Review: Prince of the Crimson Void

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2022
Images from the Internet, unless indicated

Prince of the Crimson Void
Directed by Dakota Ray
R.A. Productions
58 minutes, 2022
https://dakotarayfilmmaker.wordpress.com/

In his ninth film (I think I have reviewed all of them), Denver's auteur filmmaker / writer / absinthe guzzler Dakota Ray happily strikes again with his newest opus. And, as always, he and his instantly recognizably idiosyncratic, gravelly deep voice and a monochrome filter (this time red) presents another tale of depravity.

As usual, Ray plays the lead character, in this case Fabian, who is a serial killer, drug user, and absinthe drinker (the film uses real absinthe, since Ray is a connoisseur of the beverage). His world is full of death and delusion, of evil and self-glorification.

As in Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986), Fabian has a companion-and-competitor in the form of Kimball (Darien Fawkes). But as in Henry, do not trust a serial killer. In the opening narration monologue, Fabian states he plans to kill Kimball (aka the Necro Wizard), who is as murderous as he, and absorb not only Kimball’s soul but the souls of all his victims. So, this story is going into the supernatural deeper than Ray’s previous films. In many of the earlier ones, Satan has played a role in either influence or presence, but this delves deeper into the metaphysics.

Dakota Ray

Fabian and Kimball are the only two living humans in the film (though there are plenty of corpses in various conditions), and nearly all their dialogue is done in the form of narration. Written by Ray, these inner conversations run from the vile and expletive, to the nearly philosophical…and expletive. There are, as is typical in Ray’s releases, title cards scattered throughout to denote chapters of a sort, with names like “Descending into the Blackened Catacombs of the Necro Wizard.”

There are also lots of shots of close-ups, be it faces, eyes, or mouths, especially as they imbibe in their vices. We also see lots of full moons and clouds, and thunderstorms to represent the mood of the moment. It has nearly a gothic feel to it, especially considering the mood.

After Kimball’s demise, when Fabian delves deeper into the world of Absinthe, oxycodone, and white powder, he feels the power of Kimball inside of him, making him believe he is “god.” This film, as with many of Ray’s, has a central character that has visions of self-grandiosity, and it is this that actually makes him weaker (“need”) and more unhinged. Think about those people who took LSD and thought they could fly, as their last acts. Psychologically, that is where Fabian resides, especially post-Kimball.

Darien Fawkes

But like “The Tell-Tale Heart” (1843) by Edgar Allen Poe, Kimbell’s spirit is haunting Fabian; whether it is real or in his imagination is up for grabs, but considering the number of substances (and lack of food) that are absorbed – to the point of nosebleeds – it can easily go either way.

The SFX – all practical as far as I can tell – look excellent. They were done by Ray and S. Donatello, and it is one of the highlights of an already interesting film. That it is just under an hour is actually perfect, rather than trying to bloat it out with filler, and besides, it was filmed during June through October 2022, which means Covid was still a factor, so the small cast makes sense.

I like that there is a narrative line to the story (some of the early works are a bit sketchy in this area), which is the backbone, but not the appendages, which are all the add-ons, such as the sky shots, the asides (e.g., a body in a basement), and the overwhelming, pure atmospheric mood. If you want to get a taste of Ray’s releases, some of them are available on YouTube, but I must say Ray keeps improving over time, so this latest release is one of his better, for those reasons alone.

IMBD listing HERE

Review: The Short Films of Dakota Bailey 2014-2015

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2017

Images from the Internet

The Short Films of Dakota Bailey 2014-2015

Written, produced, directed and edited by Dakota Bailey

R.A. Productions

About 30 minutes, 2017

https://Dakotabaileydirectorfilmmaker.wordpress.com

www.facebook.com/dakotabaileyactordirector

If you are familiar with any of the trilogies of filmmaker Dakota Bailey’s work, you know his subgenre of super gritty and grainy life of the denizens of the lowest of low, consisting of nothing but serial killers, drug sellers and addicts, prostitutes and generally people with whom you would not want to be on the same street as, never mind the same room.

Like most auteurs, Bailey started small with short films as he developed his style that remains pretty unique, as there is no one I can think of who presents characters and situations so socially corrupt with a fly on the wall creepy feeling, and yet makes them feel alive and fearsome. These three shorts have now been released in a collection as a companion to his features.

As the director explains: “While these short films are not masterpieces, they are important because this is where our filmmaking style originated, and these shorts provided us with a template to build off of. Without these shorts, films like The Acid Sorcerer [2017, reviewed HERE], American Scumbags [2016, reviewed HERE] or My Master Satan: 3 Tales of Drug Fueled Violence [2016, reviewed HERE] may not have existed."

As most of his features are three intertwining tales, it only makes sense that this release is comprised of three of his shorts. The consistency of his characters, even if he considers some of his films in the horror genre and others not, makes this for an enjoyable WTF viewing (in a good way). I’ve enjoyed all of the Bailey films I have watched, even though they could practically all run together and it would still work. I have watched the growth from his first film right to his latest. He also shows that if someone wants to just pick up a camera and start filming, it can be done, much in the way so many people heard the gritty guitar of Johnny Thunders and wanted to start a band.

Scumbags: A Day in the Life of a Drug Dealer

8:08 minutes, 2014

Despite it being Bailey’s first film, so many of the footprints that would appear in his features are already there, such as the insertion of character description and story bit title cards, and the travelog footage of drug dealer Marshall (Matt Marshall) driving around giving way too much information about his crimes away on a cell phone (hey, Marshall, that’s illegal!) which also works for passing along exposition to the viewer.  There is an inconsistent sound quality as most of it is recorded straight onto the camera as it is shot al(though the reliability of it will improve with time and future films). In this story, Marshall wants to do away with ex-high school friend and partner, and now rival dealer, the heroin addicted Johnny (Bailey, already sporting his trademark knee-length short pants). The film, which is in mostly black and white, is short, and yet covers some nice ground as bullets fly and vapes are vaped. The pace is a bit meandering at times, yet there is still quite a bit of action in this short amount of footage. It’s a bit on the rough side, as it is most first films, but it’s also easy to see the kernel of what is to come. I am certainly enjoying watching the progression of a style that Bailey has since made great use of over the past couple of years.

Satan’s Coming for You

19:37 minutes, 2015

The longest film on this set, it appears to be a collection of outtakes and additional footage from one of Bailey’s other films, My Master Satan. Then again, in a chicken and egg paradigm, perhaps this was filmed first, and it was used to make up one of the three stories from Master. Again, in black and white with some color, especially during an acid trip, this is a loose yet somewhat coherent story about the revenge for Bubba (again Matt Marshall) and Alister (Bailey) against the person who was having the affair with Bubba’s since-deceased wife. With body exhuming from a cemetery and a bit of blowtorch behavior, Bubba and Alister go on said acid trip and meet up with Satan. From there on in it’s the two friends working through the kinks of getting away with literal murder.

I Spread Hate Like Herpes

2:12 minutes, 2015

This is a short-yet-not-sweet uncompleted fictionalized documentary starring “BK” (Brian Knapp). In its two scenes, BK discusses his own psychopathic behavior (while driving of coruse, since this is a Dakota Bailey film, and it’s a given someone will do that). There is no direction, no point, just a camera pointed at BK as he riffs. What I’m not sure of and wonder about is whether this is going to be part of a whole film on this character, if the footage is going to be included into a future Bailey feature, or was this just some goofing around that was too good not to do something with it. Too short to be boring and just long enough for head scratching, it makes a nice coda to the rest of the shorts.  

Trailer for one short is HERE.

Review: The Acid Sorcerer

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2017

Images from the Internet

The Acid Sorcerer

Written, produced, directed and edited by Dakota Bailey

R.A. Productions

50 minutes, 2017

https://Dakotabaileydirectorfilmmaker.wordpress.com

www.facebook.com/dakotabaileyactordirector

www.facebook.com/The-Acid-Sorcerer-221727484901962

They say (whoever they are) that when you find something you’re good at, stick with it. With this being Dakota Bailey’s third feature, he’s doing just that. He has found a pretty unique (at this point) niche of reality that can scare the viewer, but not because of the supernatural but more because of a vision of life. If the past year has shown anything, Americans are capable of doing just about anything, even if it’s against their own self-interest. Bailey’s view is that to the extreme, at what most would probably consider the lower rungs of the social contract ladder.

Bailey has his formula, with title card introductions for characters or “stories” (all of which intermingle in a porous way) about drug dealers, prostitutes, hired killers, serial killers, and essentially the kind of people that fascinate when reading about on the paper or seeing on the big (or small) screen, but not necessarily someone whom you would want to share breathing space.

Mostly filmed in black and white, there is the occasional smattering of psychedelic color tones thrown in to represent alternative realities due to illicit substances. The atmosphere is stabbed by the soundtrack by metal band Ramesses. As this all unfolds, we are introduced to the characters one by one, and shudder.

Dakota Bailey as Smoke

There is no real past tense in this film, there is only whatever is happening in the moment, and the people act accordingly and usually impulsively. Also, there is no real need for character exposition to know that you cross the other side of the street when you see them. Bailey touches that instinctual, repulsed side of the average viewer: you don’t need to learn, just intuitively know.

There is also an unexpected, philosophical touch to the film, as it acknowledges its own inner darkness, as well as those as the characters. It’s a chilling and nihilistic view of a nearly claustrophobic group of people whose lives are revolving around the seven deadlies, and it’s hard to see past that, even when one character, a drug user named Crawdad (Darien Fawkes, who is also AD on the film), mentions a glimmer of hope at one point. Religion tries to open some light, but that door quickly slams shut.

The weird thing – and what makes Bailey a force on the rise – is that despite (or perhaps because of) the despicableness of those who infest the film, the viewer kinda wants to know what happens to them. For some of them, that feeling goes beyond the time length of the actual story. I promise, I won’t give away much.

While there isn’t any central character because the story is so episodic and scene driven, our introduction is with Smoke (played by Bailey). Not only is he a drug using… okay, I’m gonna stop there for a sec… let me suffice it to say that just about everyone in the story is a drug user. Okay, getting back, Smoke is a bit of a schizophrenic, or perhaps one via shooting up or through acid flashbacks. His “other” is the cloaked and appropriately named Leach, urging Smoke to be a serial killer, ridding anyone who is perceived in his way. Leach is the demon on his shoulder urging him on, without the aid of the angel on the other side. Of course, this is merely a reflection of his own drug-induced id taken shape… or is it something more sinister?

Nick Benning is Nikki

Other major characters include Crawdad and his pregnant meth-addicted girlfriend Vermina (Natasha Morgan), a cross-dressing sadistic snuff filmmaker Nikki (Nick Benning), a truly nasty drug dealer who likes to see his clients suffer named Eyevin (Brian Knapp), and an HIV-positive prostitute named Ecstasy (Selene Velveteen). Most are not going to fare very well in this lifestyle.

The film is literally littered with death, as we watch the characters interact with each other behind a wall of ego, masculinist posturing (in most cases), the urge of desire and need, and trying to figure out how to survive the present moment.

Part of what makes it all so compelling is that it feels like the dialog is ad libbed, as if it were actual people talking to (or at) each other. Mostly they’re lost in their own altered minds, awash in whatever substance is available, especially ego. Since most of the characters fumble through their lives in the realities that exist in their own heads, Bailey wisely has them verbalize their thoughts, to let us wussy straight-edgers know what is happening to them, such as (as this is not a direct quote), “Ha! Look at that guy! Can you believe it!?”

The film is visually dark, as are Bailey’s previous works, but thanks to it not being as grainy, it is a bit easier to see, especially since most of the action happens at night. Yeah, the acting is occasionally either stiff or over the top, but if you think about it, we all tend to do that; we’re just not used to seeing it on the screen.

This does for Denver, what Taxi Driver (1976) did for New York City: it focuses on the seedy, the dirty and the back alleys, where the denizens of the story would likely live, rather than the posh side of the city most people know from previous cinema. If you have walked down the central street in downtown Denver, with its book stores, its restaurants and watering holes and the sudden proliferation of weed shops, you would not recognize the city from these perspectives, both literally and figuratively.

There is a mention on IMDB about Bailey that states, “he does not think of himself as a director or an actor just a film fan who is making the kind of movies he wants to see and he never went to film school.” Yeah, you can tell. And I’m grateful for it because he has his own voice that I don’t see elsewhere, and would not want to see it “directed” through someone else’s vision of what cinema is supposed to be. The fact that none of the actors in this film are professionals but actually friends tells a lot. Sure, I’d like to see a larger female presence in this films (two out of eight here), but hopefully that will come over time.

If I could make any suggestions of help it would be twofold: first, to get some more practice in tone corrections to make the films a bit lighter and easier to see considering the many night scenes. The second would be in sound as sometimes the voices are a bit hard to hear over the ambient street noise. I fully acknowledge that it makes it more real (better than overdubbing the voices, that’s for certain), it’s just that a couple of times I had to back the film up to be able to make out what is being said. These are both minor bits, and it’s pretty obvious that on many levels, Bailey is a natural. And I’m not just saying that because I’m mentioned in the Thanks section at the end.

There is an interesting interview short on YouTube of some of the actors in the piece that’s also worth seeking out.