not
over-the-top. It definitely works, and this is fun all the way through, but I
honestly would like to see more focus on a cohesive storyline. That being said,
while it is surface level that never digs too deep in thought or tone, it’s still
bloody good amusement.
Great Soundtrack!! Check out "Contemplating Murder".
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