|
 Masters
of Horror: Cigarette Burns (2005)
R1 / NTSC DVD
Anchor Bay / 2006
Director: John Carpenter
Writer: Drew McWeeny, Scott Swan
Starring: Norman Reedus, Udo Kier, Gary Hetherington,
Christopher Britton, Zara Taylor
Review by Vaughn Drake
Released on DVD a lifetime ago (in entertainment terms),
Cigarette Burns is the story of the search for a presumed
lost film; Le Fin Absolue Du Monde. It caused such a stir
and ruckus upon its release decades earlier, that all prints
were rumored to have been confiscated and destroyed.
Bellinger, an eccentric slightly shady rich guy (played by
Udo Kier) desperately wants to see the film before he dies,
so he enlists the services of Kirby (played by Norman Reedus),
an almost out of work theater owner desperately in need of a
cash influx, to track it down. Although no prints are known
to exist, Bellinger has a terrible secret he keeps from the
world; he knows with complete certainty that the movie still
exists. He shows Kirby his secret (watch the movie if you
want to know the secret!) and with a lot of money changing
hands, Kirby reluctantly accepts the job offer and sets out
to find the print for his benefactor. Along the way he meets
an unsavory filmmaker of the lowest order, a critic gone mad
from viewing the film and those who simply want to forget
that the film was ever created in the first place.
Cigarette Burns features more than its fair share of gore,
buckets of blood, a naked chick and it also features some
stunningly cool visuals. Although John Carpenter was saddled
with obvious limitations (it was all filmed in Canada, land
of cheap movie making) and a poor casting choice in the
father in law, it is a surprisingly solid watch with no
filler what so ever. I think I speak for most viewers when I
say: I would love to see a full length version of Le Fin
Absolue Du Monde.
The Masters of Horror anthology series may be long gone and
six feet under, but thankfully Anchor Bay put out a simply
mind blowing series of DVDs for us to buy for our libraries.
Cigarette Burns was no exception and is jam packed with so
many features; you’ll be hard pressed to watch them all. The
commentary track by Carpenter is fantastic. Commentary
tracks can be hit or miss, but Carpenter is a great speaker;
frank and honest towards his work and others—so it’s
definitely worth a listen. |
