User reviews

If you're expecting this to be just a cheap, ugly exploitation film, you may actually be surprised. Although it does border on the offensive, and Paul L. Smith plays (convincingly) one of the most repugnant characters you'll ever see, the film has enough originality and audacity to be preferable to many other formula horror outings. The script develops into a variation on the "Frankenstein" myth, and the terrific music score gives a poetic dimension to some scenes. Outstanding performance by the actor who plays Sonny Boy. (**)

This was a bizarre film, is one way of putting it. A con artist, played by Brad Dourif, kills a couple then steals their car taking it to his friend who deals in stolen items. The car ends up having a baby in the back of which the man wants to get rid of but his wife played by David Carradine (who wears make-up and several dresses throughout) wants to keep the baby. If that's not weird enough they keep him in a box and on his sixth birthday the man cuts the boys tongue off! He calls it getting the gift of silence. The depravity doesn't end there. As he grows up he is dragged behind cars and just constantly abused. The father wants to groom him to be his secret weapon. He later takes his son (now a man) to kill people he needs killed.

Definitely a weird and dark film. You hear a cobbled version of the deliverance theme so as not to infringe on copyrights all the way through the film. The ending gets dull but entertaining until then.

"Sonny Boy" is not for the faint of heart, or the easily offended. It's a mind blowing, shocking, trashy melodrama that the cast performs for everything that they're worth. It may not be to very many tastes, but this twisted, darkly comic allegory is striking enough and compelling enough to make it a memorably weird viewing. Yet it does manage the feat of being somewhat poignant, even in the face of its depravity.

In 1970 New Mexico, a young couple is murdered, their car stolen, and baby unknowingly abducted - by quirky lowlife Weasel (who else but the great Brad Dourif). Weasel takes the prize(s) back to his boss, small time crime kingpin Slue (Paul L. Smith of "Popeye" and "Pieces"). Slue lives with a "wife", Pearl (David Carradine, who plays the role in full drag) who takes an instant shine to the kid. Slue wants nothing to do with a child until he realizes that he now has innocent life that he can corrupt as he sees fit, and turn into a feral attack dog. The much abused "Sonny Boy" (Michael Boston) makes his presence known to the outside world, eventually, leading to predictable circumstances.

"Sonny Boy" will turn some viewers off and intrigue others. At least it does seem to have the courage of its convictions. While on the one hand it depicts a pretty sleazy little world, it's decently shot in widescreen by Roberto D'Ettorre Piazzoli and vividly designed by Mario Molli. The music by Carlo Maria Cordio is nice, and there's a similarly appealing, wistful ditty composed and sung by Carradine called "Maybe It Ain't".

Carradine is truly something to see as the desert moll. Smith, who didn't want to do the movie but changed his tune when he saw who else had been signed up, is typically amusing as the loathsome father figure. Dourif and his "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" co-star Sydney Lassick are reunited as they cheerfully play their slimy parts. Conrad Janis is solid as a drunken doctor teased by his fellow citizens. And Alexandra Powers is appealing as Rose, the young lady who is moved by Sonny Boy and tries to reach out to him.

Worth a look see for the more adventurous among B movie enthusiasts.

Seven out of 10.

Terminally weird indie film with Paul L. Smith playing Slue, a small town crime boss. David Carradine plays his transvestite (I think) squeeze, Pearl, while Brad Dourif and Sydney Lassick are his two henchmen, Weasel and Charlie P. Weasel kills a couple and steals their car, which he brings to Slue. He didn't realize, however, that the couple's baby was asleep in the back. Slue wants to feed the kid to the hogs, but Pearl sees him as the son he could never have. They raise him as a killer to be used against Slue's enemies. They also cut out his tongue as a birthday present?! When Sonny Boy gets loose, his actions threaten to turn the town against Slue.

I had wanted to see this one after reading about it in "Terror on Tape", and TCM gave me the chance when they aired it as part of their Underground lineup. As you can plainly see from the plot description, it's certainly offbeat. Sort of an allegory in disguise for the effects of child abuse, you might expect this to be a disturbing film. Not even close. Instead, it's just strange. Slue has an old canon, and in a wicked scene, he uses it to blow apart a nosy deputy. There are also some obvious parallels to Frankenstein towards the end. Had I not known it beforehand, I would have been shocked to see that this was released in '89. It felt like something straight out of the 70's. The main giveaway was the computer font which tells how much time had passed.

While I would hesitate to call "Sonny Boy" a good film, it's worth a look if only to say that you've seen it. For fans of bizarre cinema, there's enough of a novelty present to warrant at least one viewing. Personally, I'm still not 100% sure if Carradine was supposed to be playing a guy in drag or an actual woman.

Found in the back of a stolen car, an infant is raised by a crime family to be a "lean, mean and hungry" killer in this unusual film from 'Dr. Giggles' screenwriter Graeme Whifler. Only a handful of scenes are spent on the title character's abusive childhood, but they are highly memorable, accompanied by poetic narration from Michael Boston, who plays the character as an adult. Never uttering a comprehensible word (his character's tongue was cut out for a "birthday present"), Boston is excellent, utterly sympathetic when staring into mirrors and wondering what he has become. There is also a great scene in which Boston finds solace in Christ with wounds similar to those that his adoptive parents have afflicted on him. Impressive as Boston is, 'Sonny Boy' is best known as the film in which David Carradine plays a female character. In all fairness, Carradine gives it his all, donning a dress and exuding maternal instincts. He is never convincing as a real woman though and always looks like a man in need of a good shave and therefore his performance is sadly distracting in a film with otherwise serious undertones. Indeed, 'Sonny Boy' has lots to offer as a personal identity study, a look at the effects of improper parenting and an examination of choice. There is also a lot of mindless violence near the end and a bland romance that likewise distract, but in general, this is a solid motion picture. Making his feature film directing debut, Robert Martin Carroll does a great job matching the desert locations to desertion themes at hand and Boston's performance is simply exquisite.

Sonny Boy has something of a cult following; and it's really not hard to see why, but I have to say that I personally am not a part of it; and to be honest I found this film rather disappointing. It seems that director Robert Martin Carroll wanted this to be a crime film with a twist; but the twist ends up overtaking the rest of the plot, and it's really not all that interesting anyway. As will most probably be the case for most people that bother to seek this film out, my main point of interest was seeing David Carradine in a dress. It's amusing at first, but the novelty soon wears off. Anyway, the film begins with a small time criminal stealing a car and bringing it back to his boss, Slue. However, unbeknown to the crook; there's a baby on the backseat. Slue's "wife" (transvestite Pearl) takes a shine to the baby and decides to keep it. The pair bring the boy up like an animal; cutting out his tongue and keeping him in a cage. Years later, when the boy is grown up, he manages to escape; leading to trouble in the local area.

The film is in exceptionally poor taste; but unfortunately this isn't matched by an interesting plot. The low budget doesn't exactly help the film either and the desert setting just looks bland; thus ensuring that the film is not very aesthetically pleasing. The plot really dragged for me; I didn't care for any of the main characters, and the story surrounding the title character is not dealt with effectively either. The cast does provide the negative elements of the film with some respite, however, as the director has brought together some talented performers; most notably the two in the lead roles. Paul L. Smith strikes all the right notes as the detestable mob boss at the centre of the film; and of course he receives good feedback from cult star David Carradine in his rather bizarre role. I really don't know exactly what this film was intended to achieve; but certainly it didn't achieve interest from me. Overall, I really wouldn't recommend that anyone bothers to track this film down.

Get hold of this film, any way you can (not illegally, of course). Scream its name from the rooftops of buildings everywhere, high or small, and offer prayers to your God for a fully-featured special edition DVD release. There is no film like Sonny Boy: even Leonard Maltin was moved to call it (I quote verbatim) "A repulsive, socially irredeemable waste of celluloid ... filmed for no apparent reason other to offend and appal", and if that isn't a recommendation for a cult movie, I don't know what is. Critics said similar things about Peeping Tom, A Clockwork Orange, Reservoir Dogs, and so many more ... those films are amazing and entirely individual, and so is this. It's pitiful that Sonny Boy has so little recognition apart from a few right-thinking die hards - you don't have to like it, just admit you've never seen its like before or since. Get on the bandwagon speedily, because if I am human this film will, in the near future, be recognised for the angry, iconoclastic, unclassifiable explosion it really is. And you can be among those who educated the world. Feel the adrenaline. There.

Okay, let's start with David Carradine in drag...he gives a surprisingly touching performance. And any movie with Brad Dourif - well - what can one say? He always brings a certain something to his roles and I'm glad he continues to get work. This is one strange movie, but guess what? - it's better than some mainstream crap I payed money to see! (Blair Witch Project, for example). I caught if on TCM Underground one night (thanks, TCM!) and was instantly intrigued. If you didn't know it was filmed in 1989 you'd swear it was a product of the 1970's; it certainly has that feel to it. If you're a fan of "Spider Baby" and movies like that, you will enjoy (?) this movie!

This film is a blast, watch it with your friends sometime.

It starts off as a twisted mobster fairy-tale, similar to David Lynch's "Wild at Heart." Full of wild and unusual characters, the greatest flaw is that no one in this movie seems to be able to make up their minds. Slue and Pearl are always fighting, but sometimes switch sides only to fight more. In every scene starring Weasel and Charlie P. they seem to trade personalities, each in turn being nervous and sly, or reckless and dumb.

Chekov's gun (or rather, his howitzer) is surprisingly and spectacularly used in the first act to much greater effect than if saved until the end. Along with this unusual device, the comedy of the film is generally spot on. Although not always intentional, there are plenty of moments which will make you laugh-out-loud, from Pearl's introduction, Sandy's jump scare (she swigs a beer and smiles to reveal the most black and barnacled set of chompers you'll ever lay eyes on), and Rose's utter lack of awareness towards Sonnyboy's condition.

The movie takes a Tarzan-Jane path with Sonnyboy's love interest, but subvert traditional stories by making Rose a complete idiot. She discovers him naked in a cage, decides he's just a shy teenage boy, and proceeds to tell him her dreams while he clearly wants her to let him out. Their bizarre relationship culminates with Rose's line "How come you never talk to me?" in the final act.

The final enigma is the ethical spin of this movie. The wise town surgeon, "Doc," condemns Slue with the line, "Now good people are getting hurt." Nothing crazy, but it's really not clear who the "good" people are. Everyone except Sonnyboy are either criminals, or part of the town lynch mob out to kill him. Sonnyboy should be likeable for his good looks and sympathetic circumstances, only his goblin-voiced inner monologue distances him from the viewer. It's not even a revenge story like you might expect, he just kinda loves everybody for no reason.

Anyway, definitely fun, but lacks the substance to send a message or push the limits of filmmaking.

While watching this with a friend (in a general state of disbelief due to the surreal audacity of the flick), they looked over at me to exclaim that I had found "the impossible movie". This comment bluntly yet accurately summarizes in many ways what it is about this movie that cannot really be put into words. Any attempt to describe this movie would simply do it an injustice. The combination of elements; cinematography, music, actors, scenarios, etc. is nearly brilliant and the dark humored tone that dominates this film is disturbing, illuminating and hilarious all at once. Watching this film is definitely a love-it or hate-it proposition, but for those who appreciate the surreal, offbeat and macabre elements of cinema, this film is a motherlode. Just keep in mind that Psychotronic Film Guide ranks this as one of the top ten films of the '80's and the gentleman responsible for the screenplay (Graeme Whifler) created most of the early films and videos for that infamous band of San Francisco musical luminaries, The Residents. If these two facts mean anything to you, then I need to say no more...

If you take the backwoods inbred rednecks from "Deliverance" and place them in the desert, add some "Frankenstein", and a little something from John Waters, you would be pretty close to describing "Sonny Boy". Sonny's behemoth monstrous father "Slue" is (Paul L. Smith), his mother, "Pearl", is none other than David Carradine dressed as a woman, and their number one henchman is Brad Dourif (Weasel). No wonder "Sonny Boy" is so screwed up. This 'black comedy' is infinitely quotable. "Oh the shame of being an unwed mother is too much to bare" (David Carradine). "Howdy Doc, put any more monkey parts in unsuspecting patients?" (Brad Dourif). Weirdly entertaining. - MERK

Sonny Boy is a one of a kind horror/comedy with an exceptional cast. Paul L. Smith (Midnight Express, Crimewave) plays his usual over-the-top man/monster role, David Carradine his transvestite wife, Brad Dourif (legend!) the aptly named Weasel, and Dourif's Cuckoo's Nest co-star Sydney Lassick, the slimy Charlie P. Michael Griffin is exceptional in the title role. Pity he didn't go on to do anything else. Maybe making Sonny Boy scarred him for life?! I also liked veteran Conrad Janis as one of the few non-repulsive characters in this, an alcoholic doctor with a liking for surgery involving monkey parts(!) Janis has had one eclectic career, working with everyone from Shirley Temple and Ronald Reagan to African bushman N!xau, from Mork And Mindy to The Cable Guy, but surely he must rate this as the weirdest project he's ever been involved in! And Brad Dourif has made more than his fair share of strange movies,not least of which Blue Velvet, but none as demented as this crazy mutha!

I recommend Sonny Boy to bizarre movie lovers everywhere, and fans of Garth Ennis comics will find much to enjoy here, as it shares a similar gonzo humour to Preacher et al.

I stumbled across,Sonny Boy last night,late around 1:00 am on turner classic movies on cable.I missed the very beginning and could not stop watching it! I could not believe what was going on as far as the baby in the car and the sheriff and the big guy talking.What caught my eye was the woman or man or man dressed as a woman! I thought,"is that a man or woman? It's a man dressed as a woman! I thought,why? So I watched as the baby got older and older and realize what was going on.It was sad and I was upset that the way the boy,Sonny Boy ,his name,was treated and made to do.It was really wild and crazy and weird of what was going on in the whole movie.The big guy was so mean and nasty.I watched to the end and had to say it was a good movie and to see it now in this entry was really good! I was looking online to see if I could buy it to have in my movie collection but there seems to be not available on DVD.I only saw it on Amazon only (1) in VHS form.Somesoday had to nerve to sell it for these prices for (1)109.00 and 3 used for 29.99! That is too much for a movie for 1989! It may be rare but not for that price to buy!I hope somebody knows where else possible to buy this movie in DVD.

This is one of the most ignored and genuinely horrific horror films I've seen, and I consider myself a connoisseur of these type of films...

This ranks with Irreversible, I Spit on Your Grave, Last House on the Left, Hostel etc for pure nauseous shock - a child's tongue is cut out by his perverted 'parents' as a birthday present which is utterly normal in the context of the film...

Forget Texas Chainsaw Massacre or The Hills Have Eyes - this is real US horror, like The Girl Next Door (though not that shocking).

Utterly nihilistic, very strange and well worth a look if you can find it!

When I read Leonard Maltin's review of this film (which I'd never heard of), I was instantly intrigued. After all, who doesn't want to see a film starring Brad Douriff, David Carradine, and the guy who played Bluto in Popeye which, according to Maltin, "was filmed for no apparent reason but to offend and appall?" When I finally tracked it down via a bootleg site years later, I was expecting an unredeemable gorefest, but instead, I got a quirky, sensitive, sorta moving flick about child abuse...kind of. I mean, it ain't The English Patient--it's got a deputy getting exploderated at point blank range with a Howitzer and a cigar-chomping David Carradine in full drag (one of his best performances, by the way. Utterly believable--and he even sings the theme song!), but it works more as a drama than an exploitation flick. Some budgetary constraints show, particularly in a mostly offscreen Frankensteinish angry mob scene, but I wasn't disappointed, despite the fact that I was expecting a horror gore comedy and got an offbeat indie dramedy. Someday, this truly unique flick will be a cult classic. Watch it now and say you saw it first. (By the way, I got my copy at Nightcrew Video, a great bootleg site.)

I have to agree with all those who sing this film's praises. If you really think about it, this was the last truly independent film to be released on American screens. (I'm not talking about today's so-called "indie" films that are pushed into theatres by giant corporations like Miramax and Lion's Gate and Fox Searchlight, but movies that were peddled by independent distributors the old fashioned way.) I'm proud to say I saw it twice on the big screen: the first time, I was the only person in the theatre; the second time I brought a friend I knew would appreciate it and it was only the two of us! I also proudly own the ultra-rare laser disc. It really needs a DVD release, which ideally would have commentaries revealing more about this wonderful work.

I just lucked into seeing this in the 'something different' section of the video store and took it home, hoping it would live up to that promise. It did. You adventurous soul who is reading this, I envy you because as much as I intend on finding this movie and watching it until the tape wears through, you are going to be seeing it for the first time. If you have an open mind, this movie will blow it away. If you don't, stick with the mall movies, you'll hate this. This film has no category and plays by no rules, which explains the low rating here and the fact that it's practically unheard of. To put this in the category of David Lynch is an insult to this film because this is no 'I went to film school' art film. It has no pretensions and plays homage to no one, although I personally tasted a slight flavor of "Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia" in some of its humor. That too was a masterpiece that most audiences hissed at and called tasteless and offensive way back when. There's no doubt that there's something here to offend anyone who is jaded but I personally found the Christ/Frankenstein analogies extremely moving, and David Carradine is thus far the best Virgin Mary I've ever seen (I'm serious). One can read all sorts of stuff like that into this movie if they so desire. I liked the "Father, Son and Holy Ghost' quote in the middle of the film, and Paul L Smith's cartoonishly cruel yet fatherly image comfortably fits with my personal conceptions of God so I was happy to chose that route at times (anyone else see the sheriff as Pontius Pilate?). [Mel Gibson, eat your polyester heart out!!] This director, Robert Martin Carroll, has the most amazing gift for creating visuals to describe feelings. A red, ripe balloon lifting up into a turquoise sky for example, describes a first kiss as well as the shock that succeeds it, with dizzying precision [kudos to DP Roberto Pizzoli for capturing that balloon's ripeness - there's no other way to describe it!] The performances, as others here have mentioned, are superb. And the score is so pure and sincere that it took me nearly an hour before I realized that this film wasn't made thirty years ago. I don't use the word 'masterpiece' very often, and after seeing over 5,600 movies in my lifetime, the 'great' movies are becoming fewer and further between, so please excuse my unabashed need to scream from the rooftops, HALLELUJAH!

Let us now bow our heads and pray for a DVD release.

Paul L. Smith plays a local crook "Who has the town under his thumb" however things get extremely bizarre when in the opening sequences we see Brad Dourif kill a couple and steal the car with a baby inside, to which Smith wants to kill but his "wife" David Carradine(!) wants to keep, Smith compromises and raises the boy as a geek and through out we see a blackly comic, utterly bizarre, daft and overall daring movie to say the least. First of all the thought of having David Carradine as your mother, Smith as your dad and Dourif as your uncle would guarantee any kid's trip to insanity. The movie is indeed quite strange but it's all surprisingly well acted, with effective black comedy and surreality that verges on true greatness. I mean you have to be extremely talented to make a movie this bizarre. And yet in it's own way Sonny Boy is ingenious in it's story. A movie that is unpredictable, jaw dropping (Seriously anyone known to remembering Carradine for his role on Kung Fu, will have their jaw drop whenever he's on screen, which is pretty often) and at times somewhat tragic. This is a movie for the adventurous who have grown tired of predictable blockbusters, and unpredictable Sonny Boy is. This is a cult classic and for my money, needs a DVD release.

* * *1/2 out of 4-(Very Good)

A friend from Berlin sent me a video copy of this movie in the early nineties when it was available in Germany only (under the title "Satanic - Ausgeburt des Boesen"). Whatever may have become of Robert Martin Carroll, he left his mark with this beautifully shot, amazingly lyrical movie that might be considered a classic in another cultural universe. Imagine Peckinpah, Cocteau, Bunuel and a strung-out Sam Shepard doing a mixture of ultra violent desert town fairy tale and the ultimate poetic love story, including a clever gay Bonnie-&-Clyde-ending. In twenty years from now, "Sonny Boy" will be praised as a work of genius, a unique, surrealist masterpiece in a decade of mid-cult movies.

This movie is a one of a kind. Dark comedy is the best way to describe it. Definitely worth seeing (if just to see David Carradine wearing a dress, though it has much more to offer). The guy from Midnight Express plays another ruthless character in top form.