I remember reading about this film a couple of years back and mentally filing it away on my "maybe watch" list. But you couldn't rent the DVD on Netflix, and it wasn't enticing enough to buy online. But when I was visiting a buddy out in California and came across the Special Edition used for $7.99 at Streetlight records in San Jose, I had to pick it up. And if I knew then what I know now (i.e. that I wouldn't like it very much), I probably would have passed. But still, I've got fond memories of that record store, even if Slime City Massacre ended up being a bust.
Also, I wish I had paid more attention when I read about it - apparently this is the sequel to 1988's Slime City. I highly doubt that seeing the original would make all that much of a difference (Massacre feels pretty self-contained), but still. It's good to be informed. That being said, the original is now pretty low on my "maybe watch" list. And that's a damned big list.
Slime City Massacre is just kind of bad. Given it's reputation, I was at least hoping for some interesting/fun gore, or some shocking sleaziness - but nope. It's not *terrible* for an indie splatter film, but there's nothing here that's too fun or memorable.
I wasn't expecting a good story - and I didn't get one. Basically, the main section of the movie takes place years after a dirty bomb went off in a big urban area. (Maybe that's how part one ended? Although I don't think dirty bombs were a thing in 1988...) Slime City is a sort of semi-abandoned area where impoverished, dirty people - not pervs, just people covered in grime - hang out and just sort of waste away. Given the whole radiation thing I had thought maybe mutants would play a role, but other than one gag... not so much. I guess there *are* supposed cannibals in gas masks (curiously their outfit sort of negates the one thing that would make them a cannibal - eating), but mostly Slime City is just filled with demoralized, needy people. As well as a criminal element looking to exploit them. There is a little class issue going on when a wealthy businessman shows up and wants to tear the place down, but it's so awkward and heavy-handed that it doesn't amount to much.
Anyways, things get into gear when our main couple - a pair of post-dirty bomb drifters who happen to have a set of skeleton keys - wander into Slime City and team up with another couple. New Guy and Established Guy go exploring, and come across a secret cellar filled with weird jars of some florescent yogurt looking stuff and some bottled beverage. Of course, they bring it back to the place where they're squatting, eat and drink it, and get super, super high. It looks fun.... but there are some drawbacks. Namely, you start to sweat slime and want to murder people. Or, in one case, you just melt in a bathtub into a gross puddle with a face. But like any good drug, it is highly addictive, so our non-puddled people need to get more. We basically spend the rest of the movie following their adventures as they mill about Slime City and deal with their addiction and its side effects.
There are some flashbacks to the pre-dirty bomb era when some sex-cult-guru made this addictive stuff, but it adds next to nothing to the film. It feels like black and white padding and nothing more.
So story-wise, Slime City Massacre is just not all that compelling. I guess lead actress Jennifer Bihl is a good enough hero, but an unconventional gender swap is not enough to save the film. The gore is too cheesy to ever be disturbing, but a little too cheap to ever be cool. And honestly, the gore isn't all that prevalent, considering it's billed as a splatter film.
I guess it just felt empty for me. Slime City Massacre didn't ever feel like it justified its existence, if that makes any sense. It isn't funny (it isn't really trying), and it takes itself just seriously enough to not be fun. It's in this weird gray area where it's too dumb to be legitimately fun, but too serious to be dumb fun. I would have guessed that "intentional dumb fun" would have been the route to go - but it's not meant to be.
So I don't know. The one thing I wouldn't have predicted is that Slime City Massacre would be is forgettable. It was one of those times where I wanted to be grossed-out/offended/whatever, and I just ended up sitting there waiting for it to end. Too bad.
I would not recommend this film.
No comments:
Post a Comment