BLACK DEVIL DOLL
***
It says a lot about the effectiveness of a trailer when it makes enough of an impact that, sight unseen, you decide not only to screen the film as part of your midnight film series, but you line up one of the greatest rappers in history to open the evening. And folks, if you haven’t seen the trailer for Black Devil Doll - and if you’re not easily offended - click here and thank me later.
And so it was that, almost a year to the date after I first screened this now-legendary trailer on the first official Mondo Midnight event (Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! at Silver Lake’s Vista Theatre), I heard the news that Black Devil Doll was finished, and I made an invitation not only to filmmakers Jonathan and Shawn Lewis, but to the Original Dirty Rapper himself, the legendary Blowfly. This Friday, at long last, the Black Devil Doll and Blowfly will meet and work their magic on the ladies at Long Beach’s Art Theatre.
I was privileged to see Black Devil Doll at its New Beverly screening last week, and interestingly enough, it’s hard to review the movie without calling to mind Blowfly. I’ve been a Blowfly fan for years, yet like with so many other artists who defy and transcend conventions and genres (Sun Ra, Cocteau Twins), it’s hard not to give up describing Blowfly and say, “You just have to hear him,” in large part because any attempt to describe him minimizes his genius and his tight craftsmanship. To say, “He’s a dirty rapper,” or, “All his songs are about fucking” - while literally true - imply a sophomoric immaturity which is far from true of his style and music. Blowfly is a tight musician; his legacy lies not only in his lessons about STD’s and how many kinds of pussy there are (26, apparently), but in how deftly and stylishly he delivers them. So it turns out to be with Black Devil Doll - beside myself, I was stunned to find out that this was more than a simple B-movie tale of a plastic pimp and his ill-fated ho’s.
…which is to say, essentially, the movie is basically the tale of a plastic pimp and his ill-fated ho’s, but director Jonathan Lewis and writer Shawn Lewis don’t rest on the cult-classic-in-the-bag laurels that their premise and humorous-looking puppet ensure. An unfortunate practice of similar low-budget filmmakers raised on blaxploitation and grindhouse cinema has been to rely on their gimmick and go lax on the writing and structure; almost immediately, Black Devil Doll presents a surprising and refreshing dedication to funny lines that work, interesting visuals, and some great pacing. Watching the film I was busting up at the same time that I constantly found myself acknowledging the joy of filmmaking clear in every scene - here is a team that loved their project enough to shoot it with a dedication to detail and humor that would traditionally elude a film about a racist puppet who rapes and kills people.
But he does kill. And he does rape. This is a nasty little opus shamelessly brimming with gruesome violence, graphic sex, and a ceaseless stream of the “N-word” (which apparently, as we learn in the film, has an interesting effect on teeth…). If ever I have seen a film made for adults, this is it - really, this is the one. Salo: 120 Days of Sodom may be a close second, though that one at the very least can be excused as being free of racial epithets (though it is pretty harsh on Italian neo-fascists). Watching Black Devil Doll with an audience was a true ride and experience - part of the fun was watching heads in the audience turn to one another, some to confirm that it was okay to laugh, others just to reassure themselves that, yes, they just heard/saw that.
I would go into a plot synopsis, but who needs it? Like Blowfly himself, Black Devil Doll is a work of art of the just-shut-up-and-watch variety - you’ll be moved, I guarantee you. Moved where? That rare place that sounds like side-splitting laughter but feels like shock and shame; that place some filmmakers, musicians and friends take you that tickle you while suggesting the need of an absolving shower. I for one am still recovering, and can’t wait to see it again.
NOTE: The Art Theatre’s screening of Black Devil Doll with Blowfly will be strictly 18+, and ID’s will be checked at the doors. Sorry kids - it’s just that fantastically sick.
- Logan Crow, 04-24-09
2 Comments on “BLACK DEVIL DOLL”
Comment:
April 28th, 2009 at 11:09 am
Saw the movie in LA LA Land, it was funny, edit was great, other than that it was just ok and to long.
May 5th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Funniest movie I’ve seen in 2-3 years. My only complaint, it was too SHORT.