Listen & Be Heard Weekly Archives

During a recent visit to Los Angeles I attended a screening of an unreleased film titled ?ÄúAttitude for Destruction.?Äù Produced by David S. Sterling and directed by Ford Austin, the film?Äôs premise is a simple one. Boy meets girl. Boy leads band. Band does well. Label wants band but not boy. Band kills boy. Band member hooks up with girl. Dead boy rises from grave and kills each band member, saving the one who has his girl for last, when?Ķ

Ah, but that would be telling, and I won?Äôt.

The film title?Äôs similarity to Guns ?Äòn?Äô Roses?Äô ?ÄúAppetite for Destruction?Äù is clearly no accident. The film?Äôs logo mimics the above-mentioned CD artwork, lead singer Drake (Colby Veil) works the familiar Axl Rose dance moves and wears the mandatory doo-rags, lead guitarist Sully (Monte Hunter) recalls Slash?Äôs top hat (although Sully?Äôs is thinner and comically bent in the middle) and long, thick black hair covering what little of his face is not hidden by sunglasses. The music is inspired by G ?Äòn?Äô R?Äôs signature sound. The offstage lifestyle is fueled by Jack Daniels and punctuated by sex in cars.

But this movie is no ?ÄúSpinal Tap?Äù-inspired mockumentary. This is an over-the-top gorefest, the kind of film where not only does Drake ?Äúchew the scenery,?Äù he chews the people in front of it. Not exactly one for the kiddies. Think of Freddy Krueger with a Stratocaster and a REAL appetite for destruction. The differences between this movie and hundreds of ?ÄúOooo! Scary!?Äù flicks that aren?Äôt scary at all are the level of excellence by the actors, Austin?Äôs well-considered direction, and the almost surgical editing skills of Jason Peri. Gore is not my cup of tea (or blood) but I enjoyed a lot about this movie.

Certain scenes in ?ÄúAttitude for Destruction?Äù have a level of quality and imagination usually not associated with the horror genre. A good example is the scene where the band members (minus the now-dead Drake) are informed of the record company?Äôs intention to send them on an extended tour of performances. The scene is bookended by J.J. the record company representative (Jed Rowen) playing a Delta blues slide guitar instrumental in his office. As it begins, the band members watch him play, their admiration soon to be followed by resignation once J.J. and his assistant Vanessa (Annmarie Lynn Garcey) inform them of the company?Äôs plans for their tour. The admiration springs from an unspoken sense of musical connection with the rep, a brotherhood of guitarists, someone who understands them and their motivations; the resignation comes from the realization that they all may have signed on for something different from what they had expected, a business-first approach to music. J.J. makes his position very clear and final, then he resumes playing his guitar, as though alone in his bedroom. (His slide work, incidentally, kills; if it is not him playing, he does a great fake job.)

The point of singling out this scene is to illustrate the difference between this film and the majority of offerings from its above-mentioned genre. The majority of gore films keep a steady flow of Karo syrup and red food dye (or whatever is being used as fake blood these days) in use from scene to scene. Pausing for any character development is rare and generally of no use in plot advancement, especially since the plots are minimal in nature. Audiences usually do not get moments for contemplation in these movies, nor, it seems, do they want them. Watching these movies is literally a ?Äúgo with the flow?Äù approach. Including a scene like the one with J.J. and the band is not only a refreshing change, it elevates the level of the film from the standard ?Äúblood and guts porn?Äù to something with a sense of naturalistic drama. Take away the Drake-has-risen-from-the-grave aspect of this story and it becomes something common to everyone?Äôs lives: having to choose and having to live with your choices. Not really much different than what is at the heart of the story of the Garden of Eden.

Another standout scene features a montage of emotional pingponging displayed by bandmate Marc (Simon Burzynski), whose inner conflicts regarding his involvement in the accidental death of Drake and the subsequent bizarre deaths of his fellow band members are shown in quick cuts to mirror his turmoil. Each cut is a showcase of both fine acting by Burzynski and the editing technique of Jason Peri. No pieces of this montage have a sense of filler or falsity. It was believable and well-presented, like a well-conceived piece of music; Burzynski or Peri could show this clip to anyone who asked, ?ÄúSo, what can you do??Äù and it would provide all of the answers needed. Watching this scene, I was reminded of Woody Allen?Äôs ?ÄúStardust Memories?Äù where Sandy (Allen) visits Dorrie (Charlotte Rampling) in a sanitarium and she displays her fractured emotional state via a similar editing style.

Films like ?ÄúNightmare on Elm Street,?Äù ?ÄúScream,?Äù and ?ÄúFriday the 13th?Äù require a beautiful lead actress; Laura Lyon more than meets that requirement in ?ÄúAttitude for Destruction.?Äù A review could be written just on the use of her eyes as an acting tool in this movie. Unlike the female roles in the above-mentioned films, Lyon?Äôs role has a direct role in determining the outcome, not as a rescued heroine or redeemed antagonist, but?Ķagain, it would be telling.

What I can tell you is that the people involved with this film all contributed excellent work. There was enough talent on screen to compare favorably to the work in the majority of Hollywood releases. Burzynski in particular has considerable talent; he could be to Sterling what Jack Nicholson was to Roger Corman. Sterling?Äôs website, in fact, posts a quote about him being the ?Äúspiritual son?Äù of Corman. Not bad company.

?ÄúAttitude for Destruction?Äù is scheduled for a 2008 release. For additional information, visit www.sterlingmoviefactory.com.