x70.
After cockteasing my mind for years, I finally got the opportunity to watch Meet the Feebles, the second film under Peter Jackson's (yes, that Peter Jackson) directorial belt.
I first heard of it my freshman year of high school at Savannah Arts Academy. As the name implies, it was a school where kids could choose a hoity toity "major" like visual arts, drama, chorus, band and so on.
My friend Jill was a drama major who knew of a hardcore theater geek that made it a point to see any film he could get his hands on. For example, he'd spend his week at the cinema watching all the new movies that came out. This was around the time that the first Lord of the Rings was released, so I guess the guy got curious and wanted to delve into Jackson's other work, only to realize what a mistake that was. He, in turn, told Jill about it in graphic detail, she told me and we set the search engine du jour aflame for any and all information about it. Our search really only turned up an MP3 of "The Sodomy Song" which we were obsessed with for about three weeks.
I dunno if any of you are familiar with his first few projects, but before he became legit with Heavenly Creatures, Jackson's films were pretty debauched and outrageous, with Meet the Feebles as one big puppet show (literally) of vices like drugs and porno. After hearing how sickened people get upon watching it, I settled in for what I thought would be a memorable night of stomach-churning black comedy.
The verdict? Meh. :| Sure, it was everything the histrionic users at IMDb said it would be; gratuitous violence, felt puppet tits, sex, a snuff film within the film, coprophagia, an insane Vietnam flashback (it pays homage to Rambo AND The Deer Hunter) and climaxes with the heroine suffering a psychotic break and spraying her costars with an M60 machine gun. But it was rather... well, boring. For me, it was overshadowed by its own infamy. It's fun as a novelty, but forgettable.
Of course, this is coming from a girl who indulges in horror culture like a fat kid does on cake. Puppets mistaking borax for cocaine and melting into steaming goop doesn't hold much of a candle to a good ol' fashioned Clive Barker splatterfest.
BONUS MATERIAL. If I've piqued anyone's interest, you can watch the movie in twelve parts on YouTube. Click. Veeery NSFW and not recommended to anyone with a weak constitution.
I first heard of it my freshman year of high school at Savannah Arts Academy. As the name implies, it was a school where kids could choose a hoity toity "major" like visual arts, drama, chorus, band and so on.
My friend Jill was a drama major who knew of a hardcore theater geek that made it a point to see any film he could get his hands on. For example, he'd spend his week at the cinema watching all the new movies that came out. This was around the time that the first Lord of the Rings was released, so I guess the guy got curious and wanted to delve into Jackson's other work, only to realize what a mistake that was. He, in turn, told Jill about it in graphic detail, she told me and we set the search engine du jour aflame for any and all information about it. Our search really only turned up an MP3 of "The Sodomy Song" which we were obsessed with for about three weeks.
I dunno if any of you are familiar with his first few projects, but before he became legit with Heavenly Creatures, Jackson's films were pretty debauched and outrageous, with Meet the Feebles as one big puppet show (literally) of vices like drugs and porno. After hearing how sickened people get upon watching it, I settled in for what I thought would be a memorable night of stomach-churning black comedy.
The verdict? Meh. :| Sure, it was everything the histrionic users at IMDb said it would be; gratuitous violence, felt puppet tits, sex, a snuff film within the film, coprophagia, an insane Vietnam flashback (it pays homage to Rambo AND The Deer Hunter) and climaxes with the heroine suffering a psychotic break and spraying her costars with an M60 machine gun. But it was rather... well, boring. For me, it was overshadowed by its own infamy. It's fun as a novelty, but forgettable.
Of course, this is coming from a girl who indulges in horror culture like a fat kid does on cake. Puppets mistaking borax for cocaine and melting into steaming goop doesn't hold much of a candle to a good ol' fashioned Clive Barker splatterfest.
BONUS MATERIAL. If I've piqued anyone's interest, you can watch the movie in twelve parts on YouTube. Click. Veeery NSFW and not recommended to anyone with a weak constitution.