Sunday, June 12, 2011

Bellflower (2011) - ActionFest Buffet 2.0: Plate #7


On the Menu:
BELLFLOWER (2011)

Ingredients: Evan Glodell, Tyler Dawson, Jessie Wiseman, Rebekah Brandes and Vincent Grashaw. Directed by Evan Glodell. Run time: 105 minutes. Rated: R.

At First Bite: My original plan was to see the world premiere of A LONELY PLACE TO DIE at 9:45pm, but I didn't actually check my agenda before getting all of my tickets for the afternoon. So, I ended up seeing the 10pm regional premiere of BELLFLOWER instead of seeing it the following day.

All I needed to read was this movie was about two guys obsessed with Lord Humungus from THE ROAD WARRIOR, and they were building flamethrowers.

Woodrow (Glodell) and Aiden (Dawson) are best friends and pyros. They're slightly off-kilter, to put it mildly. Then, Woodrow meets a girl and it totally turns his world upside down.

Tough to Swallow: Some early scenes are blurry around the edges and have smudges of dirt on the lens.

When Woodrow takes Milly on the road trip he trades his car for a motorcycle. A short time later he's driving the car again. But, he makes it home on the bike.

Something to Chew On: None of the Medusa car in the film was faked; all parts, e.g., flamethrowers and security cameras, were/are functional.

Glodell and Wiseman actually ate live crickets in the scene where their characters meet (a cricket-eating contest).

Glodell also wrote the screenplay and built the flamethrowers and cars. He also, along with cinematographer Joel Hodge, created custom cameras.

The Medusa's 455 Chevy engine had to be replaced several times during filming. Production delays totaled about 8 months due to engine blowouts.

Wired.com had a nice piece on the car specifics.

Aftertaste: The movie starts out like it might be something strange, but then develops a love story. However, not long after that, it becomes something darker and more disturbing -- mostly because of Woodrow's accident. Obsessive love leads to brain damage.

It was really hard to like any of the characters in this movie (although Milly reminded me a little of Elisha Cuthbert), but it was Woodrow's movie and he was the most interesting.

Glodell definitely takes his character to a different level in the second half. The socially awkward Woodrow obviously has trouble expressing his emotions. Eventually, he takes his obsession with his favorite post-apocalyptic action film and merges it with his love life. In a sense, his breakup has become his apocalypse. The insanity level definitely gets bumped up a few notches.

I love the look of the film. The cinematography is great. There are some cool tilt-shift shots, plus a couple jump cuts to mess with your head a little more.

BELLFLOWER is a serious mind-f*ck of a movie. Not a lot of action (some sex and violence), but totally warped. Self-destruction at its finest. Lord Humungus would approve, I'm sure.

Rating:

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