Junkyard Dog (2009)

Sick Product of a Sick System

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

This particular psychological horror/thriller movie was a bit tame at best, and there are far better movies in the same genre available.The story here is about a serial killer named Jyd (played by Innis Casey) who abducts women, keep them alive, and once done with them he cuts them up, eat them and feed them to his dog. Having her car run out of gas in the middle of a dark road, Audra (played by Galadriel Stineman) gets help from Jyd as he rolls up in his tow truck. However, the saying "don't ride with strangers" turns out to be more than true in this case. After several days of missing, Samantha Deatherage (played by Vivica A. Fox) is put on the case to find the missing girl.Well, the story was interesting enough, but the movie quickly settled and nested in a monotone pace and never really got back out of that ditch. Which ultimately made the movie end up as being slow and half-hearted.As for the acting, well not even Brad Dourif managed to pull this movie out of mediocrity. The movie, however, was carried by the performances put on by both Innis Casey and Vivica A. Fox. I just never bought into the performance put on Galadriel Stineman, as her portrayal of an abducted and molested victim never really seemed plausible.This is the type of movie that just oozes and reeks of predictability, and you know the outcome of the movie already from the start of the feature. There weren't any surprises or twists along the way to throw the audience off the track. No, the movie just trotted along in its slow, dull and comfortable pace. The audience is always one step ahead of the movie because it is so predictable.If you enjoy psychological thrillers, then your money would be better invested elsewhere.

I'll admit that, thanks to Tivo, I skimmed over big chunks of this film. There may have been subtle nuances of plot, theme, and characterization that I missed...but I doubt it.When I first saw Ms. Fox in INDEPENDENCE DAY I thought she was poised to be a star, and she did solid work in KILL BILL and SET IT OFF. Now she's pushing fifty, though, and women other than Meryl Streep just aren't allowed to do that.Leading men well into their sixties and even seventies routinely make big budget films with leading ladies younger than their grandchildren.There's an old joke that there are three stages to an actress's career:-- Hot mama.-- District Attorney.-- DRIVING MISS DAISY.Sadly, that's more truth than poetry.So Ms. Fox is doing crap like this and, worse yet, infomercials.This isn't really a bad movie. The other actors are competent, and it's good to see Brad Dourif play a sympathetic character.But the writing and direction bungle too many opportunities.MAJOR SPOILERS AHEADA lot of the film's climax hinges on the (totally false) presumption that one shot from a sympathetic character's gun can blow up a vehicle and send flames billowing into the night sky.But the crisis is resolved with no resolution. There's no satisfaction after all that's gone before in seeing vice avenged and virtue rewarded.Worse yet, there's a scene after the credits that completely reverses every plot development we've seen, and that probably 95% of the people watching the film will never see.Kim Bass is nowhere near untalented: witness his Emmy nomination for his writing on the innovative In Living Color. But this is a zero budget film. People will watch the closing credits of IRON MAN because they have a lot invested in the story and know that there will be additional footage that will set up the next film.Admittedly, it was good to see Ms. Fox playing a lead role. I only wish it had been in a project worthy of her talent.

For the genre, this one is several notches above most. I found the actor portraying JYD, Innis Casey,excellent, especially when he is underplaying. In fact, he is so creepy in his understatement that I'm surprised he wasn't suspect #1. Later in the film this cannibal chews the scenery more than he does his victims, but that may be more directorial than dietary. The young lady playing his frequently sexually violated captive, Galadriel Stineman,is thoroughly convincing, and Ms Fox, as always, knows how to wear ankle high boots and be tough tender warm and compassionate all while wielding a hand gun. You know the bad guy will get it sooner or later, and the women will emerge victorious, but there are thrills and scares far better than in 80% of similar shock fiestas. If you want an entertaining kidnapper/cannibal movie (and who doesn't?) this may be your best bet.

What can you say, interesting enough premise (supposedly inspired by actual events) let down by flatfooted and tame execution. Despite it's unpleasant details and dreary context --- a backwoods tow-truck driver is a serial killer who kidnaps unlucky girls at the end of every month holding them in a water tank in his wrecking yard where he constantly eats with them and then rapes them… so this a constant pattern and when it comes to the end of the following month. He kills them, chops them up and virtually eats them… sharing the leftovers with his dog (which is the size of a horse… not really but one character believes so). So its time to look for another calendar pin-up for next month. But the girl he kidnapped on Halloween has drawn the attention of an FBI agent. So the race begins to find her, before she becomes his next meal. This cheap, shot-on-video production felt like a clunky second-rate "Silence of the Lambs" crossed "Captivity" outing. It tries too hard to be ominous and cruel, but felt daftly comedic in its attempts. Kind of dearth of suspense and thrills… lingering with lousy jump jolts and stupid plot contrivances. Some things that occur just have you questioning how this killer could go this long without being caught and some of the investigation skills by the FBI agent (namely the line-dancing interruption) are laughable. Performances are on the lank side, although genre favourite Brad Dourif gets a bit of screen time as a town sheriff who "eventually" figures out what's going on. Innis Casey plays the deranged serial killer, as the camera likes to really focus on Casey's glassy expressions. Galadriel Stineman gives the usual victim performance and Vivica A. Fox as the headstrong FBI agent with (you guess) a scarred past ("Can you still pull the trigger?"). These are underwritten characters, which only show minor glimpses of their complexities and conflicted sides. Too bad because it did seem meander about, on repetitive and tired actions/scenarios and especially when there was one fascinatingly dark, if minor sequence involving a dinner scene involving the killer and his dead parents. Diverting, but an exaggeratedly slipshod serial killer thriller."This fairytale is not going to have a happy ending."