Combat Shock (1986)

AUGUST 13, 2009

GENRE: INDEPENDENT, PSYCHOLOGICAL
SOURCE: DVD (ONLINE RENTAL)

See, this is how you do a “sort of horror in the last 10 minutes” movie. Unlike Audition, which was pretty goddamn boring until it actually became a horror film, Combat Shock is a compelling and depressing tale of one day in the life of a Vietnam vet who is faced with eviction, hunger, and pretty much every other shitty way of living. And then the end, which owes a bit to Taxi Driver, manages to make the previous 80 minutes look like lighthearted Disney fare.

Part Taxi Driver, part Falling Down (which came after Combat Shock, yes - just trying to paint a picture with more popular movies), with a mutant baby straight out of Eraserhead for good measure, the film is hardly traditional entertainment. Our hero spends the entire film wandering around Staten Island looking for a job (and ultimately, a quick score). It’s hardly the most picturesque film; the entire thing takes place in burnt out husks of buildings, train tracks, and an apartment that should have been condemned. What I’m saying is... this is most definitely NOT a movie you’d want to watch with a big group of friends. Unless you plan on killing each other, then it’s probably ideal.

Apart from baby mutie, the horror is more of the ‘real world’ variety... at one point, he stumbles on a pimp who is trying to trick out a 12 year old girl. There’s also a scene where he contemplates eating some maggot infested food out of a dumpster. The ending though; good lord. You think it’s going into more exploitative territory when the guy uses his oven for something that is most definitely not food, but it doesn’t go that far, and retains the depressing realism of the guy’s situation. It wouldn’t surprise me if the event actually occurred, save for the baby being a mutant.

I just wish it had a better editor. Writer/producer/director Buddy Giovinazzo also cut the film, but didn’t seem to know (at the time) that there’s no law stating that a movie has to be 90 minutes or more. While the slowness sort of helps to make the end more shocking, it still could use to shed 10-15 minutes. For example, the opening ‘Nam flashback runs a full 14 minutes, including two that consist entirely of establishing shots and cutaways to trees and such. There’s also a go-nowhere subplot about our hero’s junkie friend, who goes to see another junkie, uses a hanger to inject heroin, dies, and then gets rolled by the other junkie and some other random woman. Sure, it further demonstrates how shitty life is for these folks, but again, it could be shorter and have the same point.

Let’s talk the mutant baby. This thing’s howls will haunt your dreams for days, I can guarantee. According to the director, the sound is simply him moaning, which was then reversed and sped up on top of that. It’s almost inimitable with human vocal chords, which is probably the point, but it won’t stop me from trying to mimic it when I discuss the film with friends. And it’s a pretty impressive little thing; the movie only cost 40 grand (and it’s on film - so suck it, DV filmmakers who claim that film is too expensive for their budget) but the puppet is up there with the It’s Alive baby.

Another impressive feat is that all the ‘Nam footage was shot in Staten Island as well (a fact Lloyd Kaufman cheerfully points out in the traditional Troma intro). The stock footage, of course, doesn’t really match the new stuff in terms of film stock and quality, but I sure as hell never would have guessed that the goddamn Statue of Liberty was nearby in the original footage. A+ trickery work there.

Troma has recently released a 2 disc set, which features a longer cut of the film (mostly character stuff) as well as some interviews and a retrospective with guys like John McNaughton and Jim VanWebber. Unfortunately I got the original single disc release, which features a boatload of the usual Troma crap (including a cooking show parody with a young Joe Lynch!) and very little concerning the film. On that front, all we get is a brief interview with Giovinazzo conducted by Lloyd (so you can guess how informative it is), and a commentary where Giovinazzo is joined by Nekromantik director Jorg Buttgereit It’s not a bad track, I just wasn’t really in the mood to watch the film again, lest I turn suicidal myself. He admits a few of his mistakes (and makes a few jokes about the fact that most of the film is the guy walking around) and points out who is playing the assorted supporting characters (family members, ex-wives, etc). Worth a listen, just maybe not right after you’ve watched the movie.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go stare at a poster featuring a puppy napping with a kitty for about five hours.

What say you?