Little Boy Blue (1997)

Rating: B+

Dir: Antonio Tibaldi
Star: John Savage, Nastassja Kinski, Ryan Phillipe, Shirley Knight

Kinda plays like a trailer-park version of David Lynch, with Savage an extremely disturbing Vietnam vet. Interestingly, his wife is Kinski, renewing their relationship from Maria’s Lovers, though this one is even more disfunctional. Incest, murder, masturbation, colostomy bags, catfish, baseball: it’s all in here, and is undeniably effective stuff, building towards a climax which is probably visible from several miles off, yet is nonetheless shocking. Not quite so convinced by Phillipe as their son (maybe that should be in quotes, for reasons I won’t go into here), who has managed to reach adulthood without opening his eyes, and is way too naive for his upbringing. Still, Savage is the stuff of nightmares, and any loose ends are more of a plus than a problem. Warped, twisted, skewed, screwed and a very pleasant surprise.