by Sherif Awad
Watching this new horror/comedy brought back memories of the
mid 1980s when I first rented from a Cairo video club a VHS copy of The Toxic
Avenger. During that period, I was only familiar with studio films that
came to our Egyptian mainstream cinema theaters and quite unfamiliar with the
notion of American independent cinema, especially the roots of its horror,
fantasy and sci-fi films.
Troma Entertainment, who is currently distributing Hectic
Knife on Blu-rays across the United States is, by the way, a leading entity
in the latter genres.
Knife on Blu-rays across the United States is, by the way, a leading entity
in the latter genres.
It was founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in back in
1974 creating cult films like the aforementioned Toxic Avenger and its
sequels in addition to many more genre films. After not hearing about Troma for
a while, I came across their back catalog floating back on YouTube. In fact, starting
from the year 2012, the company officially released many of its cult films that
exceed a 1,000 for free viewing on their official YouTube channel.
1974 creating cult films like the aforementioned Toxic Avenger and its
sequels in addition to many more genre films. After not hearing about Troma for
a while, I came across their back catalog floating back on YouTube. In fact, starting
from the year 2012, the company officially released many of its cult films that
exceed a 1,000 for free viewing on their official YouTube channel.
HECTIC KNIFE OUT ON BLU-RAY 1/9/18! PRE-ORDER TODAY! https://t.co/oNZBtpG8aR via @YouTube FANTOXIC PREMIERE! @GregDeLiso @HecticKnife @Troma_Team @tromafanatics @watchTromaNow @TromaRon pic.twitter.com/tmS7XIWdLs— Lloyd Kaufman (@lloydkaufman) December 29, 2017
And now let’s go back to Hectic Knife which the name
of the film’s main character. As played by Peter Litvin, Knife is a not so
smart vigilante with long blond hair who walks the streets of the city killing
criminals, drug dealers and thugs using his two knives. But after years of
doing so, maybe 25 years after he was qualified by a great teacher, Knife
became broker from playing the hero. And so he decides to look for a roommate, but
he ends up with the less smarter Link (John Munnelly). After saving a blond
girl called Frannie (Georgia Kate Haege) who immediately moves in with him as
his girlfriend, Knife meets his match in
the form of another blond villain called Piggly Doctor, played by J.J. Brine.
of the film’s main character. As played by Peter Litvin, Knife is a not so
smart vigilante with long blond hair who walks the streets of the city killing
criminals, drug dealers and thugs using his two knives. But after years of
doing so, maybe 25 years after he was qualified by a great teacher, Knife
became broker from playing the hero. And so he decides to look for a roommate, but
he ends up with the less smarter Link (John Munnelly). After saving a blond
girl called Frannie (Georgia Kate Haege) who immediately moves in with him as
his girlfriend, Knife meets his match in
the form of another blond villain called Piggly Doctor, played by J.J. Brine.
.
Hectic Knife is a great spoof of the vigilante genres…
Accidentally, it is a genre that Hollywood’s major studios currently try to
revive with the recent remake of Death Wish starring Bruce Willis that I
watched few days ago and also the two Equalizer films now starring
Denzel Washington.
Accidentally, it is a genre that Hollywood’s major studios currently try to
revive with the recent remake of Death Wish starring Bruce Willis that I
watched few days ago and also the two Equalizer films now starring
Denzel Washington.
From a technical view, the film is mostly shot in Black and
White with the rarely used aspect ratio of 1.33:1 (Sometimes used by arthouse
directors like the Polish-born Pawel Pawlikowski in his 2013 acclaimed and
award-winning drama Ida). The filmmakers used a Panasonic AG-DVX100 which gives
Hectic Knide an older feel of 8mm grainy aesthetics while also reflecting
its low-budget (or perhaps no budget) on the screen. However, the co-screenwriter
Peter Litvi and the writer-director Greg DeLiso succeeded to come up with their
own breakthrough in the genre with a mix of funny dialogue lines and improvising
performances from most of the co-stars.
White with the rarely used aspect ratio of 1.33:1 (Sometimes used by arthouse
directors like the Polish-born Pawel Pawlikowski in his 2013 acclaimed and
award-winning drama Ida). The filmmakers used a Panasonic AG-DVX100 which gives
Hectic Knide an older feel of 8mm grainy aesthetics while also reflecting
its low-budget (or perhaps no budget) on the screen. However, the co-screenwriter
Peter Litvi and the writer-director Greg DeLiso succeeded to come up with their
own breakthrough in the genre with a mix of funny dialogue lines and improvising
performances from most of the co-stars.
I recommend this film to viewer who want to discover indie horror
films mixed with humor, a genre that initiated the careers of mainstream film
like Sam Raimi starting with his Evil Dead trilogy to his Spider-Man
trilogy. Like Marvel’s films, the ending credits suggest that we will get some
kind of a sequel.
films mixed with humor, a genre that initiated the careers of mainstream film
like Sam Raimi starting with his Evil Dead trilogy to his Spider-Man
trilogy. Like Marvel’s films, the ending credits suggest that we will get some
kind of a sequel.
