I HEART U

Walter (director Billy Garberina) is a mild-mannered building inspection engineer who's been married to the pretty Liz (Raine Brown) for three years.

His wise-cracking colleague is constantly reminding Walter that, being the geek that he is, he's lucky to have such a hot wife - especially one who keeps his house fastidiously clean and loves to cook gourmet food for him. And yet, Walter's feeling a little jaded after three years of being in a sexless relationship with Liz.

Not that she doesn't dote on him. On the contrary, he's her favourite subject when she's at work at her catering business and chatting to hasn't-discovered-he's-gay-yet understudy Willow (Jeremy Owen).

When Walter's workmate Louis (Phil Duran) suggests he needs a hobby to get him past the marriage blues, Walter rings Liz that evening and tells her he needs to work late at the office. In reality, he picks up a hooker and takes her to a remote carwash - where he strangles her before slashing her face 22 times.

The following morning, Walter reads the news of the murder aloud from the pages of his morning paper, hoping to shock Liz. Instead, she suggests that it's all been done before, and better.

As Walter sets out to make his kills more appalling in the hope of stirring up more public controversy, Liz shrugs off Willow's suggestions that her husband may be having an affair - and takes advantage of her newfound free time by digging out an old box of keepsakes from her own dodgy past.

As the dumbest detectives on record try to link the current spate of murders to a spree from several years earlier conducted by the still-elusive Sweetheart Killer, local journalist Donald (Devin O'Leary) reckons these new slayings are being perpetrated by a copycat. He even has a name for Walter's alter-ego: the Central Stalker.

Imagine everyone's surprise, then, when the Sweetheart Killer comes out of retirement and restarts her own spate of bloody murders...

I HEART U, written by O'Leary, is a likeable comedy-horror that doesn't overreach its meagre $20,000.00 budget and relies more on solid, funny performances than elaborate filmic trickery. If the budget's gone anywhere, it's on a handful of enjoyably crude practical effects: a mashed-in head, several bloody stabbings, a victim's lip that have been sewn together.

Elsewhere, Garberina overcomes the low budget look with lots of inventive camerawork and editing. This is most apparent during the murder scenes, which manage to be funny and sinister at the same time. Some real tension is generated on more than one occasion, marking the director out as someone to keep a keen eye upon.

Brown co-produces as well as stars, making this just as much her baby as Garberina's. It's fair to say that this translates to the screen: between them, they own this film. Fortunately for us, their onscreen chemistry is extremely natural and they make for an affable, highly watchable comedy duo.

A nod must also be tipped to O'Leary's screenplay, which takes time to comment on the psychological machinations of love, the media's ongoing obsession with violence and society's insistence that you're a nobody until you're 'somebody'.

The only thing that didn't sit well with me were the moments of light music a la "Curb Your Enthusiasm" that were used to signpost comical moments, and were completely unnecessary.

I HEART U looks very good on Camp Motion Pictures' region-free DVD. It's presented uncut and in its original aspect ratio, in a clean 16x9 rendition of its original digital sourcing. Blacks are deep and solid, contrast is handled well and colours compete with detail for bonus points.

The English 2.0 audio soundtrack is quibble-free too.

Although there is no scene-selection on offer, an animated main menu page plays host to some fine extras.

These commence with an audio commentary track from the filmmakers which manages to be both jovial and a tad pensive about the results. There's obviously a lot of genuine care here as regards to the finished article, especially from Garberina. It's a warm, sincere commentary track at heart.

A 48-minute Behind-the-Scenes documentary is unexpectedly meaty, offering a wealth of on-set footage and interviews with key players from both sides of the camera. Whatever the packed chat track didn't cover is definitely delved into here. This appears to fold out largely in chronological order according to the shoot, and is a very good accompaniment as a consequence.

We also get a 27-minute short film entitled DECEIT, which doesn't seem to possess any direct relation to the main feature but is most welcome here anyhow. It concerns two ex-cons who attempt to steal a priceless painting from a rival gang, and the twisting shenanigans that follow as it all goes wrong. Presented in a faded pillar-boxed format, I soon got into this slice of cheap nonsense and found it to be pretty entertaining.

Finally, we have a selection of trailers for other titles in the Camp roster: CANNIBAL CAMPOUT, WOODCHIPPER MASSACRE, TRIPPIN', VIDEO VIOLENCE, THE BASEMENT and DOCUMENTING THE GREY MAN.

I HEART U manages to feel refreshing despite covering no new ground. It's filled with warm energy and carefully considered stylistic choices, making it easy to recommend.

By Stuart Willis