Review of Four Rooms (1995) by Ellie D — 31 Mar 2012

I'm in a situation I can't begin to explain.

You're about to be subjected to:

1. Witches trying to get semen.

2. Psycho-sexual bondage games between a paranoid drugged man and his bound and gagged wife.

3. Kids smoking.

4. Kids drinking alcohol.

5. Kids playing with syringes.

6. Kids watching porn.

7. Dead prostitutes rotting away...

The Story: Ted the Bellhop is in for more than he bargained for on his first night on the job in an aging hotel on New Years Eve... There's actually four stories here, each story more screwed up than the last... First a coven of witches using the honeymoon suite are in need of semen in order to reverse a curse put on them. Of course Ted the Bellhop being the first man they see, is tricked into... Well, you know... The second story is probably the most confusing and most random story of the film. Ted goes to the wrong room and becomes the unwitting pawn in a psycho-sexual bondage game between a man and wife. Third, the most unsettling of the four tales revolves around Ted being coerced into watching two mischievous kids. The fourth finds Ted in a room with rich eccentrics who offer him $1,000 to do one simple job. Each story is written by and directed by one of four iconic directors, so each story has its own style and strange, dark sense of humor.

The Cast: Tim Roth... Tim Roth is Ted the Bellhop, it's his first night and he's nervous as ever. He gives a great humorous performance here chalk full of funny theatrics. His over the top performance isn't incredibly strong like other films he's starred in, but it's definitely one of the more memorable ones. Although he's the only constant in the film there's an all star cast hiding away in smaller roles. Cameos and small roles include players like Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Quentin Tarantino, Kathy Griffin, Marisa Tomei, Bruce Willis, and more. The overall acting here is pretty cheesy, but that's all part of the films charm. It's not meant to be emotionally pounding, only meant to make you laugh.

One to Five Scale: 3.

It's a love it or hate it film to highest degree... The ones that love this film will love it because it's "different" the ones that hate it will hate it because it makes no sense and has no real story to it...

I hate to give a love it or hate it film a middle of the road score, because it sounds indecisive and wishy washy... The fact of the matter is though, I'll watch this every 6 or 7 months and every time I sit through it I'll be just as disturbed as the last... So I don't love it but there's worse alternatives. Skip the first story, watch the second, enjoy the third, and stick around for the fourth.

Tyler.