My Bloody Banjo

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.

Do check this undiscovered and under the radar gem. I won't give too much away but strong performances from a fabulous cast including scream queen Dani Thomson. Inspired by the Troma type movies in the USA but with a British Twist.

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!!

Review of the directors cut:

I don't know who I feel more sorry for, Peltzer or his d1ck! I loved the comically over-the-top caricatures of office bullies and various other d1ckheads. As soon as Ronnies summoned, the giggles come thick and fast, his sense of humor is offensive and grotesque and I love it! The directors cut certainly has alot more dialogue than id usually care for but its all worth it to watch Peltzer exact his revenge against his tormentors in the end. Shout outs to Vito Trigo for capturing my old managers in a gloriously over exaggerated nutshell! His scene where he encourages Lawrence Hardy (yes, THAT GUY) to kill themselves was unexpectedly dark but you couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. The gore is exactly what i would have expected from a Troma movie, cartoonish splatter and silly practical effects abound and i couldnt be happier to see it! The bathroom scene made my friend look away and almost made me turn away, almost. I couldn't help be reminded of the bathroom scene in "i spit on your grave", while not the same, it's similarly wince-inducing. Im pleased to say that the movie doesn't end with a fizzle, so lets just say "High school massacres are so...1999" and leave it at that. Highly entertaining. Who says you need millions to make a movie and entertain people?!

This is indie cinema as it should be and I cant wait to see what else Liam sh1ts out of his head-anus. EMC here we come!

Banjo's cool poster strongly got my attention when I had read someone's review from freightfest UK last year. I had learned Laurence R. Harvey and Vito Trigo are casted in it back then. Both are my favorite actors. I thought I should check it once released.

My biggest question was.. what's Banjo? Why is it called Banjo in the first place? I know banjo is one of the musical instruments. But what's all about this film? I've been wondering about it. I had to wait until I could see it.

I admit that I couldn't get the meaning of Banjo in my first watching. I was a bit confused. I mumbled like, "Yeah, it's a fun flick but I still don't get it. Why Banjo? hmm... the director seems like a big fan of 80s. There should be the hidden meaning which should be cool. I need to find out. Okay. Let's watch it again!"

I am a good English learner who always try hard! After seeing it twice and learned what "banjo string" is, OHHHH! I finally figured! Everything totally makes sense to me! Hahahahahaha! Liam is crazy! Someone once said, "Knowledge is power". It's very true. Knowledge makes your life fun.

Banjo became my favorite film. It is one of the 80s homage kind of film but definitely it's not only that. In some part, it's very Tromatic. In some part, it has the comedic feeling of Dunder Mifflin. I woudn't be surprised if Dwight Schrute shows up on the screen and starts to make conversation with those fun actors.

Yes, those actors did amazing job. I wish Laurence could have had more time to play. How could he act like that? I thought Kate (his lovely girl friend) can't see it without crying because the guy he's acting is so miserable. I thought she might not like it. How could she keep watching her boyfriend being bullied awfully like that? I said what I felt to my buddy Daiju just after seeing it. He hasn't seen the film but replied me like, "Here's my guess. She would laugh a lot if Laurence is chuckling next to her when they watch it together." I hope he's right.

And Vito! I became a fan of him since I watched Scicene Team. His acting is always funny. Very strong and funny. All other actors are vividly playing their roles.

I once heard that all crazy people are calm and peace in their mind. Peltzer Arbuckle's case seems different. He is forced to deal with tons of mess in his life - job, romance and the troublesome imaginary friend Ronnie. Things are getting complicated/upside down. His mind goes insane. Is Ronnie a savior for Peltzer? Or devil? Or just a friend? I can't tell. But anyway, on the ending, Peltzer became happy - completely calm and peace. So I'd say it's a happy ending.