Review of Twisted (1985) by Ms Amanda J — 25 Mar 2011

Twisted is a somewhat boring film, though certainly interesting. First, Christian Slater doesn't sound the least bit like J.D., which took some time getting used to (he sounds so normal that it almost feels dubbed). The opening credits involving stills of a house are very weird and doesn't come across like a real movie. I've seen some screen captures of this film before but would've never guessed that the opening shot of Christian Slater along with the movie's title would be a freeze frame and the music used with Slater's picture had me laughing out loud. The score in this movie is mostly weird though, almost in an indescribable way - it just goes on its own wacky treadmill, much like Slater's character, which the music can be seen as a symbol for. Initially, the older actors seem especially good (except the father) before the movie goes off tangent with too many scenes of rich and old people talking that's reminiscent of a "Hotel" episode. We needed more parts to justify the film's title - in other words, more of Christian Slater, who's good in all his scenes. For such a little known and talked about movie, Twisted doesn't look too weak on the budget. One exception though - the people in this movie live in such a small world that they're always bumping into other characters whom they either don't know or haven't been introduced to yet.

I get the feeling that Mark's "oblivious" parents actually know a little about their son's nature, which is reflected in Mr. Collins's line, "No more 'incidents'." But of course, they're too stuck in their own spoiled and depraved lifestyle to care. The ending shot is still surprising nonetheless. You would think that Mark's sister has learned her lesson. But no, she's an impressionable child. Of course! These parents are idiots! Slater's moments of psychotic glory both makes you overlook and attend to the fact that these people are weak victims at his mercy. But for suspense lovers, there's too mild use of Slater's calculating, evil ways and some parts definitely dragged. Slater is the main character and villain and shouldn't be lumped in randomly with scenes involving silly dialogue between irrelevant people. It makes the movie eventually feel unsatisfactory.