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[Review] ‘Deep Dark’ is Delightfully Weird and Impressive

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Being an artist is hard in so many ways. Whether you’re a musician, film director, a traditional or a digital artist (I had to put that in there), if it’s not the success that eludes you, it’s often the inspiration. Roger Corman explored the success that eludes struggling artists in A Bucket Of Blood, and how far an artist is willing to go to get that success. Michael Medaglia’s Deep Dark, which follows the same theme, has continued to make the rounds in international festivals, and just recently screened at the Portland Film Festival. Just how far and dark does this desperation go?

Herman Haig (Sean McGrath) is a struggling artist. Despite his best efforts, he’s stuck living with his mother (Mary McDonald-Lewis), unemployed with inferior talent and art. Desperate to get his work seen by local gallery owner Devora Klein (Anne Sorce) (and jealous of rival artist Joel Windle (Tabor Helton)), Herman rents out his Uncle Felix’s (John Nielsen) apartment, in hopes that the claim by his uncle that Herman will receive all the inspiration that he needs rings true. After initially finding no inspiration at all, Herman finds a small note stuck in a hole in the wall: “Relax, I can help.” What follows is success for Herman, but eventually, he learns of the price.

From the opening scene of the film involving a bit of body horror, Deep Dark is one of those films that walks into the surreal, but also throws in some of that morality play that, if done correctly, never gets old. Thankfully, Medaglia is able to do just that, thanks in part to McGrath’s performance. McGrath effectively portrays the desperation and naivety of Herman, never portraying him as an idiot loser, but nevertheless a pathetic loser. Helping McGrath along are Sorce and Welton, who are delightfully scummy in their actions, and in their attempts to schmooze McGrath for his secret. Hearkening back to the seductiveness and authoritative nature of Jeffrey Combs’ performance as The Mold in Motivational Growth, Denise Poirier (of Aeon Flux fame) is that same type of motivator and persuasive voice as the voice of The Hole. So much so, that Herman doesn’t even question what’s going on until much later, when The Hole’s demands aren’t met.

Getting back to the talk of the surreal, Deep Dark tosses in a bit of Cronenberg with a bit of Lynchian dark humour for flavour. Whether it’s the weird pods that The Hole spits out for Herman to use in his work, to Herman making out with The Hole (and the accompanied sounds of Poirier’s responses), it admittedly sounds goofy. But it’s done in such a way that it’s not too far from the television scene in Videodrome, which honestly sounds bizarre until you see it within the context of the film. The same happens here. It also helps that Medaglia is able to make his minuscule budget work with some great shots, utilizing some fish-eye-lensed shots, to split screen, to other compositions. The lighting also plays a big part in selling these shots, as they’re purposely dark, and mixed with the barren, grungy look of the apartment, it’s quite impressive. Throw in some tight editing and a brisk pace, and Deep Dark is pretty solid.

Admittedly, those who aren’t fans of David Lynch or David Cronenberg won’t be easily swayed with Deep Dark. The film’s blending of strange ideas will admittedly have people turned off by the weirdness. Also, by the time the film’s third act rolls around, Deep Dark ends up shifting into more of the Cronenberg territory, with more bloody events that are a stark contrast to the rest of the film. These scenes, while oddly appropriate in a climactic sense, feel out of place with the rest of the film. But the same could be said of Motivational Growth, which takes its own dark turn in the latter half of its runtime.

Nevertheless, Deep Dark is still a solid film. Boasting some excellent acting, a melding of fantastical ideas that work, and great skill behind the camera, Medaglia has crafted a strange fantasy horror film that capably uses an age-old morality tale as its base. While it might be too weird for some people, and the fact that the film’s denouement is in such a stark contrast to the rest of the film that it feels out-of-place, Deep Dark is still wonderfully crafted. It’s definitely worth a viewing for fans of the surreal.

Writer/Artist/Gamer from the Great White North. I try not to be boring.

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‘Herencia Diabólica’ – 1993’s “Mexican Child’s Play” Finally Has a Blu-ray Release [Review]

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Did you know that there is a Child’s Play-inspired film from Mexico? If you didn’t, you can thank Vinegar Syndrome’s new label Degausser Video for making 1993’s Herencia Diabólica available for the masses to watch. Or at least for the VS hardcore fanbase, Chucky completists and anyone else who needs something like this in their lives.

Director Alfredo Salazar, known for his writing connection to the 70s Santo film series, also serves as the writer here to bring us a film seemingly inspired from the Child’s Play franchise. While it has been recently labeled as the “Mexican Child’s Play” (there’s a special feature on the disc with that very title), the killer doll concept is where the comparison should start and end. Despite having some seeds planted by that franchise, Salazar delivers a story that blossoms into something unique.

Tony (Roberto Guinar) receives a letter informing him that his aunt has died, and he has inherited her estate in Mexico. He quits his job and uproots his life in New York with his wife Annie (Holda Ramírez) to relocate south of the border and move into his new crib. Now I know what you’re thinking, what person just quits their job and drags their wife to another country without having reliable monetary income? Tony does, everyone, Tony does.

And what’s the first thing they do once they arrive in Mexico and check out the estate? They hit the bedroom, naturally. We are treated to a sex scene with an erotica song that feels like a knockoff of “Sadness” by Enigma (remember them?). Sounds fun and all, but the scene takes place completely in the dark and we see absolutely nothing. Maybe that’s why the sexy-time tune was pumping, so we could know what was exactly going down.

While Tony goes on a job interview, Annie explores the estate’s grounds in a tedious chore to experience, going room by room, plodding along. But it does lead us to her discovery of our antagonist—the evil clown doll, Payasito! Of all the things in the house, she decides to bring this monstrosity down to show Tony when he gets home. What an exciting way to celebrate (sic)! Then out of nowhere, she spouts off some exposition about rumors that Tony’s aunt dabbled in the dark arts and now we know where our title Diabolical Inheritance (the English translation for Herencia Diabólica) originates. For those of you who keep score for things like that.

Before proceeding with this review, you really need to visualize what Payasito looks like to truly embrace the rest of the film’s shenanigans. While Chucky resembles a cute ginger child, Payasito resembles a small clown that is much larger in stature than Chucky. That’s because Payasito is performed by an actor (Margarito Esparaza) in clown cosplay whenever he’s on the move (like Mannequin 2), and makes some really horrible facial expressions. Chucky dresses in “Good Guys” overalls and a striped shirt, but Payasito wears a new wave Santa hat while sporting a Sgt. Pepper jacket and Peter Pan tights. As you can now tell, he is quite beautiful.

Back to our story, Payasito begins to spook Annie cerebrally until she becomes unnerved to the point of having a complete mental break down, making her easy prey to eliminate. She dies but the unborn child survives, with Tony believing that her death was caused by her mental instability. Fast forward some years later and the couple’s surviving spawn has grown into child Roy (Alan Fernando), who at this point has already bonded with Payasito to help him over the loss of his mother. Dun-dun-duuunnn!

Meanwhile wealthy Tony remains single, still grieving his late wife, until his blonde assistant Doris encourages him to move on with his life and start seeing other people. And by other people, she naturally means herself. As the old Kanye West song lyric goes, “I ain’t saying she’s a gold digger…”, and it seems that she might be until we learn more about her character. Doris is played by the stunning Lorena Hererra who has an extremely extensive resume in Mexico, and she carries most of the film quite well during the feature’s second half. The singer and former Playboy centerfold for their Mexico edition is by far the most recognizable face in the cast.

Doris and Tony do indeed hookup and she moves into La casa de Herencia, where she does her best to impress Roy and lessen his obsession with the doll. There is a scene where they go to a nearby park without Payasito that is filled with famous fairytale figures, such as Pinocchio, Cinderella and King Kong! What, you didn’t know King Kong is a fairytale? Me neither. But Roy continues to be obsessed with Payasito after their trip, much to Doris’ chagrin.

Her actions to separate him from Roy gets Payasito angry, setting up the film’s most memorable scene. We already know that Payasito is a devil doll like Chucky, but now we learn he also has the power to invade people’s dreams like Freddy Krueger! Does Payasito enter the dream world and concoct a creative way to kill Doris in her sleep? No, he harnesses his power to sexually assault her instead. Yes that actually happens. After she awakens, Doris grabs the doll and tosses him into a lake, only to find him waiting for her by the time she gets back to the house. So now we know he also maintains the ability to “transport” like Jason Voorhees too. This doll is the total package!

More insanity happens before we close out the film with the longest victim chase sequence ever. It makes the previously mentioned painful house search scene seem like an eyeblink. It feels like it’s the film’s entire third act, filled with so much padding that you could soundproof an entire three-story house.

So how’s the transfer? Considering it was created using a mix of VHS and film source elements from 1993, they did one heck of a job! The work they put into it is especially noticeable in the dream invasion sequence, with the pulsing multi-colored psychedelic visuals. Super trippy stuff. Even the film’s score provides a pretty chill vibe, during the times when Payasito isn’t on the prowl.

If anything you read has piqued your interest in the very least, you should give it a shot. But if not, it is best to leave this doll on the shelf.

Herencia Diabólica is now available to purchase at VinegarSyndrome.com.

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