Dust Up

Released by: Breaking Glass Pictures
Released on: 11/13/2012
Director: Ward Roberts
Cast: Amber Benson, Jeremiah Birkett, Aaron Gaffey, Devin Berry, Travis Betz
Year: 2012
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The Movie:
A war-veteran turned handyman living in the desert finds himself plopped into the middle of a situation involving a loser speed freak and a sadistic and insane drug lord, with a young mother and her baby caught in between, enlisting the help of his Native American friend.

Jack (Aaron Gaffey) gets a call to repair some plumbing at the rundown home of Ella (Amber Benson) and her little baby. An instant rapport is established between them, with nice guy Jack wanting to help out poor girl Ella. Enter into the picture her useless meth-head husband and the baby's father, Herman (Travis Betz), who makes it known he's a dead man. Herman owes the local drug lord Buzz (Jeremiah Birkett) a few grand and of course doesn't have the money, which also puts Ella and the infant in danger. Jack won't just stand by without trying to help, offers the drug lord some of the money owed, and gets himself tangled up in what becomes a war that involves kidnapping, scalping, and cannibalism. With the help of his quirky friend Mo (Devin Barry), an Indian who left his nearby reservation to be on his own, they wage battle against Buzz and his thugs, which includes Mr. Lizard (Al Burke). They call him that because he looks like a lizard.

There are two things that stand out in this movie, one is the fact that these are very competent filmmakers and the other thing is the acting. And concerning the acting, three people stand at the top. While all the main players do good job, Devin Barry, Jeremiah Birkett, and Travis Betz command the attention in this one. They deliver their lines with great comic timing and some of is down right funny. And it's supposed to be funny, in a dark way of course. You can't have a movie with cannibalism that isn't dark. But pleasantly surprising is that the humor works. Aside from the comic book vibe the movie has, there's some down right gruesome stuff here, done really well on such a small budget. Once in a while the budget constraints come through (a giant explosion jumps to mind) but for the most part it looks like a bigger movie than it is, which is always great to see.

The opening credits deserve some mention, as they're fantastic. An illustrated style with some groovy music may give the impression they are trying to capture the “grindhouse” vibe, but the movie doesn't really go that route. Yeah, there are definitely nods here and there to midnight movies, and influences can be spotted for sure, but this one seems to be trying for its own thing rather than riding on someone else's stuff.

Video/Audio/Extras:
The movie looks very pleasing, presumably shot on an HD camera, delivering tremendous detail and clarity (sadly only in a standard definition presentation). Colors are fantastic: very intense blue skies against the brown rock of the desert, crimson blood reds (plenty of that), and deep black levels. It's a nicely photographed movie that really brings out the beauty of the desert. Aspect ratio is 2.35:1 for anyone wondering. The audio is a 5.1 Dolby Surround track, which is clear and free of any noticeable issues. Lots of music thumps out of the speakers but never at a level that reaches the obnoxious. It does its job, with no complaints.

There is a multitude of extras, most worth the time, and none really taking too much time. The main one is a commentary by the directors and most of the main cast members. Start to finish, it's entertaining. Obviously these people have a history with each other and just as obviously they really dig what they do. Enthusiastic stuff that was a great listen. Honestly, the movie was watched a second time all the way through with commentary. Aside from the track, look for a number of fake and humorous PSAs, a featurette on the music score (fly on the wall stuff versus a narrative), and an audio looping session. Probably the most interesting extra in the list is “The Herm Dawg Diaries”, a 35-minute behind the scenes, home-movie style look into the movie shoot. It's hosted by Travis Betz, Herman in the movie, and has some pretty funny stuff going on. Watching this actually made this viewer appreciate the feature even more. For those into outtakes, “What Shannon Saw” is a little over 17 minutes worth of such footage. A photo gallery with what looks to be screen captures plays to music from the film and lastly is a trailer for Dust Up and other Breaking Glass releases.

The Final Word:
A fun little flick that actually stands out in a sea of low-budget independently made movies, Dust Up entertains and delivers plenty of nastiness in the form of cartoonish violence. Add in a great looking transfer and extras worth watching, and you have yourself a movie that comes recommended.