Verdict
Summary
From filmmaker Philip Cook, Despiser really, and very truly impressed me with its go-get-’em approach to indie filmmaking with very impressive visuals as far as I’m concerned. The low-fi CGI might put some jaded viewers off, but I found all of it to be really interesting to the eye in the same sort of way that the Sin City movies looked, with almost a comic book panel pallet, not meant to evoke reality, but an in-between dimension where weird looking visuals are acceptable. Cook’s style of directing here (this is my first time watching one of his films) is pulsating with energy and style, and he clearly had a firm grasp of capturing what he intended to convey with all the wacky visuals, and it was never boring, not even for a second.
Plot:
A man has an accident and ends up in purgatory where he joins the resistance against a soul-collecting monster.
Review:
A creative artist named Gordon (Mark Redfield) faces a crossroads in his life when his wife is fed up with the fact that all his dreams and hopes to make it as an artist have so far failed spectacularly, and she walks out on him, giving him a tough love nudge to shape up or ship out. In his frustration, Gordon goes for a drive and has a terrific car crash, sending him straight to purgatory where he’s thrust in the middle of a war between a handful of resistance fighters who drive around with machine guns, hoping to save any lost souls from being claimed by the Despiser, a huge monster that prowls around, looking to devour what it can. The creature has a hunter helper in the form of a human whose face is scarred and whose only mission is to defeat the resistance fighters, and with Gordon on the precipice of death and life, he realizes that these ragtag gun-toting renegades are trying to help him see that the fight is very real and that if any of them are killed in purgatory then the Despiser will win. But something happens to Gordon: His “anchor” body on earth is resuscitated and he comes back to life with a newfound purpose … to somehow make it back to purgatory to help his renegade friends in their fight against the Despiser. And there’s more: The Despiser has sent demonic hunters to claim his soul while he still lives, which means his wife’s life is now in danger, because the purgatory demons are willing to do anything to drag him back to the realm of the almost-dead!
From filmmaker Philip Cook, Despiser really, and very truly impressed me with its go-get-’em approach to indie filmmaking with very impressive visuals as far as I’m concerned. The low-fi CGI might put some jaded viewers off, but I found all of it to be really interesting to the eye in the same sort of way that the Sin City movies looked, with almost a comic book panel pallet, not meant to evoke reality, but an in-between dimension where weird looking visuals are acceptable. Cook’s style of directing here (this is my first time watching one of his films) is pulsating with energy and style, and he clearly had a firm grasp of capturing what he intended to convey with all the wacky visuals, and it was never boring, not even for a second. The acting is very earnest too, and I also found the film’s score to be pretty good considering Cook’s composer likely didn’t have a lot of money to create something that sounded original and fresh. I liked the entire movie, frankly, and for a movie with a very low budget, the film is so much more inventive and creative than I expected.
Visual Vengeance treats their Blu-ray edition of Despiser as if it were a Criterion Collection release, with a ton of bonus material, commentaries, a foldout poster, stickers, outtakes, and a ton of other stuff. This is top-quality entertainment in my book. High marks here.
Bonus Materials
- Region Free Blu-ray
- Producer-supervised SD master from original tape source
- Limited Edition Slipcase by Andrei Bouzikov – FIRST PRESSING ONLY
- Commentary with director Philip J. Cook and stars Mark Redfield and Gage Sheridan
- New 2023 Interview with director Philip J. Cook and star Mark Hyde
- Commentary with Sam Panico of B&S About Movies and Bill Van Ryn of Drive-In Asylum
- The Making of Despiser
- Deleted Scenes
- Blooper Reel
- Outtakes Reel
- Despiser: Storyboard To Animation
- Original DVD Menu Animated Intro
- Behind The Scenes Gallery
- Image and Art Gallery
- Despiser Trailers
- Visual Vengeance Trailer
- Outerworld Trailer
- Invader Trailer
- Optional French audio soundtrack
- Optional English Subtitles
- Folded mini-poster
- ‘Stick your own’ VHS sticker sheet
- 2-Sided Insert
- Reversible Sleeve With Original VHS Art
