THE 11TH AGGRESSION

THE 11TH AGGRESSION

According to some psychiatrists, if you feel so much hatred toward another human being you want to batter them, you are showing signs of ‘level 7 aggression’. Should you take these feelings further and, let’s say, land one on the chin of somebody - you are evolving through to level 9, possibly level10. However, when you take someone to the woods, tie them up upside down, cut out the crotch of their jeans with all the finesse of an alcoholic butcher and then proceed to clean their innards by administering drain cleaning fluid via a funnel into their vagina - in the spirit of Spinal Tap, you are cranking your aggression up to 11!

The 11th Aggression opens with a murderer, 11 months into his life sentence, writing his memoirs in his prison cell. As the vintage typewriter hammers ink onto the page, the narrative fades back to the beginning of events that eventually led to his incarceration.

The torturous atrocity described above is carried out by Jeffrey Walters, an ageing ex-member of a top secret elite group, whose primary task was torture back in Nam. Walters unique brand of tough justice makes Travis Bickle look like Ghandi. But Jeff is getting careless. His wood tipped cigar left at the scene proves to be a vital clue to the police.

Central to the story are detectives Davidson and Garrat, who are reluctantly paired up to catch the killer. The maverick approach of Davidson matched with the logical calmness of Garrat take the ‘Good cop/ Bad Cop’ ethos to new extremes! The cops personal lives soon start to disintegrate under the pressure of Walters adding further hideously mutilated victims to his trail of carnage.

Only some highly unorthodox police work from Davidson gives the detectives a slim lead. But as Walters sickening quest spirals out of control, the worlds of both sides collide with devastating effect.

I must confess I really enjoyed the 11th Aggression from start to finish. The characters were gritty, the subject matter dark and the inventive violence extreme. The crass atmosphere of the movie harked back to some of the more malicious entries on the infamous DPP list 30 or so years ago. This isn’t just a movie with a violent killer in it. It has some truly depraved sequences that are delivered in a delightfully creative way.

Not content with simply shooting or stabbing a victim, the innovative spitefulness of the murders give Walters character a truly malevolent edge. The overzealous maliciousness of Walters is also effortlessly justified when we learn of his clandestine military career.

Although the film is filed under ‘No Budget’, it rarely feels cheap. Helped by the letterboxed aspect ratio, the movie actually looks good. The vicious and often sadistic, scenes of violence are cleverly filmed; meaning the pitfall of feeble special effects letting the movie down is cunningly avoided.

The acting may not be Oscar winning, but it carries the movie well without being overly hammy. There is even a hint of Brad Pitt’s, David Mills, character from Se7en in Patrick Adams, all be it over sexed, performance. The homage to Fincher’s movie was confirmed by Davidson’s "Ladies and Gentlemen, we have ourselves a serial killer..." line.

The disc itself is complimented by a commentary track by writer and director Charles Peterson. I have long come to the opinion that "three’s a crowd" when it comes to DVD commentaries. On too many occasions the narrators tend to break off into irrelevant antidotes. But Peterson’s solo voice over provides an interesting annotation for almost every scene, which will intrigue those new to ‘no budget’ film making, as it will admirers of this picture. I am not a fan of CGI per se, but I was intrigued to learn of the shrewdly employed techniques that can be employed to create a ‘set’ when the budget to film ‘on location’ is not available.

Overall, The 11th Aggression is a cracking effort that delivers a fair few shocks. It is also a shining example of what can be achieved when enthusiasm and creativity are employed even in the absence of funds and resources.

By Marc Lissenburg


 
Released by Chemical Burn
Region 1 - NTSC
Not Rated
Extras :
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