My Bloody Banjo

This low budget British splatter movie takes place in the fictional town of Henenlotter (which doesn't sound British in the slightest but is a nod to American horror director Frank H). Peltzer Arbuckle, along with his colleagues, is bullied at work by his tyrant of a boss Mr Sawyer, he is also a failure in the sack with his drop dead gorgeous girlfriend Deetz (played by the stunningly buxom Dani Thompson). He finds a Ouija board and calls up an imaginary friend from his childhood called Ronnie, together they put a very gory end to Peltzer's tormentors. I had not heard of this movie until very recently but it came up as a recommendation online, I bought a very reasonably priced copy of it on DVD and yeah, I enjoyed it. Sensitive viewers best give this one a wide berth, it contains very strong language and extreme gore, the bloody penis scene being the highlight, there is also plenty of sex (though no nudity, apart from a fake torn penis, ouch!). Generally speaking I felt that the cast did a good job, however I wasn't very keen on the demonic Ronnie. He certainly looks creepy but his constant crudeness was a bit too much, he also has a weird accent, I guess he's meant to be American but the actor's English accent could clearly be heard. At least American actors were cast as other American characters, Lloyd "Troma" Kaufman has a small cameo as a doctor, which was nice. This was the directional debut of Liam Regan and credit to him and his team. My 6/10 score means that it just falls short of being a good film, however I'd score them 8/10 for effort. Beware of fake 10/10 reviews! And finally the end credits have what must be one of the best declarations ever - "No penises were harmed, severed, torn or snapped during the making of this movie" - awesome!!

Peltzer is a defeated man. That's his lot in life and it guides his every decision. Many a good horror movie has a weak-link character whose role is to make the irrational decisions necessary to forward the plot: Harry Cooper in Return of the Living Dead, Miguel Ferrer in Deep Star Six. Now imagine the lead character in a story being such a man. That's the strong point of this movie. It leaves the viewer squirming in their seat, helpless as we ever could be. There's no use shouting at the screen, no point cursing the character; he's going to do what he has to do and you can only enjoy the train wreck. As typical per a Troma-style movie, you have unrelenting bullies who utterly humiliate the most vulnerable characters. People you want to die the most horrible deaths imaginable, but I don't want to spoil that. Cool points go to the writer for dropping Henenlotter's name on one of the facilities.

This film is a unique tale of romance in a office. You know man meets woman, then his friend turns up one day.

I do like this kind of British horror film. It made me laugh, it made me look away in parts and it did not take itself to seriously . The effects, sounds and sets are good some of the cinematography was not as good the comedy did make up for that.

You can see some nods to other film styles but you kind of expect that in this kind of film. I would of liked to know some of the who's and whys to move the story along. As this is the directors first feature film all I can say is well done please carry on.

Banjo is a tale of an unremarkable guy called Peltzer who is bullied by his office boss and whom with his sexy, asset-laden partner is also cheating. Following an unfortunate and rather painful incident, Peltzer's already downbeat situation takes a final plummeting nose dive, leading to an imaginary friend called Ronnie to appear before him; who begins to take the reins, pushing Peltzer's life into vengeful bloody mayhem.

Banjo reminded me a lot of the 2013 psychological horror/drama "Dementamania", although Peltzer comes across as more of a victim and loser than Ed Arkham. Quite unlike Dementamania however, Banjo has a fun feel to it, whereas the former is a fairly clinical affair.

Banjo is hardly a tour-de-force of modern horror/exploitation cinema but it is a cool demonstration of what a genre-loving director can achieve. I'm a fan of the Troma-style genre of movies which has helped influence aspects of Banjo and, from the outset, does have its fair share of crazy, crude moments which put it in that league. Yet I felt too many scenes and too many moments of dialogue were, whilst all in context, unnecessarily prolonged and lacking the quick-fire MTV sensibility which I would have expected in this sub genre of movie.

The other main issue with the movie is, for me, the character Ronnie. He got on my nerves after a while. Some moments, Ronnie was clown-like, then at others a devil on the shoulder or playground teaser. This might have been intentional but I struggled to securely identify with him and as a result didn't really see him as the overwhelming catalyst he should have been for the latter stages of the movie.

These points aside, Banjo does have some remarkable, if eye-watering moments and a solid performance from lead actor James Hamer-Morton, who really helps tie the movie together. There is one scene in particular which is likely to get people talking and I, for one, have never winced so badly during a movie. Not ever - and that's after a lifelong diet of horror!

Whilst Banjo does have its flaws, the movie is clearly made on a low budget and I applaud the director and crew for an achievement which is clearly going to be an inspiration to other future film-makers. The special effects are surprisingly good and put a lot of bigger productions to shame and the acting throughout was not half as wooden or Troma-esque as I was expecting. Overall, it flows well and is a competent piece of film making.

So did I like it then? Well I definitely feel like watching it again to make up my mind, because it was not the kind of watch that leaves you yearning for the finish, which I suppose means that I did.

At least next time I'll know the cue for when to close my eyes and cover my ears.

Liam has really grown into a wonderful well established artist / director. A true fan of the horror genre who has taken all the aspects of the antihero and thrown them in a blender. Comedy, gore, controversy and a visual style that sticks to your brain long after viewing. Genius trash vision. In depth subject mater lightheartedly shoved down our throats to make us realise that nothing is that bad in life. guilty taboo glitter coated in a fresh warped pleasure. It is what it is. like the cenobites once said. Demon to some..Angel to others. Pretty much sums up Liam and Banjo. to the subculture of cult horror Regan is an Angel.