Science Crazed — Science Crazed(DVD)
The film was a Canadian production, and was the one & only film directed by the rather mysterious Ron Switzer. The film was made in 1989, and I guess you could say is an attempt to blend together classic lumbering monster movie, Slasher(with out any blood), & noir detective movie. The films plot tells of a mad scientist( played by a shades wearing Switzer) who injects a deck chair tied women with untested growth serum. With in time she dies, and gives birth to The 'Fiend'- which grows to adulthood with in a few hours, and then goes on a slow( and I mean slow) rampage attacking various people.
Apparently the film was mostly filmed in the apartment block Switzer livened-in, and a large part( and I mean a large part) of the film takes in shots of The 'Fiend' lumbering on, on, and on down the apartments corridors. Talking of The 'Fiend', he is a truly bizarre & lo-grade creation- his costume basically consists of a ripped blood stained t-shirt, a banged head with Spock ears, a dragging walk, and constantly asthmatic like deep breathing.
So what makes the whole thing interesting, beyond the lo-grade/ zero budget charm?. Well we get a whole host of what—the-hell scenes, for example when the women is tied down in the deck chair, she proceeds to scream oddly for a few minutes, and this is followed by what looks like footage of a naked man strapped down & moaning- all suggesting S&M. The first stalk & kill is truly painfully slow & truly odd- it consists of around eight minutes of looped footage of The 'Fiend' lumbering down a corridor, & two women working out( at first in a empty room)- all going on over a repetitive blend of instrumental new-wave synth & beats.
Added to the above we get stilted & oddly over dubed dialogue, weird inconsistent lighting that varies in scene, and a general feeling of bizarre reality, portrayed via bumbling, though oddly endearing film-making. In no shape or form is Science Crazed a good or well made movie, but if you enjoy puzzling, extremely low-grade VHS oddness & bad movies, it’s certainly something that will exceed you expectation for what-hell/ head scratching moments.
The DVD has a good share of extras- you get a twelve page inlay booklet, featuring writing/ reviews on the film. A double sided cover. On the disc it’s self you get amusing though informative commentaries from Paul Corupe( of canuxploitation.com) & Josh Johnson( Rewind This). As well four 15 to 20 minute featuretts, taking in interviews & discussion about the film. Plus DVD-Rom content, which takes in PDF’s, MP3’s of the soundtrack, etc. So really most impressive for a film that is so obscure/rare.
Clearly Science Crazed is not something for your average film fan, and it would send most folks running away from their TV's in both puzzlement & boredom. But if you enjoy trashy, odd, and no-budget film-making with a bizarre & often highly monotonous feel this could well be for you.