The Beach Party at the Threshold of Hell (2006)

Wonderful character development!

Too much of everything

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

This movie is a particular type of "theater of the absurd". Think of something like "The Bed Sitting Room" post-apocalyptic, surreal movie starring Dudley Moore and Peter Cook. Of course, it's more gore-bent. However, it's the kind of violence where you can see spurting blood but never have to look directly at the source. The improbable storyline makes just as much sense as a nuclear holocaust. Leo Coco is a study in psychosis. The budget is so low that they couldn't afford to "break-in" the costumes. The clothing is tattered and holed, but spotlessly clean, even with all that blood.The only scene that looked improvised was the chainsaw-starting scene. It looked cinema verite to me and even funnier in that context.I was pleasantly surprised that "gamma radio" could be picked up on a 1940s AM radio with a wooden cabinet. There are little touches throughout the movie, such as oddly pronounced words "eating human flash" vice "flesh" and "eviskerated" for "eviscerated".In short: broad, bold and ultimately funny enough to sit through once.

The story–written and directed by and starring Kevin Wheatley–meanders, jumps around, and pretty much confuses people and probably pisses off more. The characters fight, eat other people, struggle against and abuse one another; indeed, few lovely virtues exist in this depiction of the American future. But there is a guiding light, a journey, the quest to create a New America that pulls the protagonist along his path, and the strange characters, the wry humor, the clever filming, and adequate acting make the quest enjoyable for those of us ready for something outside the prepackaged, three-part, half-digested films you see all the time.It pulls on mythology including immortal beings akin to the Greek gods controlling fire though in this case they control a radio tower, a mystical seer who sees the future, and the archetypal tale of brothers competing for power. I'm not gonna lie, I like films that allude to the great works of literature, that include the vast collective unconscious in their scope, but this film is so obvious about it, I'm afraid it loses some of it's "intelligencia" points, which is just as well. There is a bit of violence, but it's stylized after graphic novels, so even the most gruesome scenes never make one cringe in the same way a Terentino film can. BPonTH holds the attention, causes a few double-takes and ultimately feels worth the Ritalin-esquire ride.

This movie was made by a bunch of white guys that went to school together. Well there's nothing wrong with that, except it looks like it was made by a bunch of white guys that went to school together. 90 percent of the cast are white males about same age. It's almost like watching a bunch of guys at boys camp who turned the camera on themselves. The movie has no plot. It simply repeats the same action of blood bath after blood bath. There are some funny scenes and comedic bits. But they don't redeem the flat monotony.The graphic cartoon scenes are used to cover the stuff that was obviously beyond their budget or resources to do, and not done very well at that. Anything that can't be done with white guys running around on the beach covered in blood is done with cheap animation.I went to see this film after seeing the trailer, which makes it look like a Tarrentino piece. Well, the trailer scenes are as good as they ever get. Ther rest of it just repeats the same kind of mundane, inane comedy. It works at times, but it gets boring after the same stuff comes at you over and over. It's more like a string of Satuday Night Live skits than a movie. It's a hit-you-over-the-head-with-it kind of comedy. I can see where the story idea is intriguing. But, in this film post apocalyptic America is much like Medevil England. In fact Wheatlry says the story ideas came from that era. He plans to make a Part 2. I guess he thinks he's Tarrentino or maybe doing a parody thing.At the opening in LA, Wheatley mentioned he will bring back pretty much the same cast in part 2. He was asked if he might consider a more diverse cast in the next one, to which he replied, well yea, sure.

I attended the world premiere of this film at the 2006 Los Angeles Film Festival and enjoyed what I saw very much. It is hard to explain this movie to someone who hasn't seen it...and I think that is a good thing, as it needs to be experienced to appreciate it for what it really is. This film is a completely visceral experience from beginning to end. The use of sound, special effects, on-screen graphics, etc. engage all of your senses and really draw you into what is happening on-screen. For first-time filmmakers, the creators of this (soon to be) trilogy should be lauded for their decision to employ numerous ambitious techniques to produce a successful, dark, funny, apocalyptic tale. Job well done for all parties involved! :) :) :)