Shredder Orpheus

In a bleak alternate world where urban skateboarding miscreants live in a shanty-town of metal shipping cars, young musician Orpheus and beautiful dancer Eurydice are in love. Meanwhile, the evil forces of Hell(broadcasting to televisions everywhere on a pirate network) have set their sights on Eurydice, and intend to have her for their own.

Here we have a smartly made low-budget production, surprisingly well handled for an obviously very minor-league project, and the largely amateur cast performs acceptably. The post-punk, otherworldly mien is variably redolent of oddball cult titles like THE DARK BACKWARD, FORBIDDEN ZONE, and LIQUID SKY. I found myself quite enjoying SHREDDER ORPHEUS and all its skate-punk nihilism, despite its forgivable shortcomings.

Certainly not for all tastes, but a worthy watch for fans of off-road amateur obscurities - 5.5/10.

Wow. They told me it was bad, but I had no idea.

We've started a tradition. We found one copy of this movie, and we just pass it from person to person. Whoever has the movie watches it, and then passes it to someone else deemed worthy of seeing this unique, creative, horrible movie. Hopefully it'll travel 'round the world a few times.

It's painful. Really painful. It's even beyond so bad it's funny. Well, okay, sometimes it's so bad it's funny. But most of the time it just gives you that feeling that there's something sucking at your brain from the inside.

Wow. Watch it, then pass it.

This movie is one of my favorite cheesy movies. I stumbled upon this movie in a video store started in a trailer in the small town I live. (The store only lasted about 6 months max.) I've never been able to find a place to rent it again. I'll never forget the beginning when the "rock star/skater" sings a rock version of "Nobody likes me, everybody hates me, I think I'll eat some worms." It's all very simple but fun. Don't completely take my word for its entertainment, I haven't seen it in nearly ten years (I was 13 at the time) although my tastes have generally stayed the same.

I found this movie at the flea market for cheap. I was so psyched because I thought it was a skateboarding movie. I got home put it on, the previews rules and the opening scene with the old guy rolling down the street on the skateboard was awesome. At that moment I realized it was a post-apocalyptic movie but I still had high hopes for it. This movie was awful. A friend of mine was stoned out of his mind when we watched it and even he thought it was horrible and a waste of being high. I kept falling asleep during the movie because it was so boring and the music was utterly awful. I don't know if during the apocalypse all the good music, and all the music that is only kind of crappy is destroyed and everyones memory of how to play it is wiped clean but I think I would rather die than have to endure that crap. Also what the hell was up with the TV studio? I can only assume that this movie was adapted from an old Greek play, with the names and title, but some plays are not meant to be adapted into a futuristic sci-fi setting. Or at least not by the people who were involved with this movie. If you are forced to watch this movie, I can only suggest bringing a hand gun and finishing yourself off before the end. It would be a good movie to kill yourself too, everyone will understand why.

My review was written in May 1990 after watching the movie on AIP video cassette.

The Greek legend that produced arthouse faves "Orpheus" and "Black Orpheus" crashes to Earth in the idiotic punk sci-fi feature "Shredder Orpheus". It's for fans of in-jokes only.

Helmer Robert McGinley also toplines as Orpheus, a band leader (of the Shredders) in a post-apocalyptic world where hipsters live in shanty towns known as the Grey Zone. McGinley's underdeveloped script posits an easy enemy, the Euthanasia Broadcasting Network, which involves Cronenberg-style philosophizing) out of his "Videodrome") as weak satire.

Punk tv programmers want Eurydice (Megan Murphy) for their new show. The underworld in this sci-fi universe is a place where people's memories are shredded faster than you can say Oliver North.

Orpheus becomes a tv star playing an electronic lyre instrument supposedly invented by Jimi Hendrix. Heroine disappears after Orpheus violates the "Don't look back" warning and gazes at her; rest of the film is him searching for her. Finale involving skateboarders is stupid.

Apparently McGinley didn't watch Jean Cocteau's 1950 classic very closely since he leaves out the poignant role of Heurtebise (played eloquently in "Orphee" by Francois Perier). He also fails to find any equivalent to Cocteau's inspired anachronisms, and is instead content to littering the dialog with advertising slogans and catchphrases.

Acting is amateurish and technical quality, mixing film and video footage, subpar.