June Quick Picks and Pans

Seconds (1966) John Frankenheimer’s disturbing sci-fi thriller, based on a novel by John Ely, plays a bit like an extended Twilight Zone episode, with the central message that we must be careful of what we wish for. A jarring Saul Bass opening title sequence sets the stage for the tone of the film. Middle-aged banker Arthur Hamilton (John Randolph) is offered an enticing prospect from a shadowy organization – to leave his humdrum life and reinvent himself. Through extensive plastic surgery and physical therapy, Arthur becomes a different person with a new identity, Antiochus Wilson (Rock Hudson). He experiences life as an artist in an exclusive Malibu community and encounters a free spirit (Salome Jens). Despite months of physical and psychological conditioning, however, he finds it difficult to adjust to his current reality. James Wong Howe’s inventive cinematography keeps us on edge throughout, as we experience things from Wilson’s distorted, outsider perspective. Seconds challenges us with its relentlessly grim, bewildering vision, in which no one is quite what they appear to be.

Film fans take note: Seconds would pair nicely with Hiroshi Teshigahara’s The Face of Another (also from 1966), which deals with similar themes of isolation and identity.

Rating: ****. Available on Blu-ray, DVD and Kanopy

Dave Made a Maze (2017) In this clever little film by Director/co-writer Bill Watterson, Annie (Meera Rohit Kumbhani) returns home to find that her boyfriend Dave (Nick Thune) has constructed an elaborate labyrinth out of cardboard and scraps. His handiwork becomes a prison, as he’s trapped inside, without a clear way out. Annie, Dave’s friends and a documentary camera crew soon embark on a journey inside the maze (which is much larger on the inside), fraught with many hazards, booby traps and odd creatures lying in wait. The film displays a heap of ambition, with inventiveness belying its low-budget origins (at one point, the characters transform into paper bag puppets). Dave, who never seems to finish what he starts, is best exemplified by one character they encounter in the maze, who displays a moment of clarity, “Life is a series of incomplete moments from which there is no escape.” His maze serves as an apt metaphor for the constraints we place upon ourselves as we search for meaning in our lives.

Rating: ****. Available on Blu-ray, DVD and Kanopy

Blue Sunshine (1977) Writer/director Jeff Lieberman’s bonkers follow-up to Squirm (1976) raises the bar for insanity. Zalman King stars as Jerry “Zippy” Zipkin, an educated but aimless drifter, investigating the strange death of his friend. Clues point to “Blue Sunshine,” a form of LSD that causes users (10 years after the fact) to lose their hair and become homicidal. Zipkin traces the source to up-and-coming congressional candidate Edward Flemming (Mark Goddard, of Lost in Space fame), who sold drugs during college. Bad acting, bizarre characters and terrible bald caps add up to a one-of-a-kind viewing experience. You can’t lose with lines like, “There’s a bald maniac in there, and he’s going batshit!” After watching this, you might check your head for hair loss and question your own sanity. Watch it if you dare.

Rating: ***. Available on Blu-ray and DVD

 

Starry Eyes (2014) Sarah (Alex Essoe), a 20-something aspiring actress, works at a degrading, dead-end job, while she pursues her dream of landing a big Hollywood role. She jumps at the chance when she’s offered an audition for a new independent production, but learns too late that the role comes at an awful price. Now, Sarah is forced to endure a series of indignities if she wants to stay in the running.

Starry Eyes works two-thirds of the way, with its themes about doing anything for fame and leaving one intolerable situation for another. It’s too bad the plot (think Suspiria meets Day of the Locust) devolves from psychological torment to ersatz Cronenberg-style body horror. Her ensuing bloody rampage might satisfy those looking for nothing more than a gory climax. Anyone looking for a more substantive, thoughtful conclusion to these themes might consider looking elsewhere.  

Rating: **½. Available on Blu-ray, DVD and Amazon Prime