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Released by: Cinema Image Productions
Released on: 10/25/2005
Director: Joseph Parda
Cast: Eileen Daly, Milton Hayes, Roland Johnson, Tina Krause, Devon Mikolas, David Runco
Year: 2003
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The Movie:
Jean-Charles (David Runco) emerges out of the surf looking for all the world like some sort of messianic figure (note the character's initials!) only to be hit by a fast moving car by a girl named Erika (Tina Krause) who takes him home with her. As he awakens and finds himself in the home of the strange Marks family, het gets to know them a little better, especially the elder of the family, Alexander (Roland Johnson), a cantakerous old man strapped to a wheelchair. His wife, Cynthia (Eileen Daly) is just as odd, and quite the melodramatic attention whore in her own right.
Jean-Charles' relationship with Erika begins to morph into something more, and soon she's seduced him and taken his gas mask and put it on over her head. From here on out, the lives of the Marks family interweave with the life of Jean-Charles and it all falls apart from there resulting in some sort of truly strange psycho-sexual acid trip.
Machines Of Love And Hate is pretty heavy stuff. Yes, it's completely pretentious almost throughout but that aire of pretentiousness works for it, not against it. The influences here are obvious - David Lynch, Luis Bunel and maybe a little bit of Alejendro Jodorowsky -and at times it feels as if its trying maybe a little too hard to imititate that surrealist style but more often than not, the movie works quite well.
While this is a completely independent feature and a low budget one at that, the production team have obviously taken some steps to maximize their budget as say what you will about the content, the feature looks really good. The primary lighting hues used to accent certain scenes are reminiscent of some of the more reconizaeable scenes from Argento and Bava's body of work, but without the scares. Less a horror film and more a head trip, the tale unravels in a rather haphazzard manner which makes it tricky to follow in spots but that ultimately rewards attentive viewing.
Performance wise, we're in really good shape here. Roland Johnson overdoes it in a few scenes and goes a little further over the top and carefully treats on that line between manic and campy but for the most part stays in check as the father of the strange family. Eileen Daly (of Cradle Of Fear and Sacred Flesh) is also quite good in her role, though again, she comes in heavy with the melodramatic flair. David Runco (of Flesh For The Beast) is sufficiently melancholy here, playing the savior (if you can call him that) in the gas mask well enough. The real star of the show, however, is Tina Krause - she's a complete knock out and has the acting chops to boot. Those who have seen her in the numerous Seduction Cinema releases she's appeared in should enjoy seeing a more serious side of her ability in this presentation.
Also worth noting is that the score by Function Zero (who also worked on Nikos The Impaler) really suits the movie quite well and adds a bit of atmosphere to the whole package. It's moody and evocative and thankfully doesn't fall for the typical generic metal clichés that populate so many independent films.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The 1.85.1 widescreen transfer does justice to the decent cinematography used throughout the film. Color reproduction is strong with some slight bleeding in the reds. Black levels are solid, they don't break up or pixelate which is nice to see. There's some slight shimmering effects here and there and the occasional scene that looks a little soft but otherwise the movie looks quite nice on DVD.
The English language Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo mix is pretty solid, making excellent use of the soundtrack without burying the performers in the mix. Sound effects come through nice and clear, dialogue does as well, and while there were a couple of spots where the bass could have been a bit stronger, this is a strong mix overall that doesn't suffer from any hiss or distortion.
The main bonus feature on this release is a keen little twenty-five minute short film entitled Szamoto's Mistress. Based on a story by Stefan Grabinksi and directed by Joseph Parda, the film, presented here in all its black and white glory, stars Joseph Zaso and Tina Krause in a strange and erotic drama that is well shot, well acted, and plenty atmospheric. According to the biography on the production companies website, this story was originally released as part of an anthology entitled Evil Street from 1988. In a nutshell, the story revolves around a man named Szamoto (Joseph Zaso) who becomes obsessed with a gorgeous woman named Jana (Tina Krause). She clues in to his feelings for her and has him over for a strange night of bedtime fun. When the night is over, they both decide they want more but Jana turns out to be a little odd, sending her new friend strange notes and becoming increasingly unusual in their further exploits together. It's a little predictable but the cinematography and lighting is much better than you'd think for an indy anthology production - it looks very professional and very slick. Zaso and Krause are also quite decent in their roles, with Krause looking absolutely magnificent in front of the camera here.
Rounding out the extra features are a few trailers for other Cinema Image DVD releases, biographies for the key cast and crew members, and a decent sized still gallery.
The Final Word:
A strange and at times almost surreal experimental film, Machines Of Love And Hate shows some strong direction, decent performances, and above average (by indy standards, at least) production values. It isn't always easy to make sense of the movie, but it is always interesting and if you're into trying to wrap your head around weird cinema, this one delivers. The extras are keen as well.