The Dark Backward

Summary

“You are going to be famous! You are going to be so big!’” 

Sony has recently released Adam Rifkin’s midnight movie The Dark Backward. Made on a shoestring budget, the film was obviously a passion project for all involved. The picture received a green light because Judd Nelson championed the script. I was intrigued by the inventive and bizarre premise of the film and because the picture starred Bill Paxton. I loved Bill Paxton’s acting and eccentric filmography, so I thought that the picture would be worth checking out.

At Sid’s Nightclub, bespectacled Marty Malt (Judd Nelson) sweats profusely as he delivers a stand up routine to an unmoved audience. Even his best friend, accordion player Gus (Bill Paxton,) didn’t laugh. Gus still encourages Marty to continue to pursue his comedy dreams. Marty explains that he had been invited to perform on Tuesdays and Thursdays for $10 a night. They head to a diner where Marty’s girlfriend Rosarita (Lara Flynn Boyle) works. Gus builds up Marty and says that he had killed it. That night Marty and Rosarita lay in bed as he thinks of material. The next day, Gus and Marty go to work as trash men. At the dump, Gus finds a pair of earrings on a naked dead girl. They bring the earrings to Gus’s obese lady Sloppy (Charles Knapp) that he sees. The next day, while Marty gives a stand up performance, Gus goes across the street and meets a talent agent named Jackie Chrome (Wayne Newton.) Gus explains this to Marty as he looks at his suits at home. Gus notices a big lump on Marty’s back. Marty goes to the doctor (James Caan) who basically puts a bandaid on the lump and charges Marty $250. Jackie Chrome (Wayne Newton) comes to Marty’s show, and he is nonplussed. He has no idea that Marty actually does have one unique talent – he is growing a third arm out of his back. This costs Marty his girlfriend, but opens up a new pathway to fame for the struggling comedian.

Before seeing The Dark Backward, I had seen Adam Rifkin’s Detroit Rock City (which I liked,) and also seen his USA Up All Night staple Invisible Maniac, which was fun enough for what it was. Adam wrote The Dark Backward when he was nineteen and it took him a few years to get it made. The movie’s premise is certainly inventive, and I can understand why it has become a truly divisive midnight movie. For myself, I can’t in good conscience recommend this film. To be honest, I found the experience of watching this movie difficult. The humor failed to land for me and there were numerous sequences that just struck me as offputting. For example, when Gus finds the dead girl at the dump, for some reason he licks her nipple. That is pretty gross, right? The picture has some other sequences of inexplicable behavior that effectively killed my enjoyment of the picture.

The Dark Backward boasts a truly unique production design that looks similar in some ways to Beetlejuice’s Netherworld sequences (if it was covered in grime) and the design elements are definitely the best aspect of the film. Cinematographer Joey Forsyte did a solid job of amplifying the strange surroundings in the film, and the overall look of the film is pretty interesting. It would be hard to fault the acting in the film either. Everyone seems to give it their all, from the late greats Bill Paxton and James Caan, to Wayne Newton, Lara Flynn Boyle, and Judd Nelson. Nobody phones it in. Despite those good elements, I found the pacing of the film was lacking and the humor landed with a thud for me. There were a few moments that showed promise, but I can’t pretend that the picture worked for me.

I really don’t like to talk bad about films because I know how hard they are to make, so I am basically going to stop my review there. Sony’s Blu-ray release gives folks who love the film another chance to check it out, because the out of print DVD is hard to locate these days.

Video

Presented in 1.78:1 aspect ratio in 1080p with an MPEG-4 AVC encode, The Dark Backward looks pretty decent on Blu-ray. I read in some other reviews that they found the visual presentation pretty lacking. While I agree with their assessment that the presentation may have come from an older master, I actually thought the transfer looked pretty decent on my projector screen. Fine detail is fine, if not exceptional. Color timing seemed accurate to the intentions of the filmmakers. I don’t think fans of the film will be upset with this transfer.

Audio

The DTS-HD MA 2.0 track faithfully recreates the original sound design of the picture. Immersion was decent and the score by Mark David Decker and numerous accordion segues are represented well.

Supplements: These are ported from the 2007 Special Edition DVD

Director Introduction

Cast & Crew Commentary – This legacy track features writer/director Adam Rifkin, producer Brad Wyman, and actors Judd Nelson and Bill Paxton 

Blump’s Squeezable Documentary

15th Anniversary Q&A

Deleted Scenes

Outtakes 

Cannes Promo Shorts 

“Catch My Dreams” Clip Compilation

Animation from the Film 

The Head Nerd 

James Caan 

Overall Scores:

Video – 3.75/5

Audio – 4/5

Supplements – 4/5

Overall – 3/5

I have always considered myself to be a champion of strange pictures – midnight movies, art films, foreign films, etc. Every now and then, I watch a film fully expecting to embrace it, and then I am surprised to find that the picture does nothing for me. The Dark Backward is certainly a midnight movie. It’s gross and strange but also shows plenty of artistic bent in its production design and in its script’s imagination. The performers in the film give it their all, with a stand out performance by Bill Paxton and a pretty strong turn by Wayne Newton. Unfortunately, I found this film a chore to sit through. I don’t want to talk bad about the picture, because it obviously was a passion project for all involved. If you like the film, you will be excited to have a chance to own it on Blu-ray. The video transfer and audio were pretty good in my opinion (if not exceptional,) and there are a good amount of special features that have ported from the DVD. This release is only recommended for those who have seen the picture and enjoyed it.

The film can be purchased at www.moviezyng.com.