The Ugly — The Ugly( Blu Ray)
The Ugly is a late 90’s serail killer drama/ thriller from New Zealand. It regards a female psychologist going to assess a charming, but dangerous killer- who claims he’s been haunted by the sprints of those he’s murdered. The film has a decidedly jarring/ darting structure with some effective moments of building tension, shock, and a general unbalanced vibe. Here from Unearthed Films- those purveyors of extreme & troubling cinema- is a blu ray release of the picture. It takes in a new 4k scan, new commentary track, and a few other extras.
The Ugly is from the year 1997. It was directed/ written by Auckland born Scott Reyonlds. Between 1992 and 2009 he has seven credits to his name- these take in a couple of TV series & shorts, as well two others features. These come in the form of dark noir with supernatural touches Heaven (1998), and nihilistic psychological thriller When Strangers Appear (2001).
The films two lead characters are Simon Cartwright (Paolo Rotondo)- a thirtysomething, curly haired, and often charming serail killer- whose MO was all over the place, hence it took some time to catch him. And blond permed haired psychologist Dr. Karen Schumaker (Rebecca Hobbs).
Simon has been locked away in an isolated/ sparsely populated psych hospital for the last five years- he’s often belittled and bulled by two redneck gang member looking guards/ psych nurses. One rainy night Karen turns up to start assessing Simon, she met by deadpan, if slightly camp chief of the facility Dr. Marlowe (Roy Ward)- who says she has to be very wary of Simon, as he lies and manipulates.
Anyway, Simon is dragged into the two-way mirrored assessment room- he handcuffed to a chair, with a white sack initially on his head. From the off Reynolds creates a nice air of unease, with the use of the sack, and even when it’s removed the killers head is down- his curly mop obscuring his face.
As the film unfolds, we flash back and forth though Simon’s life- from his childhood where he was bullied by his peers & snapped at by his domineering mother. On through his killing career, and beyond. The way the film is edited is often highly jarring- jumping through time periods, also we have moments of violently swirling camera work- which nicely enhance the moments of shock. From time to time the jarring feel pares back- to reveal moments of uneasy stalking, or effective false jumps.
Paolo Rotondo is good as the charming, yet unpredictable killer- his look very much gave me vibes of real-life serial killer Israel Keyes. Rebecca Hobbs is largely fine as psychologist, though on a few occasions it felt she was either hamming it up or going a bit soapy in her acting.
The film has a playtime of just over one and a half hours, and for the most part managers a good mix of unease, shock, and terror. There were two elements I wasn’t so sure about in the films make up- firstly the two guards with there undone shirts & ragged T-shirts feel almost comical at moments and just feel like they are members of redneck gang. And all the blood in the film is black- which I’m afraid does take away from the impact of some of the violence. But for the most part The Ugly is effective serail killer drama/ thriller- with a jarring yet rewarding structure/ flow.
The region free disc features a new 4k scan from the original 35mm interpositive. This looks very clear and crisp throughout- with an even mix of dialogue and music though out. For some reasons, each time I played it. the English subs automatically came on when playing- not sure if this is down to my player, or it’s a general issue.
On the new extra side of things, we have a few things. First off is a commentary with actors Paolo Rotondo and Rebecca Hobbs, moderated by genre expect Nathaniel Thompson. This is a nice laid-back chatty affair, with some real great insights. We open with Mr Thompson talking about how the film very went under the radar when it was initially released- it got good press on the US festival circuit, though never received a stateside US theatrical release. We find out where each actor’s career was at the point of the picture. They talk about the state of New Zealand film industry in the late 90’s. Rotondo talks about how the crew often kept him locked up in chains, while they went to lunch. We find out the film’s location was an old folks/ hospital, and that the two actors had a week’s rehearsal with director Reyonlds. The actors talk about how they manage to deal with the films non-linear structure. Later on, they discuss how the film got a big release in France- going down well countrywide, so much so that Rotondo stayed in Paris for a year and half due to it. Each actor discusses what they have done since the films release, and the unpredictability of acting. They point out unexpected moments of humanity in the picture, comment on the set design, and explain why so many shopping trollers appear in the film. All in all- a track well worth a play track. The other new thing here is The Ugly visual essay (19.27)
On the archive side we have a 1997 radio interview with Scott Reyonlds (18.03). Tow early shorts from Mr Reyonlds- 1992’s The M1nute (7.00) and 1994’s A Game With No Rules (17.00). Isolated Score, Photo Gallery, and Original Theatrical Trailer.
The finished release comes with a glossy/ colourful six-page inlay booklet- this features two short articles by Jason Jenkins, as well as a few stills/ behind the scenes photos. With a card slip over the blu ray case.
The Ugly is certainly an original and distinctive take on the serial killer genre- with a wonderful unbalancing and jarring structure, which really keeps you on your toes. It’s great to see this Unearthed release- with a classy ‘n’ crisp scan, and a small but worthy selection of extras.