I Pass for Human

Chris D. has long been the kind of artist whose work manages to create sharp divisions of opinion, and this, his first feature film, is going to prove no exception. But that's only to be expected when nothing you produce quite fits the tiny boxes critics are determined to squeeze it into for the sake of convenience. The man can be a hard sell, period.

I PASS FOR HUMAN is a horror movie, and it's a film about addiction. But viewers going in burdened by fixed notions about what either of those labels mean are bound to miss the point. It's not a horror movie with a lot of "boo!" scares or gore, and it's not an addiction film in the "classic" sense, like say THE LOST WEEKEND or REQUIEM FOR A DREAM.

What it boils down to is something unique: a hard-nosed portrait of a woman trapped in the inexorably turning whirlpool that is the malaise and uncertainty of addicts and the addict lifestyle, filtered through a decidedly grim take on the street-level L.A. music scene and vampirism (note: not necessarily the same thing). For those who demand comparisons, think somewhere between PANIC IN NEEDLE PARK and CARNIVAL OF SOULS.

The DVD commentary with Chris D. and producer/editor Lynne Margulies is an engaging listen, both for admirers of the film and would-be filmmakers alike. Their entertaining reminiscences of the ups and downs of DIY production offer comfort and inspiration to even the most forlorn no-budget filmmaker.

Also worth mentioning is the inclusion of 'Le Ciel de Sang,' an early 70s vampire-themed short inspired by Hammer films and Italian Gothics of the 60s in which Chris D. somehow manages to create a brief and hypnotic 'Rollinade' – decades before Jean Rollin's films made it to these shores! Call it another case of gifted minds thinking alike.

First I have to say, what an awesome soundtrack. Just great post-punk Pre-Grunge goodness. I'd salivate to be able to have the soundtrack, right up my alley as far as that Deftones/Chevelle type punky grunge sound if I had to compare it to anything today. Now to the movie itself.

I found this, admittedly, from going through Joshua Coxx's filmography, see, I had an awful huge crush on him as Lt. Corwin in Babylon 5 of which I just watched the whole series again for the 50th time...lol Which led to the browsing as to if he had been in anything else, I found this. Managed to find it brand new on Ebay and snapped it up for my collection.

This movie certainly is not your typical horror movie, but it gets more than spooky enough in the final half of the film. A slow burn for sure but keeps you there, and happy you did. The ending certainly got an out loud "Well done" clap from me. It basically revolves around a few character studies of a group of Heroin addicts, who seem to be being haunted by dead junkies they were associated with whom after overdosing seem to feed off their spiraling addiction like a type of spiritual gang of ghost vampires. A unique premise that IMO deserves a nice higher budget reboot. As a collector film buff , we can tell you that over time, one begins to find these secret little gems in the wild. Josh was great and I wasn't disappointed at getting to see my crush in his prime again. The whole cast was nicely done and it was fun to see Mary Woronov make an appearance. Things get pretty tense in the 3rd act as thing continue to spiral to a quite satisfying conclusion. The last scene being quite a nice touch.

If you, like me, can manage to find this little slice of history, pick it up, it's beyond worth having in your collection, not to mention the premise which really is a pretty unique one in my experience, and with over 1200 dvd/BRs in my collection that IS saying something.