BLUE SUNSHINE - Ex hippies join the establishment then go bald and kill after a delayed reaction to some bad acid they dropped 'back in the day'. Zalman King overacts frantically when he gets the blame. It's been a while since I last saw this and my opinion remains pretty much the same ie could've done with a few more bald lunatics doing some killings - however, despite its lack of full on exploitation value it's still deserving of praise on many fronts: for the whackiness of its central premise and the subtle oddness of many scenes, for its neat, faintly Burroughsian satire (the former pusher-man's running for Congress), and for Zalman King, who just looks weird throughout.
MAY - It's been a while since I saw this too, but my opinion of it has changed radically - last time I wasn't that fussed, but now I think it's great. A penetrating and sometimes painful portrait of dysfunction, it knows exactly how to play black comedy off against genuinely perturbing rawness. Some scenes really won't go away after it's over ie. the blind kids who tear May's doll away from her, the Frankensteinian communion at the end. Pretty stunning for a debut as well. I generally like what he's done since, especially 'The Woman', but none of it on reflection quite reaches the same level as 'May' in terms of originality and audacious creepiness.
 |