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BACTERIUM
Produced by Michael Raso
Directed, Written, and Edited by Brett Piper
Director of Photography -Beth - Alison Whitney
Jiggs - Benjamin Kanes
Brook - Miya Sagara
Boskovic - Chuck McMahon
Jed - Rob Monkiewicz
> Brett Piper is the quintessential B-Film Moviemaker. Anyone who has followed his career, seen his movies, listened to his commentaries, and watched his DVD extras, knows how resourceful he can be. Anyone remotely involved in micro-budget cinema owes it to themselves to study his work, which usually harkens back to a more "classical" period of b-cinema that can only be described as "family friendly" and can be enjoyed for pure entertainment. In fact, I thought the man could do no wrong until the abysmal SHOCK-O-RAMA. On a technical level, that movie was top-notch, but the quality of the various stories being told were brain-numbing. The quality of production isn't always indicative of a quality film.
With BACTERIUM, all of Piper’s trademark filmmaking abilities are back in top form, but the story is uninspired, although not nearly as lackluster as SHOCK-O-RAMA. One of Piper’s assets has always been his good-natured characterization. Even his antagonists are often likeable and quirky eccentrics corrupted by an evil force. While foils to the protagonist, they aren’t always outright villains and can’t really be called such). Instead, BACTERIUM is comprised almost entirely of generic cut-outs who amount to little more than numbers in the body count. There are only two characters given any sort of depth or back-story; the first of which is Beth, played by beautiful newcomer Alison Whitney, who is possibly the freshest faces to enter the ei/POPcinema stable in years. It’s hinted that Beth may be romantically involved with Army reservist Jiggs, when he isn’t with his girlfriend Brook. She was formally involved with Jed, motorcycle enthusiast and BACTERIUM’S dues ex machina. She’s also the only character who shows any real fortitude when faced with a challenge or danger.
Alison Whitney is a real find, indeed. There’s a sincerity to her acting similar to that seen in Piper’s early collaborations with his personal Johnny Depp, Rob Monkiewicz (who is reduced to a glorified cameo this time around). She also possesses that sort of wholesome girl-next-door gorgeousness and plucky charm that made Misty Mundae (aka Erin Brown) such a cult figure in the no-budget world.
The second character given any real depth is Boskovic, a scientist who helped engineer a highly contagious, and continuously mutating, biological weapon. After witnessing how unstable the weapon has become, he has a change of heart and goes on the lamb hiding from the military...but we all know how that goes. Enter Beth, Jiggs, and Brook, who, while out paintballing, stumble across Boskovic’s dilapidated hideout, as well as the Army tactical team who have laid siege. After taking Beth and Jiggs captive, Boskovic forces Beth into the film’s sole PG-13-rated nude scene (although, I’m positive my disc was matted incorrectly and the scene should have been rated R). The reason given is that he needed to burn her contaminated clothing; in reality I’d say it was purely a marketing decision. In past films, Piper’s nude scenes are irrelevant but never gratuitous. Looking back, this is his least motivated and I wonder why he even bothered.
Why the military is laying siege to Boskovic and not shooting him dead isn’t exactly made clear, although there is some talk about the risk of contagion. Whatever is the cause of their reluctance allows Beth, Jiggs, and Brook the chance to play hide-and-seek with the title creature. The creature is truly one of Piper’s most interesting creations - think The Blob with tentacles. While not as overtly elaborate as some of his past creature creations, the bacterium slithers, pulsates, and breathes as if truly alive (for those new to Piper’s work, the best element of his old-school vibe is his reluctance to go cgi). Those that come in contact with the mutated bacterium either melt instantaneously or are absorbed. And like The Blob, when the bacterium devours a human, it grows proportionately. Why Jiggs and Brook never melt, especially after Jiggs direct contact with the melting Boskovic, is another plot point never made clear.
To bring his film to climax, Piper involves some sort of nonsensical quantum physics that, had I not just finished re-reading Stephan Hawkins A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME, just might have confused me into buying it. This is where Piper truly drops the ball as he has an opportune time to use this point, as well as the many low-fi scenes of the military hierarchy at work, to infuse his film with some sort of point of view. To the best of my knowledge, Piper has always shied away from any sort of social stance and that’s what keeps his films from being personal works of art rather just reflections of his love for b-moviemaking. The closest he comes is a jab at Dubya, but nowadays even kindergarteners are jumping on that bandwagon. Piper is an entertainer and not a fighter, his fans get that, but it feels like such a shame to let all his filmmaking talents go to waste on trivialities. To his defense, Piper’s producer states on the DVD commentary that all he’s really looking to distribute are entertainment properties.
BACTERIUM has a much broader scope than many of Piper’s other films. There’s more stuntwork involved, from helicopters to motorcycles to stunt burns. Piper’s films have always felt ambitious, but never like this. During the commentary, he claims the BACTERIUM budget was his smallest to date with ei/POPcinema, but he pulls off his most visually impressive film with the company (although none have achieved the look and slickness of his MTI releases ARACHNIA and PSYCLOPS, or my personal favorite Piper flick, DRAINIAC). It’s sad that the movie is so unbalanced, but perhaps it’s an indication that POPcinema should partner Piper with a writer willing to take risks and deviate from recycled formulas. That doesn’t mean the movies have to be darker, they wouldn’t be a Piper flick if they were. It’s just that something with substance would be nice.
The DVD contains a blooper reel, and making-of featurette, and another great commentary from Piper and Producer Mike Raso. POPcinema has always made a point of catering to the demands of their fans and perhaps they’ll take this suggestion to heart. In future Piper productions, how about some detailed how-to style making-of featurettes.