Sonny  Boy

Sonny Boy is a truly weird and disturbing movie.There isn't a lot of gore in it.It's no Cannibal Holocaust but in a way it's worse. It gets under your skin and manages to be touching and yet depressing to the point of making you want to open a vein. Although to be fair the impulse to end it all may have had more to do with seeing David Carradine in a dress...but more about that later. I knew it was gonna be one of them nights when I saw  Ovidio Assontis' name in the credits. It all starts off with Brad Dourif playing a slimy little criminal who kills a young couple while robbing them. He makes off with a few little things as well as their infant son. it turns out that along with toady Sydney Lassick he works for Slue, a small town crime kingpin played by Paul L.Smith who you may remember from Midnight Express or his stunning portrayal of Bluto in the Popeye movie. This is where things start getting a little twisted.Slue wants to kill the baby but his wife Pearl refuses to allow it.Pearl is...you guessed it...David Carradine in a dress. It's never made clear whether he is a transvestite or just a really ugly woman. it's not a pretty sight either way. Pearl names the kid Sonny Boy and raises him as her own. Slue reluctantly agrees to it but spends most of his time making Sonny Boy's life a living hell. Various forms of torture and abuse are heaped on the young man. He is kept chained in a silo like an animal, beaten and mistreated, Slue even cuts his tongue out as a birthday gift. Slue begins using a now grown and very feral Sonny Boy to bump off his enemies. The locals eventually catch wind of what is going on and all hell breaks loose. This movie kinda sticks with you. You really feel for poor Sonny Boy and you even feel a little for Pearl and Slue by the end. The acting is quite good. Smith,Carradine, Dourif, and Lassick all pull off their parts wonderfully. The cinematography is beautiful and the music is a weird mix between something that sounds like dueling banjos meets one of those Disney nature films they showed us back in school. There is also a theme song performed by Carradine which must be heard in all it's glory. This is a must see for fans of offbeat cinema or people who are into the idea of David Carradine blubbering all over a half naked young man while calling him his baby boy. The movie seemed a little choppy in places and I'm almost certain it was cut. I rated it 3 Brains but it would have got 4 if not for the censoring. If anybody knows where we might get an uncut copy of this please email us and let us know. -Badfish

Rating-3 Brains