4v291o
i liked it this time because i didnt start it at at 4am
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#iwastrickedintowatchingpoolman
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just letting the people know im speechless
i don’t have words
For some reason I found myself revisiting this movie. Perhaps because I have a newfound knowledge and regard for Richard Chase. This time I watched the 1992 cut to see the differences; it was largely the same movie except for the changed ending. I don't think it ultimately affects the film much though.
I was more engaged--likely just because the picture quality was better on the 1992 version--but also because I was constantly questioning the film's structure, characterization, and intent. Most of my criticism lies in the fundamental story laid out by William P Wood rather than the film's production itself. The movie is alright: competent, well-acted, etc. For the record, I have not read the book this movie was based on. I am assuming the film adaptation changes little, other than re-contorting the story for the screen (correct me if I'm wrong).
Rampage is "inspired by true events" potentially with the emphasis on "true." Names are changed, crimes are condensed, the timeframe is shifted a month or 2 earlier, it's Stockton instead of Sacramento. This is the story of Richard Chase with the serial number filed off. It's not pretending to be anything else. From the "I'd rather be flying" bumper sticker on his car, to the fear of needles, and of course his specific delusions, this is not pretending to about anyone other than Chase.
But why does Charlie Reece act nothing like Richard Chase? (Even his name is a playful twisting of language.) Those eyes are plastered across the poster with nothing else to focus on. Eyes that unmistakably dictate total aggression. This man is not Chase; in every picture I've seen of him there's an overwhelming empty sadness. Something of fear and total desperation. When Chase couldn't hold a job, rarely left his apartment, alienated himself in every social interaction, and was essentially cast aside by his mother and forced to suffer by denying his mental illness, Reece differs in every aspect. He intentionally hides his darker side, outwits and smirks at the cops before running, and has a job. Perhaps the "inspired by true events" is more on the "inspired" side.
William P Wood, a former prosecutor, is essentially cultivating a pro death penalty argument by perverting a real-life, highly-public case. He capitalizes on fear and potential public unawareness by flat-out lying about Richard Chase's case. Hiding behind "inspired by true events" Wood is able to imply Richard's blood-lust came from a somehow grosser place. One that can be othered; one that must be snubbed out with death rather than helped by science. Charlie Reece even slits police officer's throats and escapes from the cop car. He proudly discusses his violence, he knows it’s wrong and doesn't care. These are all things that a potential viewer might not know are totally fabricated. When I first saw this film, I knew nothing of Richard Chase other than the slight background and I took the reality that Rampage constructs as truth. I simply assumed because I'd heard it was based on him. No doubt countless others have done the same.
At every turn, putting Charlie to death is framed as the right choice. Every time the counterargument of institutionalization is addressed, the character advocating for it is shut down, out-argued, or seems plain stupid. There's even a scene where the defense plainly states that they will fabricate evidence just to win the case. It's no mistake that the prosecutor is the emotional center: you relate to him, care about him, and want him to win. The story is fundamentally constructed for you feel this way.
Either ending showcases a disregard for rehabilitation. Either Charlie kills himself before his death sentence showing he was destined for death anyway and we get to escape the feeling of blood on our own hands, or the fuck-you, rug-pulled-out sudden brain scan revealing his schizophrenia. This evidence ultimately drags him away from the righteous hand of the law; the wonders of modern technology have let another violent monster escape. Essentially: evidence, science, and comion should be thrown out the window because by god we want to kill a man. It's like an antithetical In Cold Blood. Or maybe this altered ending simply is William Friedkin's unrelenting pessimism for humanity. Whatever.
But why Richard Chase? This story could be fully fabricated, un-tied to real life, and potentially more forgivable (and forgettable). I couldn't shake myself from this thought. Was it simply name recognition? No matter what the reason, it's a wholly misguided choice. Despite being found legally sane, Chase's story is widely regarded as potentially the most blatant case for insanity ever. Everyone he interacted with knew he was unwell. Some people even tried to help; antipsychotics helped for a while until he was forced off them. It should be open-and-shut. To even make the case that he killed for reasons other than total delusion is absurd. And it's not just a modern opinion. In a story from the Associated Press in February 1981 (reporting on an issue that ties together several cases), the author points out a link between jury outrage and subsequent disregard for sanity defenses. Specifically the article quotes Donald Lunde (Stanford Law School) with saying, "In cases where the crimes are terrible, the jury, acting on behalf of the community, decides in favor of revenge ... The more outrageous and bizarre the crime, the more likely the jury is to say they're sane."
Overall, I struggle to judge this movie. As a film, it's able but uninspired. As an opinion on the death penalty, it's abhorrent and irreconcilable with my personal beliefs. As an indication of a specific bias, it's mesmerizingly fascinating. The only thing I wanted to learn more about when viewing Rampage was about the author himself, William P Wood, Deputy District Attorney in California, author of "13 novels and one nonfiction book" (Rampage is considered fiction) (his one nonfiction book is about Dorothea Puente, whom he prosecuted at one point). I'd love to see his voting history. I'd love to learn every minutia of his life.
So I guess on the case of "is this movie good" the jury of 1 (me) is hung. I can't decide. It shouldn't be killed obvi. If you watch Rampage, take everything with a grain of salt. It invites more questions than answers.
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Watched on Sunday June 8, 2025.
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only thing i could reasonably for at 17 was braindead #jealus
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Watched on Friday June 6, 2025.
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Watched on Friday June 6, 2025.
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Watched on Thursday June 5, 2025.
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Watched on Thursday June 5, 2025.
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Watched on Tuesday June 3, 2025.
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Just awful. it’s playing around with the idea of what if there was no plot and no characters. Nothing makes any sense I don’t understand why anything happened at all why would you start working at a different bar even though you already own a bar why did they even go to jamaica why did kokomo play. I don’t even really know how it ended because i started playing Scene It movie trivia game instead of watching. And I mean maybe I’m wrong but it seems like the original book it’s based on might be good or ok and maybe the original screenplay was good or ok but it breaks my heart to see something potentially massacred and turned into this. I don’t know what emotions I was supposed to feel whatsoever. Why was that bar the panopticon??????
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what????????
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Watched on Sunday June 1, 2025.
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Almost unbearably frustrating but… profoundly interesting? It’s undeniably a comedy though I personally found it completely unfunny, however I appreciated each comedic moment because it gave the film’s world a bizarre and untenable energy. I saw myself getting sucked into this uncanny town that has USA in its official name and started to believe I was existing in a universe that was wrong; Don’t Let the Riverbeast Get You! is the real reality, ripe with disconnected emotion, flat grey daytime lighting, lazy slow dancing, and a chill riverbeast that kills a couple people. I am utterly shocked that this movie was able to stretch itself to 99 minutes; and I felt every single second of it.
This 100% is not a “campy throwback to 1950s monster films” it’s something completely different. And when I chose to watch the movie I expected something more incompetent. As such, the complexities of the characters interpersonal relationships honestly shocked me. The plot is technically very solid, it just feels… so wrong. So, so wrong. I hated it as a whole but there were moments that I derived great pleasure from. Additionally important to note that I will always champion a zero budget independent movie. Even if I didn’t like it, I the cause with my full heart.
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Watched on Saturday May 31, 2025.
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Watched on Friday May 30, 2025.
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when writing joan jett as a character it’s important to that she loves rock n roll……
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i guess they hacked into the swimming pool
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Watched on Friday May 23, 2025.
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Watched on Thursday May 22, 2025.
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snoozefest not even fun BORING.
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call me socksless cuz mine are blown way off. 2 the other side of the world
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Watched on Monday May 19, 2025.
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hd remaster where they add color and remove the grain just so i can look at all the products in the background. when?
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Watched on Sunday May 18, 2025.
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world class contender for the palm trees in chicago championship
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in a perfect world, every comedy show would be originated from a b&w gay indie short film. but i’m an optimist so i can be happy that it at least happened one time
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unrelated to the movie i was in immense physical pain during this but i kept laughing so
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Completely aimless, borderline not even a character study, I felt like there were ten thousand scenes—and never the ones I expected. But I consistently was laughing throughout. Kind of a unique little thing but not “weird” (at least in my opinion). Tim Robinson stuns Paul Rudd is ok
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Watched on Thursday May 15, 2025.
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in this universe y2k happened because the programmers who were supposed to stop it all got laid off or went on personal introspective journeys
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Watched on Thursday May 15, 2025.
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Watched on Wednesday May 14, 2025.
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i’ll always visiting my family (who worked at blackberry) in like 2015 and they were still using their old phones. as far as i know they still are.
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je l’aime plus que velvet goldmine
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Watched on Saturday May 10, 2025.
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Watched on Saturday May 10, 2025.
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Watched on Monday May 5, 2025.
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gen 2 inland empire with a pessimistic spin. one of the most enthusiastically creative things i’ve seen in a while
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Watched on Thursday May 1, 2025.
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incredibly interesting and incredibly frustrating. not about love at all.
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This movie should be honored as historically significant because of the astounding innovation of the flip-phone t clip. in 2023. Is that just Neil’s phone? Is that an old flip phone that only is kept to hold the t? I don’t know which is funnier.
Neil Young is famous for ripping his clothes. He wears everything completely out and has patches, holes, etc. So when I saw a photo of him recently with a huge rip on the side of his shirt sleeve I thought it was normal but a weird place for a tear. I totally did not expect to learn in this movie that he didn’t rip it, he specifically cut his name off of the sleeve. ok
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Watched on Wednesday April 16, 2025.
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Watched on Wednesday April 9, 2025.
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Watched on Sunday April 6, 2025.
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Watched on Friday April 4, 2025.
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woulda saved the whole thing if the titular meeting scene was just hardcore pornography and nothing else in the movie was changed.
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Watched on Sunday March 30, 2025.
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1987 cut.
Incredibly compelling and thought-provoking. Although… Somehow also uninteresting. grrr
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...plus 24 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
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...plus 75 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>From January 1 2020 to May 14 2021
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- Prince of Darkness
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- Ant-Man
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...plus 489 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
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