NATURE MORTE

A bold and experimental examination of the darkest instincts and desires of the human condition, Nature Morte strives for a nihilistic sense of intellectual horror and depravity . . . that it almost captures. A smartly written (if uneven) script emphasizes disturbing scenes of violence and depravity without sacrificing characterization, making this low budget salute to emotional and physical vivisection far more than just another torture-fest. While there is enough nastiness on display to satisfy the most jaded violence junky, the mean spirited spirit of the story is supported by surprisingly strong thematic context, making the experience as philosophically disturbing as it is repulsive. This aura of dark fascination, besides mirroring the obsessions of the major characters, is also an aesthetic statement on the genre. Why are we attracted to the very things we most fear? What about the human animal is devoted to the beauty of darkness? More importantly, how does the artistic process feed on and in turn nourish these instincts? Such disturbing questions are asked throughout, and while an uneven story gets in the way of the answers (and, as a result, hampers the total effectiveness of the film), the tragic consciousness permeating the characters makes this descent into madness a trip worth taking.

Merging the impulses of art with man's drive towards violence and beauty, Nature Morte combines the sublime and horrific at every opportunity. Oliver Davenport, an American expert on art, is enlisted to aid police with the investigation of John Stephenson, a brilliant but troubled painter, who left his last work unfinished when he killed himself. A sinister, sublime marriage between beauty and suffering is created as Davenport travels not only the physical landscape of France and Thailand but his own inner geography in attempts to fathom a killer's mind. In Thailand he discovers Lec, owner of additional Stephenson works, who also happens to be an artist. As both men further penetrate the dark realms of psycho-sexual art, a new dimension of lust, drugs, and temptation blurs the acceptable boundaries between pain and pleasure, madness and craftsmanship.

Contemporary underground horror at its most intelligent and provocative, Nature Morte is a sleek, gritty, dangerous breed of movie because it has what many other exploitation titles lack -- a philosophy. It's easy to get lost in the urban stained, grimy yet entrancing visuals, but what adds meat to the skeleton here is a story that takes both itself and its characters seriously. By extension, the audience becomes victim and victimizer, both willing spectator and repulsed by the crimes perpetuated in the pursuit of art. This isn't your average stalk and kill picture, nor is the terror trotted out for no other reason than to repulse or titillate. While specific scenes do both, the nature of art and death is a constant backbone enriching the plot.

It's no surprise that the movie received a glowing endorsement from Jess Franco, as there are many similarities in theme and focus in this film and Franco's own sex and death obsessed ballets of death and desire. The pain and beauty of violence, the phantasmagoria of sexual relationships, and the contradictory love/hate between the desired and spectator are all present. Paul Burrows reveals a fresh voice and vision with this poem of pain and perversity. All that truly inhibits the film are the technological deficiencies of such a small budget and fragmented pacing. While often budgetary constraints add mood and depth to independent features, matching their grimy subject matter, here the continued emphasis on elegant deception, sexual decadence, and art called for something more refined. Likewise, the plot should have focused more intimately on the internal conflict of characters. Thankfully the intensity of the imagery, and the manner in which these visuals are presented, compensate for what lacks in both production design and script, bathing the viewer in moving orgies of raw emotion. Lust and unrestrained eroticism become characters unto themselves, with mood as king. Electrified with a score from founding member of Siouxsie and the Banshees, Steve Severin, this first effort promises even darker dreams ahead for fans. Emotionally painful anxiety from the new philosopher king of horror, Nature Morte delivers what too many films lack these days - an intense experience.

Redemption offers presents Nature Morte in 1.66:1 letterboxed widescreen. While nothing can (or should) disguise the film 's low budget origins, the colors are vivid, and the picture primarily clean. Brief grain and image enhancement does little to distract from the story. Audio is in Dolby Digital Stereo English with optional English subs (for French speaking scenes). Audio is clean and evenly distributed.

Extras are surprisingly full, including nearly thirty minutes of deleted/extended scenes. While not revealing anything of great surprise, these scenes are welcomed, further engulfing us in a dark, sexy world of despair and madness. These run with or without Commentary by director Paul Burrows. A Stills Gallery, Bloopers, a Promo for the book "Blood and Honor," and other Redemption Video Trailers round out this satisfying package.

Review by William Simmons