Review of Strangeland (1998) by Tom G — 02 Sep 2009

The frustrating thing here is that this is quite a good idea for a movie (basically, James G Frazier as serial killer) and everyone involved seems to think so. And initially (clunky 1990s technophobia aside) it seems like it might BE a good movie.

But it is not a good movie, and it is very easy to see why. It's because nobody has looked at the script and said to writer/villain Mister Snider, "now, what you have here is a script where the only way your character rationalises his actions is via interminable speeches, which as I'm sure you know are the WORST way of convincing an audience of anything; and the only effect your character's actions have is pissing people off, motivating him toward further interminable speechifying, which see above.

"Might it not be more effective if, instead of merely sitting at a table and talking to himself, your character's intriguing notions of New Primitivism actually had some effect besides grossing people out? If your character has a fascination with transcendence through mortification, might it not be interesting to see himself or someone else experience this? If your character relentlessly pursues Linda Cardellini's, might that relationship grow deeper and more interesting than a very basic predator/victim one? Mister Snider, you have given yourself myriad opportunities to write a good script, and it is intensely frustrating to see that you have instead simply written this one.".

Or maybe they did say all that, and Dee Snider glowered in the corner with his oversized bone and his spandex and growled at them, so they let him go back to writing another three-page speech for himself.