reel unhinged

Lately I've been trying to charge up my brains with a blitz of low-budget movie reels in an effort to fulfill my 2011 goal of becoming a more cinematically inclined bitch (thus escaping dreaded cable bills while simultaneously viewing bottomless bins of weird shit with the sole intention of smugly peppering my group conversations with irritating banter and cryptic one-liners that only other irritating people with limited social circles will pick up on, in which case we will then chuckle conspiratorially, and with one concurrent self-satisfied nod of our bloated heads we will have deftly concluded our complacent foray into any possibility of securing new playfellows). Now, on with the show...

Crazy Love - Directed by Dan Klores

Just... whoa. This unflinching documentary by Dan Klores explores the shockingly grisly and obsessive relationship between Bronx-bred hellcat Burton Pugach and cheesecake stunner Linda Riss. The extremely unpleasant and godawful testimony zooms in on the heinous Pugach and the unfathomable manner in which he chose to put the hurt on the ravishing Riss, a vivacious cub of only twenty years with whom the loathsome lothario promptly fell into a deep and pathological one-sided love affair. From the onset of the feature, I was downright drawn in frame after frightening frame by simply listening to the twosome account for their outrageous history with a pair of matching Bronx brogues. As the narrative began to transit through to the alarming apex, my senses were slugged like a shot of gunpowder tea to the dome after a 4 a.m. wake-up call. If you decide to go into this movie with no prior knowledge of the disquieting duo, I can guarantee you will be served a scalding hot slice of startling true-life drama that is so dreadful and vile and yet somehow even poetic that, like me, you might even squeeze out a confused tear or two. Don't miss this truly bizarre psycho-saga, especially if you have ever been compelled to remain in a relationship with someone who has vocalized a threat along the lines of if I can't have you, no one can. As the complex layers evolve, you'll recognize in Burt the boisterous, misunderstood but still altogether insane crackpot you may have once known. You'll shiver at the recollection of the wacky-in-love hoodwinker with the warped romantic ideology: the dark obsession, the profound loneliness, the inevitable crime.

I give Crazy Love high marks for the method in which Klores chose to direct this atypical love story: It shocks you with an unorthodox tabloid-style strangeness (with a dab of comedic diversion thrown in for good measure), not the archetypal spine-chilling schlock scariness that would have undoubtedly been an easier avenue to traverse. The archival footage whisked in with the wacko-whimsy score that endlessly loops throughout the flick winks at the tale's '50s-'60s timewave with playful peculiarity, so at least you're not totally quaking under your quilt by the closing credits, afraid to take a midnight pee.

Tune in tomorrow for a discussion of one of my new best-loved jewels of the Mexploitation multiplex. You know who I'm talkin' about, and you know he don't text.