On DVD Pervert!

Directed by Jonathan Yudis

Starring Mary Carey, Darrell Sandeen

It's no secret here at CineGeek that I'm a huge fan of 60's and 70's horror and exploitation films.  I'd think it would be hard to simply make one of these films.  It seems to me that a filmmaker would just set out to make a film and it would end up being a cult classic rather than planning to make one.  Grindhouse did sort of succeed in recreating films of that era but the whole presentation is more of an homage than just another film of the genre.  A better success is The Devil's Rejects a film that feels of the era rather than influenced by it.

The Movie

Director Jonathan Yudis sets out to do the impossible with this film, to make another entry in the exploitation genre of film started by Russ Myer and in the beginning I actually thought he was going to succeed.

In the film James returns home to his father's desert farm after a semester in college.  Jim is lost unhappy with who he is and he's come to spend some time with ol' dad who it turns out has shacked up with a young stripper from Las Vegas.  James got desperate for some female attention while at the University and since he was unsuccessful on his own he sought out some help from a voodoo witch doctor.  The witch doctor did help him, making him irresistible to women but at the same time cursed him in a way that finally becomes truly apparent in the last act of the film.  So of course daddy's girlfriend is drawn to James causing them to have sex several times behind daddy's back.  When the curse finally does come into play some bloodletting begins and there's something for every fan of the 60's and 70's era of filmmaking.

The first 45 minutes of the film are fairly solidly done for a low budget homage to Russ Myer with lots of comedy buffering the titillation and mild nudity.  Mary Carey plays the female lead offering up plenty of cleavage and topless scenes along with a surprising charisma.  She's not a great actor, not even a good one really, but she seems to know it and she plays up on it adding to the campy presentation buffered with comic book style and 60's era transitions.

I never thought I'd be saying this but the film actually starts to fall apart when Carey exits the film.  Of course she is replaced by other buxom women but they don't seem to "get it" the way Carey did.  These women aren't good actors either but they don't seem to realize it.  At the same time the pace of the film kicks into overdrive throwing the proceedings off balance.  It feels like Yudis has decided that now is the time to reveal the big twist and end the movie PDQ.  That may be due to budget I'm not sure.  At any rate the ending of the film while offering some good gore here and there does seem to get uncharacteristically surreal, not matching with the first two thirds of the film.

When Russ Myer was making his films he wasn't trying to be a part of a genre or trying to make another cult classic, he was just making the films he liked to make and in doing so he created his own specialized subgenre of film.  Pervert! on the other hand feels like it desperately wants to be a part of Myer's world and ends up coming off like a low budget homage.  With that said there is plenty to laugh at, intentional and unintentional in this film, and the style is fun and retro.  Fans of Russ Myer films should definitely give this one a look.  Fans looking for a real film with substance should definitely go elsewhere.

7/10

The Video

The widescreen presentation here looks quite nice considering the low budget of the film.  The film was shot in high quality digital video and transferred to film and now back to DVD.  Colors are vivid and detail is high.  Black levels are just a little soft and grain is apparent but not overbearing. 

8/10

The Audio

I didn't mention the sound effects in the above review and I should have.  There is a fine line between camp and cartoon and this film falls too far on the cartoon side of things a few time with the very cartoony sound effects that are utilized here and there.  It's not a major complaint but these effects were just a little too much for me.  The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix offers solid balance between the sound effects, dialogue, and score with the dialogue always crisp and clear.  Immerisveness is minimal and use of the sub woofer is nearly non existent but still for a low budget film the sound quality is solid.

7/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features

The single disc release features very retro artwork for the cover that does a fine job of displaying what the film is attempting to do.

There are actually two feature length audio commentaries on the disc, the first with the director and screenwriter and the second with the director and some of the crew including the cinematographer and special effects supervisor.  These commentaries together offer a solid mix of behind the scenes stories, details about the technical side of the making of the film, and development and inspiration for the story.

Along with the commentaries there's a solid behind the scenes featurette with footage and interviews with the cast and crew, bloopers, three trailers, and deleted and extended scenes.

I was actually surprised at the amount and quality of extras available on this DVD.  If you're a fan of the film there's a lot of stuff here to further enhance the viewing experience.

8/10

Pervert! is by far no classic or even a cult classic but the heart behind the film is apparent as is the love for Russ Myer films.  The film is good for a few laughs some good gore, and some titillation if you're into that sort of thing.

Overall ( Not an Average) 7/10

Stephen Lackey

The Movie 7/10

The Video 8/10

The Audio 7/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features 8/10

Overall ( Not an Average) 7/10