Let me preface this review by stating that I am much more forgiving than most reviewers. I have a high tolerance for trash, and I often find myself enjoying movies that have been poorly reviewed by most. That being said, I can say without reservation that this is one of the worst movies I have seen in quite awhile...
Lately I have been off on a tangent exploring the dark world of shot-on-video horror/exploitation films. In the last week I have seen quite a few ('Scrapbook', 'August Mordum's Underground', 'Murder-Set-Pieces (Director's Cut), 'Devil's Bloody Plaything'). Of all of the above mentioned movies (and others), this was by far the worst, and least entertaining of the lot...
Perhaps it was the unconvincing Mack Hail as the lead. He just didn't work for me. He appeared empty and vacant. He didn't have the fire and desire necessary to portray a believable on screen serial killer. This film seemed like a grade-Z, poorly acted remake of 'Maniac'. Mack Hail and Joe Spinell are not even in the same universe....
The killings did not really work for me either. The gore effects were decent, but there just wasn't any fire or emotion behind Mack Hail's murderings. He seemed to be going through the motions. There just wasn't very much emotion behind his physical actions...
In addition, there were some going-ons in this movie (not a film) that made absolutely no sense. For example, you see him approaching a very large African-American male and woman at the park. The camera cuts away, and then you see both of them bound and in the Nutbag's hotel room. OK, how did our serial killer manage to abduct a strong full-grown man and a woman by himself? This makes no sense at all as I do not recall Hail having any superhuman powers...
The voice-over internal dialogue provided by Hail got on my nerves early and often. It sounded as if he was reading (and not very well) from an angry 12 year old's diary. His readings contained zero emotion and not an inkling of believability. Perhaps this movie would've been better if these infernal narratives has been omitted...
All in all, there is no way I can recommend this movie. The most important criteria I consider when offering a recommendation is whether or not I was entertained. In the case of 'Nutbag' I was most definitely not entertained. It was quite possibly the most boring slasher movie I have ever witnessed. I can think of many other serial killer films (yes, actual films) that are much better. Off the top of my head,'Maniac', 'Schramm', 'Man Bites Dog', and 'Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer'). Hell, even 'New York Ripper'was better than this tripe. Do yourself a favor and seek out another DVD to fulfill your cinematic bloodlust. If curiosity compels you to see this little mess, please rent before you buy...
