Director’s Cut, 2024.
Written and Directed by Don Capria
Starring Louis Lombardi, Tyler Ivey, Brandy Ochoa, Haley Cassidy, Greg Poppa, Lucy Hart, Danielle Kotch, Darren Hickok, Louis Rocky Bacigalupo
SYNOPSIS:
A punk band are tempted into the Pennsylvania woodlands by the promise of a professionally made music video.
The ‘rocksploitation horror’ sub-genre of slasher movies has a long tradition of teaming guitar squeals alongside inventive gore-flecked set-pieces and stalking creeps.
Trick or Treat from 1986 is one of the best-known of these ‘crank it up to 11’ horrors. Featuring Kiss’s Gene Simmons (and also Ozzy Osbourne as a televangelist preaching on the evils of heavy metal) as a dead rocker summoned back to life by an alienated teen metalhead, the film is an excellent intro to this gnarly style of horror flick.
I mention this as an intro because the excellent punk band starring Director’s Cut pays quite a bit of homage to Trick or Treat and others in the rocking Halloween branch. In more recent years, Green Room (2015) also focused on a punk outfit uncovering grisly killings, and while that is also an excellent addition to the guitar and horror genre, it is more of a crime film than a slasher.
This particular sterling effort while not having access to rock god cameo, does have a similar affinity for operatic blood and guts and a focus on the single-minded drive of music creation. Director’s Cut sees a punk band eager for success brave the unknowns of the wild woods on the promise of a professionally made video.
Unfortunately for the band, the mysterious filmmaker turns out to be something of a sociopath, to say the least. To say the most, would be to tell all about the stock of inventive horrors he has in store for the hopeful punks.
So, after setting up at the lonely location in the woods and meeting with the said filmmaker (the hilariously scary Louis Lombardi) and his assistant Babs (Lucy Hart), the punkers decide to get on with the video. Well, they’ve come this far, they think, and ok, he’s a bit weird, but who gets a video for free?
What follows is a slasher film without the stalking; the band is essentially going into the killer’s lair of their own volition, which makes an interesting twist. There is a lot of (actually pretty good) music around, as each member of the band sets out their musicianship to the ever-seeing Mr Director.
Band leader Jay (Tyler Ivey) is desperate for success and allows that to cloud his judgement. Initially driving away when the director goes too far at one of their initial interviews, Jay is brought back into the fray, not through thoughts of his bandmates’ well-being, but from the potential rewards that a new promo could deliver.
It’s a smart and dark look at how the aspiration of fame and riches can overpower absolutely everything. But there is also plenty of dark humour in the film that horror fans will enjoy. The balance between gruesome kills and character interplay is well judged, and the fact that the acting is good and the band are all likeable brings it up a notch above the average slasher.
There is also a depth to the story often missing in slasher films, as backstories are kept to a minimum and you get the feeling that every character has a tale to tell. This adds weight to a low-budget gem that is a twisted piece of punk metal horror. Add it to your Halloween watch list (witch-list?) and rock out.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★/ Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert W Monk
