DEVIL TIMES FIVE

Horror, a genre that evokes images of taboo imagery and subversive philosophy, has long been thought to challenge the status quo with ideas and themes that reveal the worms beneath the 'good fabric' of existence. Suggesting, or in many cases shouting the dangers that lurk both beyond and/or within the realm of the everyday, horror cinema, at its most honest, peels back the fragile physical and spiritual skin of existence to probe the rotten core beneath. That is, when investors and imagination allows. Too often, the opposite has been the case, with a banal conservative religious and political authority churning out 'horror' films that, despite letting loose its monsters for 90 some minutes, demand that the rule/faith of the status quo be reaffirmed by story's end. This is as true in our contemporary movie houses as it was in the Universal films of the 30s. Too often horror is encouraged to only brush against the truly bizarre or disturbing, discouraged from dealing too directly with pertinent problems of life. Such has been the case in films dealing with the evil or warping of children. In many such movies the little darlings are rarely allowed to suffer true psychological or physical pain, sanitized to a hypocritical degree. It's as though society -- and our self-appointed culture warriors -- are reluctant to go too far in their exploration of childhood nightmares, resulting in a lackluster sub-genre of childhood possession or emotional deviancy lacking the very elements that would make such topics truly disturbing -- stories not simply of mass produced popcorn 'fear,' but more admirably, horror that truly horrifies. Devil Times Five, an overlooked experience of tension, deals honestly (if somewhat nonsensically) with the problem of children and evil, meeting the above criteria in its brutal depiction of kiddi-stimulated violence.

In a plot that questions our societal penchant for presenting children as angels of moral cleanliness, Devil Times Five treats the little buggers as shockingly viscous monsters as capable of committing acts of violence with the same relish as any psychopathic adult. Occurring in idyllic, rustic "Lake Arrowhead Village" during a winter season that reflects the stormy chaos and crippling violence of the human heart in this shocking kick in the balls, bitter Papa Doc, an unpleasant businessman, invites some of his associates (and their women) for a weekend of relaxation in the winter hills. Amidst this socializing and smooching, Papa Doc's girlfriend, 'Lovely' teases the mentally unbalanced handyman Ralph, and generally toys with all present. As unscrupulous as her lover, she instigates a fight with one of the other wives, establishing with over-acting and occasionally ridiculous dialogue just how un-likeable her and her husband can indeed be. When five strange children -- survivors of a bus accident -- arrive, the conqueror worm sings loud and triumphant, with the children viscously reducing the party of adults into helpless, quivering, bleeding messes of pulp and bone.

Of course the greatest pleasure of this film, and its immediate purpose, is the tension derived from the stalking of the adults by the children, switching the roles/logic of life as the weak are made strong and the authoritative reduced into ineffectual victims. Beyond the obvious moments of panic achieved by following the children's evil natures is the deeper question of how the adults should react. No easy answers are in sight, and this carefully maintained suspense helps make the more ludicrous moments of the film, and the occasionally boring lapses of action, less bothersome. The story itself may be uneven and riddled with lapses in characterization and logic, but the general sense of unease -- and the physical horror of the murders themselves -- make it clear that the film is more interested in exploitation than in careful storytelling. This is how it must be approached, then. Making us question both the innocence of children and the instinct of survival in adults, Devil Times Five is perhaps most successful -- and most shocking -- in its ability to destroy our illusions, using intrinsic ideals of childhood against us. A low budget, independently produced freak show of societal destruction, this film is most successful as a rape of childhood cliché, mirroring adult disillusionment with brutal (if not overly convincing) hatchet slayings, burnings, and slow-mo violence -- not to mention a heaping of nudity and shlock. Harsher and more lyrical in its expression of childhood deviancy than such tripe as Children of the Corn, closer to the morose mood of The Child, this 'midnight movie' evokes effective macabre atmosphere by interweaving strange events amidst bitter character's struggles with each other (and their own hearts). The filmmaker's inject the story with an undeniably eerie mood which drowns the entire setting in the surreal-like haze of a nightmare. The inexplicable motivation for the murders, and the ambiguous characters of the children themselves, resist classification. They are not revealed, and as a result, the film attains an additional horrific air.

The pairing of Code Red DVD and Media Blasters seems fortunate for lovers of rare exploitation and forgotten Slasher film. So far their releases have been loaded with impressive transfers and informative extras. Devil Times Five is no exception, released in a definitive new anamorphic widescreen transfer from original 35mm elements that allows the carnage to stand out with loud, vibrant color and few of the surface flaws usually associated with such an underground picture. While a bit of scratching occasionally rears its head, as do some scratches, neither are substantial enough to detract from the overall viewing experience. Audio is crisp, evenly distributing dialogue and soundtrack levels in Dolby Digital.

"NOT SINCE "VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED" HAS DEATH BECOME SO SAVAGE... OR SURVIVAL SO HOPELESS!" Runs the tag to this 88 minute descent into depravity, perfectly capturing the morose atmosphere of the movie. Special features are plentiful and surprisingly insightful, lending the viewing experience a context with which to better appreciate the circumstances of its production and the personalities involved. Supplements include a thoughtful, quite lively commentary with Dawn Lyn, Joan McCall, Mickey Blowitz, and David Shelton. This informative (at times mean-spirited) exchange of memories, anecdotes and ribbing is an impressive education in the politics and aesthetic challenges of filmmaking. You feel like part of the team when the last sentence fades, having lived through all of their experiences. The next supplements-- interviews -- are even more revealing, as chats with Tierre Turner, Joan McCall, Dawn Lynn, and Mickey Blowitz dig up old wounds, malicious gossip, and, fortunately, the good times had on set. Part reunion pleasure, part nit-picking, these interviews are never boring, digging deeper into the controversies behind the picture. An Alternate Title, brief Still Gallery, and Trailers round out this impressive offering of an obscure underground classic!

Review by William P. Simmons