Wow, this is a REALLY bad movie!

To me, this movie is perfection.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

The acting in this movie is really good.

It's not everyday I venture out of my comfort zone when it comes to film- I'm happy watching The Wedding Singer, a good psychological thriller, a cop thriller, the sort of thing Harrison ford would've appeared in in the 90s, you know, standard movie-going fare- but once in a while you come across a peculiar film that you just stumble across and you give it your full attention, and if you hang on, there is a reward at the end. I've read the other reviews for this film on this website, and they say things like it's "hypnotic" or "surreal", the bad reviews are mainly by pretentious types that use musty words like "Lynchian", or say "I wish I could give this a zero!" words that should end up on a tissue, but somehow end up here. The point is, I gave it a go, and I can safely say its a belter, the "hypnotic" and "surreal" quotes definitely apply. Firstly, is it entertaining?: Yes, that would definitely be a yes. It's got a shed-load of big actors on board doing unconventional performances, there many quirky, messed up moments, a lot of dark humour and a floaty script that fleshes out a distinct dreamy, lost atmosphere, accentuated by the incredible cinematography and music choices that are not typical of any film I've ever seen.Secondly, the cultural merit: It starts off like a pragmatic cop drama, you get Willem Dafoe and his understudy, chatting chit, doing what cops in films do, shooting the breeze and driving to the crime scene like any other day on the job, but then they arrive and the mystery starts to unravel and the story's told in a series of flashbacks told by witnesses, and cutbacks to the "present" where the police are negotiating Michael Shannon's surrender. Like Sherlock Holmes said "Everything becomes commonplace by explanation", and though I've laid out the formula, and reading my own explanation back to myself, I make it sound like an episode of Columbo, the truth is, it's closer to something Rod Serling would've come up with, and then some. What's interesting about this film is that unlike a lot of other killer/cop dramas, they don't really try and make sense of the crime, the crime itself is solved within the first 5 minutes, what this film does is try and legitimately explain *WHY* this guy committed a murder, and then through secondary storytelling methods, the Killer's clouded mind becomes the primary focus of the whole thing, and the voices of his friends and family kind of become ghostly and fading as you start to understand more about the fantasy he lives in and how certain events drove him to do it. The mystery is an unsolvable one, but granted by the end of the film you will have some sort of self-made answer, and I think, lame as it sounds, that's the joy of this film- The sun bleached camera, the hazy L.A. suburban Americana, the unique characters and mini- stories all come together and it just sort of washes over you. It's a quirky indie film like you've never seen, not quite as good as "Paris, Texas", or "Romeo is Bleeding", but it's in the same vein, and whatever it tries to do, whatever that is, it succeeds on all fronts. It's worth a watch, it's sharp, it's clever in the right places, and stupid in others, but that absurdity gives it genuine character, which is rare in films with such big Hollywood actors involved. Really, when a film like this comes out, and it's the closest thing to art you've seen for a long time in modern cinema, believe me when I say it's worth a watch. Don't take my word for it, read up on the true story, it's based on a real case, 1979, murder by sword, Oedipus and all that good stuff, The calibre of actors speak for itself, and the collective interpretation of all involved is worth the price of admission alone. I read somewhere that this was supposed to be a "horror" story, well it's not quite that, and it's not quite a psychological drama, it's definitely speculative fiction, and lies somewhere on the periphery of explanation, between all those genres, a little to the left and then up a bit, then forward a bit more, then left again, then right, then left....

The Plot.The police are called to a murder scene and quickly discover that the murderer, the victim's son, is holed up in his house with two hostages. Through a series of interviews with both the murderer's fiancée and his theatre director the police piece together a picture of a man losing touch with reality. Hmmm.Big fan of lynch. Big fan of Herzog. Big fan of most of this cast.Not such a big fan of this movie.It's eighty some minutes and feels like 6 hours.You really, really, really, really really, really have to suspend disbelief to get into this film. The police would never ever act like this.The situation would be over in 5 minutes.But you have to sit there for a lot longer. Midway Brad Douriff of Chucky fame comes in and he sucks. Wow so bad it's beyond belief.It gets worse. Drones on and on and on and on and on and on.I SO wanted to like this movie.It's not so good.

There has been a lot of bad talk about this film but I have watched a lot of Herzog and I love this movie. It is an investigation primarily on mental illness, city life, and how people can get really messed up inside the "walls" of the city (and the little enclaves like families that exist within it). A very strong performance by Michael Shannon and I have to say this guy is really starting to hit his straps now after starting out in bit-part hoodlum roles etc., many years ago. He really has an intensity in this role that no-one else could have accessed, and I mean no-one. This was casting at its absolute best; his big physical presence and natural 1000 yard stare really added to the role. Again Herzog has gone out and made a movie that no-one else wanted to make. It has been a while since I saw it now, but I remember a moment of pure beauty at the end of the movie, I think with with a boy, a ball and a tree within the hugeness of the mega-city wasteland. These are moments where Herzog somehow gives us his inner feelings.

I found this film fascinating. Film is loosely based on the case of Mark Yavorsky, an actor who committed matricide, while playing the role of Orestes, Greek hero who avenges his father, by killing his mother in Aeschylus tragedy. Same crime committed by Yavorsky is presented in the movie, although the rest of the story is mostly fictional according to Herzog and Golden. Film does have a conventional plot frame, but what the story is actually about is exploration of acts of a strange man. That is the true power and value of this film.If you have never met, known, or maybe even had a friend ,that is alike to Brad McCullam in this film, you might not appreciate it, or find it particularly interesting. Person who struggles with reality, one of those people who have created reality, history or logic of their own. I have met plenty of those. But, to be fair,I must say, Brad McCullam's character is not quite one of those. Brad is a person who searches for value and sense in this world, which causes him to bring forth his own strange conclusions. That is what this film is made of - Brad's strange reasoning. Whether a basketball player or a theater actor for Brad it's important to find value and sense in what you do. I must say, Udo Kier, actor known for playing high camp facially expressed and German accented characters in bad movies, is a perfect partner for Michael Shannon here. Two weirdo friends.This kinda reminded me of one Boško Drljić Gandor - a minor youtube legend, guy that is hunting Nirdala, giant snake of the apocalypse.There is so many Brad McCullams out there.Let me finish with one Gandor's quote: ''I will not allow this world to become Nirdalas slavesI will not allow this world become Nirdalas graveyard!''Makes you think.