Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2020
Images from the Internet
Catch of the Day 2:
You Die at Dawn!
Directed by James Balsamo
Acid Bath Productions
90 minutes, 2020
www.acidbathproductions.com
Man, in some ways, going
Hollywood has changed James Balsamo. He usta put out lots of films that were
independent of each other, but since he has moved Coasts, this is his fourth
sequel (i.e., Cool as Hell 2; Killer Waves 2; and the soon to be
released I Spill Your Guts 2). Plus, this is his first feature I can
remember seeing without Frank Mullen. What’s the fuck is going the fuck on?!
Okay, while all that is true, I kid because I both like James and his films, as
odd as they tend to be, especially recently. But I miss ya, Frankie boy. But I
digress…
One of the genius
moves of Balsamo (yeah, I’m using that term and I’m going there some more) is
that everything he does is technically or socially (these days) wrong, or at
least not PC, and yet that’s what makes it work, much in the way that “All
in the Family” and Blazing Saddles (1974) did decades ago. His films are
examples of “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” And I admire
that.
 |
| James Balsamo and Mikaela Moody |
There is a lot you are
going to have to accept to get into this, and possibly change your mindset. You
will have to get beyond the sexism (use of terms like “chicks,” a focus on horny
fratboy-style sex, and lots of bare boobage), infantile humor (usually sexual
snickering), bongs (a consistency in a Balsamo production), and plots (when he
gets around to them) that make as much sense as the song “A Whiter Shade of Pale”
or “On Top of Spaghetti.”
But he is also
extremely self-depreciating, with his characters being a force of ego, narcissism,
and ultimately getting insulted by just about everyone, especially in cameo
segments (I’ll get to that in a mo). For this film, Balsamo again plays the
central character of police detective Rod Davis… hell, let’s face it, it’s the
same “character” that he plays in all his films, but it is such a joyous train
wreck of a human, it’s also a ton of fun to watch. Anyway, Rod – like Balsamo –
has moved from Long Island to the sunnier climes of Cal-eye-for-nigh-yay.
He has left behind his sister and ex-partner (who are now married, as seen in
flashbacks), and has recently joined in copper partnership with Mark Kahn (Ash
Kahn; I am assuming that a pseudonym), who he treats badly without even a second
thought.
 |
| James Balsamo, Tim Dax, Ash Kahn |
The pair are on the
trail of a machine-wielding female serial killer who has a skull face mask and
wears a Nazi uniform or purple KKK robe and hood. Well, that’s the essential
backbone, but it certainly is not the whole skeleton of a story. In pure
Balsamo style, what we are presented are a series of set pieces that tend to
not have much to do with the narrative as much as a chance for Balsamo to show
his muscle, both figurative and literally. They are held together by his character’s
narrating, shots of Davis’ girlfriend Beth (Mikaela Moody) exercising or
eating, some b-roll including images of the ground taken from an in-flight airplane,
and lots of cameos (yeah, I’m getting there; wait for it). It’s almost like a
series of short stories of a few minutes each strung together like an
anthology. Again, this really works well for Balsamo’s style of sharp-shooter
comedy. It never waits around on any particular bit to get boring.
As for the killer
behind the mask, well, that is pretty easy to figure out, but it does not
matter, because the story is pretty secondary to the action (including two long
clips of Sarah Michelle solo twerking in a bikini) and especially the humor. You
see, with Balsamo, the humor is the lynch-pin. Sure, most of it is middle school
level, but look at the success of such fare as the American Pie and Porky’s
franchises. This is both on that level, but is self-reflective and blatant about
it, not pretending to be something else, so I actually respect this more.
The three main cast members
are rather good, though Moody doesn’t really have much to do on her screen time
other than jog and stretch, Kahn is mostly just angry albeit looks funny in the
banana suit, and as for Balsamo… His acting skills (at least in his own films)
is extremely gung-ho, purposefully without hardly any shades of subtly, but
that is the character, so it is successful. Davis is about as deep as Trump on
meth, so Balsamo plays it to the balls.
Then there are the
cameos (told yaz it was comin’). Ah, yes, that is Balsamo’s shtick,
his bailiwick, his wheelhouse, his raison de vivre. His passions are
films and music, and he uses legions of participants from both in cameo roles,
including the likes of Kreskin, John Amplas (the lead of Romero’s 1977’s Martin),
Bill Weeden, Katherine Pegova (winner of Miss Russia), the omnipresent kameo
king Shawn C. Phillips, tattooed bodybuilder Tim Dax, American Idol contestant VolKillz,
professional wrestler Jake “The Snake” Roberts… and I’m only scratching the
surface.
As I said above, there
is a lot of gratuitous female nudity (and Balsamo’s bare/bear arms), ample
cleavage and booty shakin’ for those who appreciate that sort of thing. There is
also gore galore, much of it slimy and stringy like your mouth when it’s snotty.
Yeah, it’s gloriously gross.
Despite all the
outlandishness that is here, and it comes in buckets, there are also subtle
moments that I found hysterical, such as the blink-and-you-miss-it ending of Moody’s
eating of a strawberry. It makes me wonder what I may have missed, and want to
watch it again, which I will do after I finish writing this.
Catch of the Day 2 trailer and film HERE.
No comments:
Post a Comment