(1999)

review by:

6-14-04

Written and Directed by: Dan Clark Starring: Dan Clark, Dawn Marie Velasquez, Dave Pressler, Dan Lake

Four criminals are pulling a last job together. They must hide a creature in a box for 24 hours, until the buyer arrives. But as you might guess, the thing gets out, and all hell breaks loose. Wow. Who ever would have thought. I believe The Item holds the record for most-considered movie over the past few years. The box art has been thoroughly burned into my retinas with the amount of times I've read the back, considered renting it, and placed it back on the shelf for another day. But had I heard anything about how good this movie was, I never would have hesitated. It starts out with a shady deal in the desert. From the second you see gothic illusionist Ron Fitzgerald walk on screen with dark round sunglasses and a space-age silver suit, you know this film will be different. Next, a girl is gruesomely shot about 18 times as she runs toward our "heroes" armed with a tiny knife in a Jesus keychain. And it only gets better from there. There's a drag queen gun fight, an extremely loveable sociopath, and enough blood to make Kill Bill fans take notice. But of course, the thing that steals the show is "the item" itself, a creature which manages to be both ridiculously comical and horribly disturbing at the same time. Whether the story sounds interesting or not, The Item has another reason to be respected: it's one of the fathers of the digital revolution. The first digital beta feature accepted into the Sundance Film Festival, this movie helped pave the way for hundreds of cinematic pixel-fests of all types and qualities. Not that there was any real quality lacking in this film. From the very modern, funny script to the fast-paced, dreamlike shots, Dan Clark constructs a moving comic book of a movie that few have been able to pull off with as much class. He knows what he's doing, and you're welcome to join him in his madness. Sometimes the acting isn't the best, but other scenes and actors make up for it. Sometimes the script sounds like one of Tarantino's, but the viewer's quickly brought back into Clark's own unique world. Unlike a lot of the filler out now, this film is actually entertaining, so its shortcomings are easily excused. The Item was one of the most pleasant surprises in recent memory. It's funny, disturbing, comforting, brutal, and surreal. It's a sci-fi comedy horror gangster art flick, with drag queens and lots of Chinese food. Rent it for a good time, as well as to see what helped start a revolution.

AKA: Four Men and a Worm Baby

Rating