Disclaimer: This review does contain spoilers.
Salvage (originally titled Gruesome) is one of my favorite horror stories of this era. It was written and directed by the film-making brothers Joshua and Jeffrey Crook and was released straight to DVD in 2006. The movie stars Lauren Currie Lewis as Claire Parker, a 19 year-old who gets murdered over and over again in an endless loop by some weird guy named Duke Desmond. I don't know why, but that name is really funny to me. Say it out loud for yourself. Duke Desmond.
I probably would have never come across this movie if my wife hadn't bought me one of those Horror Movie Collections in the $5 bin at Walmart. You know, those horror collections featuring low budget movies? Of the movies in the collection, Salvage was the only real winner and the rest were forgettable. It's not on the level of recent horror movies like The Ring, Drag Me To Hell or Insidious. But it does not deserve to be in the $5 bin where no one will find it. I can see what the Crook brothers were trying to accomplish. And I have to give them credit. In this writer's opinion, they pulled it off. Or at least to the best degree they could during filming. I think they did a decent job, especially considering this was their first horror film.
Salvage (originally titled Gruesome) is one of my favorite horror stories of this era. It was written and directed by the film-making brothers Joshua and Jeffrey Crook and was released straight to DVD in 2006. The movie stars Lauren Currie Lewis as Claire Parker, a 19 year-old who gets murdered over and over again in an endless loop by some weird guy named Duke Desmond. I don't know why, but that name is really funny to me. Say it out loud for yourself. Duke Desmond.
I probably would have never come across this movie if my wife hadn't bought me one of those Horror Movie Collections in the $5 bin at Walmart. You know, those horror collections featuring low budget movies? Of the movies in the collection, Salvage was the only real winner and the rest were forgettable. It's not on the level of recent horror movies like The Ring, Drag Me To Hell or Insidious. But it does not deserve to be in the $5 bin where no one will find it. I can see what the Crook brothers were trying to accomplish. And I have to give them credit. In this writer's opinion, they pulled it off. Or at least to the best degree they could during filming. I think they did a decent job, especially considering this was their first horror film.
"The Only Thing Real Is What You Feel....."
The Bad Ass Duke Desmond!!!! Claire is reliving the same day over and over again. No matter how she tries to avoid it, she is viciously murdered by the evil, red-headed Duke Desmond. (Chris Ferry) Once she's killed, she wakes up at the conclusion of her graveyard shift at the gas station.
I personally like storylines like this one. To me, Salvage is a low-budget cross between A Nightmare On Elm Street and an episode of Tales From The Crypt called Whirlpool. The Elm Street comparison comes from the fact that Claire is always haunted by Duke. Duke doesn't have the powers and creativity of Freddie Krueger, but he's insistent on murdering her and never fails to succeed. Tales From The Crypt is one of my favorite shows. In an episode from Season 6 called Whirlpool, a woman is in an endless loop where she is always gunned down by the police. It doesn't matter how much she tries to avoid it; the story ends with her laying in a pool of her own blood courtesy of the cops. Once she dies, she wakes up and relives the nightmare again. Salvage has the same concept.
One of the fun things about Salvage is the music. Apparently the producers couldn't afford the real Evanescence, so they hired a sound-a-like band named Devola. Their lead singer sounds eerily similar to Evanescence's lead singer, Amy Lee. Don't believe me? Watch the following scene from the movie and listen to the music starting from 6:00 onward.
I personally like storylines like this one. To me, Salvage is a low-budget cross between A Nightmare On Elm Street and an episode of Tales From The Crypt called Whirlpool. The Elm Street comparison comes from the fact that Claire is always haunted by Duke. Duke doesn't have the powers and creativity of Freddie Krueger, but he's insistent on murdering her and never fails to succeed. Tales From The Crypt is one of my favorite shows. In an episode from Season 6 called Whirlpool, a woman is in an endless loop where she is always gunned down by the police. It doesn't matter how much she tries to avoid it; the story ends with her laying in a pool of her own blood courtesy of the cops. Once she dies, she wakes up and relives the nightmare again. Salvage has the same concept.
One of the fun things about Salvage is the music. Apparently the producers couldn't afford the real Evanescence, so they hired a sound-a-like band named Devola. Their lead singer sounds eerily similar to Evanescence's lead singer, Amy Lee. Don't believe me? Watch the following scene from the movie and listen to the music starting from 6:00 onward.
Now, how long did it take you to yell out "Evanescence!!!" Devola already had a similar sound, but I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt until the lead singer confirmed my theory with her Amy Lee-esque vocals.
Now back to the movie. Chris Ferry does a good job as the badass Duke Desmond. (Gawd I love that name!!) He's creepy and a bit slow, but insistent on killing you. To elaborate, when I say "slow," I mean both mentally and physically. Mentally, the guy isn't all there, but he isn't rushing for the kill either. The few times Claire outsmarts him or prolongs her lifespan, it doesn't bother Duke because he knows he'll get her eventually anyway. To me that's the scariest thing about Duke. You and he both know that he's going to kill you and there's nothing you can do to stop him. So Duke decides not to break a sweat and enjoys watching Claire lose her mind as he patiently pursues. If Duke was after me I'd whoop his ass. I interviewed and sparred with former Heavyweight Champion Joe Frazier's son Marvis, so I know a thing or two about smashing you on the chin with a left hook. But Claire is more vulnerable, being a 105-pound girl and all. And with her boyfriend constantly getting killed before her, she's always left alone with Mr. Desmond to meet her horrible fate. Damn.
Now back to the movie. Chris Ferry does a good job as the badass Duke Desmond. (Gawd I love that name!!) He's creepy and a bit slow, but insistent on killing you. To elaborate, when I say "slow," I mean both mentally and physically. Mentally, the guy isn't all there, but he isn't rushing for the kill either. The few times Claire outsmarts him or prolongs her lifespan, it doesn't bother Duke because he knows he'll get her eventually anyway. To me that's the scariest thing about Duke. You and he both know that he's going to kill you and there's nothing you can do to stop him. So Duke decides not to break a sweat and enjoys watching Claire lose her mind as he patiently pursues. If Duke was after me I'd whoop his ass. I interviewed and sparred with former Heavyweight Champion Joe Frazier's son Marvis, so I know a thing or two about smashing you on the chin with a left hook. But Claire is more vulnerable, being a 105-pound girl and all. And with her boyfriend constantly getting killed before her, she's always left alone with Mr. Desmond to meet her horrible fate. Damn.
Claire being dragged to her bloody death by the Bad Ass Duke Desmond..
Claire's boyfriend Jimmy (Cody Darbe) is the film's comic relief. I'll tell you two specific things that had me laughing out loud. Throughout the film, he's obsessed with banging Claire's best friend Jen (Jessica DeLong). In one of his earliest scenes he revealed his desire for a three-way between them. Later on, when Claire and Jimmy investigate the home of the badass Duke Desmond (there goes that name again) Jimmy suddenly decides to take a dump. Really? So this guy is repeatedly murdering you and Claire over and over again, and you want to take a dump in his house? Well, Jimmy paid for it as he was murdered by Duke on the toilet.
Other than Jimmy, there's not much to laugh at in this movie and that's what I like. The movie attempts to be real horror. The suspense throughout is pretty good. Why is Duke repeatedly killing Claire? Who is he? Is he dead? Is Claire really dead? Why does Claire's mom stand around in the basement in the dark like a moron? (I'm serious...she does this quite often). What are the police hiding? What's going on?
We finally find out in the end that "Claire" is really Duke, being punished for all eternity for his sins. He murdered Claire and Jimmy, so he takes the form of Claire and is murdered by a demon version of Duke over and over, each time feeling the horrific pain that Claire felt. It's not a hard twist to figure out because clues are scattered throughout the movie.
Other than Jimmy, there's not much to laugh at in this movie and that's what I like. The movie attempts to be real horror. The suspense throughout is pretty good. Why is Duke repeatedly killing Claire? Who is he? Is he dead? Is Claire really dead? Why does Claire's mom stand around in the basement in the dark like a moron? (I'm serious...she does this quite often). What are the police hiding? What's going on?
We finally find out in the end that "Claire" is really Duke, being punished for all eternity for his sins. He murdered Claire and Jimmy, so he takes the form of Claire and is murdered by a demon version of Duke over and over, each time feeling the horrific pain that Claire felt. It's not a hard twist to figure out because clues are scattered throughout the movie.
Don't let the bathtub image fool you. Unfortunately there's no female nudity in this film.
After watching the movie for the first time I was confused by a few things. Like, what were the creepy things jumping around whenever Claire wasn't looking? My best guess is that it was demons lurking around, disguising themselves as Claire's associates. Also, when Duke was stalking Claire, why did he open his mouth really wide? What was the purpose of that? And, in the film's climax, it looks like demon representations of Claire and Jimmy were standing behind demon Duke as he prepared to kill the real Duke. Their mouths are hanging open too, as if ready to take a huge bite out of a Big Mac. Look at the picture below and let me know what you think. If anyone knows the answers to these questions let me know.
Looks like Claire and Jimmy in the background..
I heard the film was made with a budget of $25,000. Some of the cast members took on traditional crew roles. For example, Lauren Currie Lewis (the star of the film) did hair and makeup. But like I said earlier, the low budget made things more fun. After all, isn't it more fun listening to a band attempt to sound like Evanescence than hearing the real thing? Little things like that interest me and make films like Salvage stand out. The movie takes itself seriously as far as the plot and acting go, but the technical problems lighten things up and make it more enjoyable in a sense.
All in all this wasn't a bad film. You've got a villain with a badass name (Duke Desmond). You also get background music from a very Evanescence-inspired rock band and a decent amount of suspense. To me, the movie was interesting throughout. In each of Claire's "lives," you know that Duke is going to somehow catch her and rip her face off in her basement, but you don't know how they will arrive at that screamish moment. It's different each time. Furthermore, Claire's death is one of the most brutal I've seen in any movie. Someone pinning you down, cutting you around your face and then violently ripping it off??!! You scream and scream and scream your final screams as loud as you can but no one can hear you because you're in a basement? That's horrific and very sad because Claire seemed like a nice girl and didn't deserve to die, especially like that. Geez. But that's a good horror story for you. You're supposed to walk away feeling disturbed.
Also, Lauren Currie Lewis is very easy on the eyes. Because of these factors, I have to give Salvage 6 out of 10 stars. Far from a masterpiece but it doesn't deserve to be overlooked the way it is. Check out the trailer for the film below.
****** Six Stars Out Of Ten
All in all this wasn't a bad film. You've got a villain with a badass name (Duke Desmond). You also get background music from a very Evanescence-inspired rock band and a decent amount of suspense. To me, the movie was interesting throughout. In each of Claire's "lives," you know that Duke is going to somehow catch her and rip her face off in her basement, but you don't know how they will arrive at that screamish moment. It's different each time. Furthermore, Claire's death is one of the most brutal I've seen in any movie. Someone pinning you down, cutting you around your face and then violently ripping it off??!! You scream and scream and scream your final screams as loud as you can but no one can hear you because you're in a basement? That's horrific and very sad because Claire seemed like a nice girl and didn't deserve to die, especially like that. Geez. But that's a good horror story for you. You're supposed to walk away feeling disturbed.
Also, Lauren Currie Lewis is very easy on the eyes. Because of these factors, I have to give Salvage 6 out of 10 stars. Far from a masterpiece but it doesn't deserve to be overlooked the way it is. Check out the trailer for the film below.
****** Six Stars Out Of Ten
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