The Screen Addict | Se7en, 8ght and Beyond
With ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ป (๐ญ๐ต๐ต๐ฑ), Andrew Kevin Walker wrote one of the greatest scripts ever.
Period.
The subsequent involvement of David Fincher, Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey (and Darius Khondji, Howard Shore and Arthur Max to name just a few more) further evolved Walkerโs gripping tale about a diabolically cunning serial-killer into one of the best films of the 20th century โ and possibly beyond.
I revisit ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ป at least once a year. It is in my Top 3 of all-time favorites with ๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐๐ป๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ (๐ญ๐ต๐ด๐ฎ) and ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐ ๐ฒ๐ป (๐ญ๐ต๐ต๐ฎ), and the exact ranking of these three masterpieces varies depending on my mood.
Walker is a prolific screenwriter with dozens of credits to his name. He worked with Fincher on many other projects after ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ป, but it is his collaboration with Joel Schumacher โ another favorite of mine โ I want to celebrate today.
๐ด๐ ๐ (๐ญ๐ต๐ต๐ต) wasnโt at all well-received when it came out, and currently has a rating of 6.6/10 on IMDb (if that means anything to you).
Look โ Iโm obviously not going to claim that Schumacherโs film is on the same level as Fincherโs, but there is still so much to like here (not to mention the satisfying symmetry in titles, style and subject matter).
Nicolas Cage plays a private detective investigating the veracity of a so-called snuff film featuring a missing girl, which, one has to admit, is a pretty compelling premise.
Schumacher was a brilliant filmmaker and I miss him dearly. ๐ด๐ ๐ , like most of his other work, is technically and structurally outstanding.
Cage was on the height of his fame when he made this film and he, too, is definitely firing on all cylinders.
The casting of supporting roles is just spot on. Joaquin Phoenix plays the morally ambiguous employee of a seedy adult-bookstore who sets out to help Cage on his quest, and pre-Sopranos James Gandolfini appears as a shady porn-producer. Talk about dearly departedโฆ
Additionally, ๐ด๐ ๐ features the inimitable Peter Stormare as a deliciously deranged filmmaker, and future star of ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ช๐ฎ๐น๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ Norman Reedus in a small part as the missing girlโs vile ex-boyfriend.
Honorable mention goes to Chris Bauer as the terrifying adult-film performer โMachineโ. Bauer, who also played the creepy math-teacher-turned-serial-killer in ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐นโ๐ ๐๐ฑ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ (๐ญ๐ต๐ต๐ณ), just is the perfect psychopath (sorry, Chris).
๐ด๐ ๐ , like ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ป, is set against the grimy backdrop of L.A.โs sordid underbelly. The late-nineties, pre-internet timeframe further enhances the superbly sleazy look and feel. I simply adore this aesthetic.
So, what makes that ๐ด๐ ๐ is not on the same level as ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ป? Well, aside from the fact that such a statement is obviously subjective, I donโt really know.
Both films come to the brutally honest conclusion that the world can be a pretty shitty place โ which I think is a very bold and authentic point of view โ itโs just that ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ป did it earlier and slightly better.
In ๐ด๐ ๐ , Walker also provides a horrifically sobering answer to the question why psychopaths (in film ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ real life) do what they do. After all, people always want to know ๐ธ๐ฉ๐บ, right?
The answer? Because they can. Psychopaths do what they do because they can. Thatโs it. What other answer were you looking for?
This year, Walker will once again take us on a journey through the mind of a maniac with the highly anticipated ๐ฃ๐๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ฟ (๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฒ), directed by frequent collaborator Gavin Polone.
The neurodivergent in me canโt resist categorizing ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ป, ๐ด๐ ๐ and ๐ฃ๐๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ฟ as one terrifying trilogy. Perhaps someday weโll even get an ultimate Andrew Kevin Walker collectorโs edition DVD-box holding all three films โ provided the physical-media business doesnโt completely die on us firstโฆ
In any eventโฆ
Seek these dark gems out & get your fix.