Directed by Jon Keeyes
A dysfunctional family serial killer picture, Suburban Nightmare opens up with a little gothic poetry and pillow talk before heading straight into the embittered home life of unhappily married couple Charles (Trent Haaga) and Deborah (Brandy Little). Arguing as they prepare for a dinner party, we see much petty bickering take place before the arrival of Professor Simmons and his wife. At which point the visiting couple is promptly poisoned, with the intention of adding them to the household larder.
Although this habit of murder and cannibalism has been going on for some time it hardly proves the catharsis necessary to relieve the couple’s emotional burden, and throughout the course of the evening Charles and Deborah fight and threaten each other’s lives almost without pause right into their ultimate romantic tragedy. The End.
Writer/director Keeyes does a fair job crafting the details of Charles and Deborah’s unhappy marital dynamic, but unfortunately this doesn’t make for an enjoyable filmgoing experience. With their volatile home life and unusual pastime you can see the ending coming from a long way away, and it seems to take an equally long time to get there. Once it finally does happen it’s far from rewarding, much less surprising. What you’re left with is an ugly emotional film, an agonizing melodrama filled with petty viciousness that plays out more like a highly charged stage play (dare I say, dinner theatre?) than anything else. And when was the last time any of you horror fans went to a fucking play?
Haaga and Little are capable actors who play off of each other well, and the story itself seems to present ample opportunity for shock and surprise. But the script really bogs itself down in its weighty attempt to veer away from exploitation and horror in favor of a focus upon the higher-minded dynamic of the killers’ complicated relationship. Which, despite the cannibalism angle, is clearly as frustrating and unpleasant as any other failing union.
Even the little extras sprinkled throughout the film (the captive slave chained up in the basement, for example) are unable to spice up the picture, doing little more than providing added opportunity for argument. On top of the unsatisfying aspects of the film so far expressed, Suburban Nightmare is also yet another movie that succumbs to the lure of dim lighting as a feeble attempt at atmosphere. This obscures a great amount of detail, and on top of that it’s just plain irritating.
DVD extras include segments on “The Victims” (FX), “World of the Killers” (set dressing, which initially seemed boring until it demonstrated some of the ‘art of murder’ décor with which the killers adorned their home), “Mind of the Killers” (method acting, psychological hoo-hah), “On the Set” (on the set) and “The Torture Room” (with sexy slave girl Chris), plus trailers and previews for a number of Shock-O-Rama features (including Skin Crawl starring Debbie Rochon). The disc also contains several “Shock-O-Rama Shocking Shorts,” which turned out to be an interesting array of featurettes. Lost Face is a chapter in the bitter rivalry between White trappers and American Indians, written and directed by Rob Fitz; Deep Dream, a film by Daniel Sergio De La Vega, finds a disturbed man re-experiencing dreams of his own death; and The Last Supper, also by De La Vega, also deals with a troubled individual’s visions in a very vivid and unsettling way. Less intriguing is a final ‘bonus’ video, “Don’t Wake Becky” by Eden Automatic, directed by Keeyes and consisting of lethargic chick rock set to scenes from the film. Nice try with the bonuses, but they still don’t make up for the time lost viewing the feature film.
-Crites
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
