|
 The
Beach Party at the Threshold of Hell (2006)
R1 / NTSC DVD
Arts Alliance America / 2008
Directed by Jonny Gillette & Kevin Wheatley
Written by Kevin Wheatley
Cast: Daniel Baldwin, Kevin Wheatley, Jamie Bullock,
Chandler Parker & Alex Reznik
Review by Brian Harris
The year is 2096 and the United States of America, as we
know it has been decimated by nuclear war, leaving most of
the population dead and the remainder living underground.
Through the ashes of ruin steps Tex Kennedy, his two robot
bodyguards and pet/companion, Cannibal Sue; their mission is
to locate Benjamin Remington, the next monarch of America,
and establish his reign with the help of a long-range radio
transmitter. Naturally, not all parties are interested in
seeing Remington and Kennedy become King and Vice-King.
If you’re scratching your head right now and wondering why
I’m reviewing a National Lampoon flick, never fear this
particular Lampoon production isn’t quite what one might
expect from the geniuses that brought you Dorm Daze and
Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie’s Island Adventure. No,
The Beach Party at the Threshold of Hell is a wildly
original post-nuke indie comedy that features cannibals,
robots, assassins, hillbillies, demons, hot bitches,
politicians and a bloated, coked-out Daniel Baldwin.
The acting, as one might expect from an indie production,
was occasionally amateurish and some of the dialogue felt
ad-libbed but the production design was decent, the mixture
of live-action and cell animation was inspired and the
wrap-around story featuring History Channel commentary by
various authors and historians was delightfully funny. What
could have been a poorly written, straight-to-DVD, low
budget attempt at sci-fi/comedy with way too much Macintosh
CG turned out to be a surprisingly creative genre film that
reminded me quite a bit of Six-String Samurai.
The film’s got satire and subtext but most viewers are going
to be looking for blood, guts, hanging eyeballs, torn out
spines, tits, gouges, snapped necks, torn off limbs, bodies
on spikes and one of the funniest “scream, faint, scream,
faint” sequences I’ve ever seen and, thankfully, we get it
all plus the deep meaning. Truthfully, I’m looking forward
to part two if Wheatley and Gillette do indeed decide to
further the adventure of New America’s political pioneers. |
