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List Price: $14.99 | | Label: Miramax
Salesrank: 15735
Released: March 2, 2004 |
| Our Price: $4.69 |
| Used Price: $4.73 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
No Description Available.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 25-JAN-2005
Media Type: DVD
Description of Curdled:
Definitely not for everyone, this film by Reb Braddock (executive produced by Quentin Tarantino) has become a cult favorite--but only for the cult that enjoys its humor dark, twisted, and deeply bloodstained. Angela Jones is a young woman in Miami who is so obsessed with the crimes of a local serial killer (William Baldwin) that she takes a job working for a company that cleans up murder scenes, just to get closer to him. She digs the work, learning the tricks of a trade that is focused on removing unsightly bloodstains that come in multi-pint-size pools. Braddock and cowriter John Maass craft a nerve-racking finale in which the killer romances the cleaner, with surprising results. Not for the squeamish. --Marshall Fine
Curdled Reviews:
Not For The Faint of Heart 
2005-11-05 - Loved this movie because it is so bizarre with a charming Latin flair. You must have a slightly morbid sense of humor to enjoy!!!
Only for the morbidly amused
2005-07-19 - Angela Jones is terrific as the big-eyed, gum popping Gabriela who's been obsessed with bizarre deaths since she was a skinny little gum-popping girl. Now an adult, she still collects articles about grisly deaths and decides to work for a "cleaning company" in order to get an insight and thrill cleaning up after murders and messy deaths. She's terrific with her slightly prim flowered dresses and fascinated nodding as she listens to gory details. Billy Baldwin is funny and charming as the boyishly handsome serial killer who first woos, then stabs his rich victims. Daisy Fuentes and Mel Gorham, a terrific and underused actress (Smoke and Blue in the Face--Oggy's girlfriend), have bits as Gabriela's coworkers.
This is a dark, dark comedy. Not because it's ironic or mean spirited in the way that Friends and Neighbors is or In the Company of Men, but because of the plot and subject matter; you find yourself liking the killer and laughing about people dying and Gabriela's slightly fetishized fascination. I think the film's a gem, but, there you go. There was one point in the film where, though amused, I was slightly queasy. If you are squeamish and don't think there could ever be anything remotely funny about serial killers, then I'd skip this one. If you collect Dia de los Muertos figurines and think the macabre is interesting and entertaining, then you might agree with Gabriela--death can be funny, creepy, absurd and interesting. This is one of the films on my "enjoys dark comedies" meter, along with The Last Seduction and Goodbye Lover.
If you do get it, don't forget to watch through the credits--funny bit at the end that I missed the first time. And if you aren't a huge Tarantino fan, don't be put off by his introduction to the film, credit where credit is do--the guy was instrumental in getting the film made and you can always fastforward.
finally!
2004-05-02 - Ive been waiting for this to hit dvd for awhile,Ever since I watched the vhs I was hooked.This thing aint for everyone thats for sure.You gotta have a dark sense of humor or just hang it up and watch something else.The dvd is fully loaded.It has:the short film it was based on,deleted scenes,commentary,plus a gallery,tv ads,a kelly preston tv show,plus alot more.its a shame there arent more people who know about this great flick.
Best special features ever!
2004-03-08 - This is the same fun, quirky black comedy that all the other reviews mention. Thankfully, the DVD is letterboxed, and has truly extensive special features; among them:
* Commentary by the director and producer (co-writers Reb Braddock and John Maass),
* a making-of featurette complete with brief interviews with cast and crew,
* the 30 minute short film that caught Quentin Tarantino's attention at a film festival in Italy,
* the even shorter 'Baby Curdled' - a film school directing project by John Maass,
* an extensive photo gallery mostly consisisting of candid shots of the cast and crew,
* deleted scenes and an alternate ending,
* the original theatrical trailer,
* by far the coolest interactive menu - watch for the fly!
* the commercials and made-for-tv movie that are seen in the film,
* the 'dance of death' rehearsal - you have got to see this!
* probably more than I'm not recalling
Most features have an introduction/explanation by director Reb Braddock.
SMILY-FACE BLACK COMEDY CAN'T DISGUISE THAT IT'S A DUD. 
2003-11-29 - This is a Tarantino movie. He didn't write or direct it, but executive-produced it. Surely must have been a blooper, because although it wallows in blood (don't all of his endeavours, predictably?) and scrambles to put a "just kidding" face on its darker impluses (don't all of his endeavours, again?), it never quite manages to emerge as a coherent or compelling film.
Angela Jones (the taxi driver in Pulp Fiction if you recall) is a Columbian in California smitten with murders. She takes up a job as a cleaning maid, not your ordinary maid but with a niche-business company that cleans up messes on crime scenes. On one of those scenes, she meets up with a real psychopath killer -- played with as straight a face as possible by Billy Baldwin -- who likes to hack women for dessert.
Intriguing pretext. Unfortunately, the actual movie while neat in bits and parts, is overall quite a boring fare. Jones, the ever so murky maid, has a grating type of naivette about her which is funny probably to people who like to see their women cutesy and hyper-melodramatic, but is annoying to me.
Not sure why this dud was produced. But sounds like with the likes of Kill Bill Quentin may well be developing a real taste for such gore which, if unsuccessful, can be shrugged off under the garb of "oh, it was a black comedy" or a spoof or some such weak-kneed toss-off.
(P.S. The movie goes by the name of "Fetish" in Japan)
