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DANGEROUS MODE
Produced G.G. Hicks Jr.
Writer, Director, Director of Photography - Rick Shipley
Edited by Clyde DelongRay Cleveland - Danny Morris
Hitman - Bobby Lewis
Gina - Laura LambrosFilmmakers in the Washington, DC-Baltimore, MD metro are men of action. They like their films with as much kinetic ass kicking as possible. Rock Savage's films flow with a retro-vibe straight from dime store pulp novels. Alvin Ecarma's LETHAL FORCE is adrenaline-fueled martial arts camp. And Rick Shipley's DANGEROUS MODE is a rockabilly take on the Cat and Mouse thriller.
To those that don't know what rockbilly is, the closest you've probably come is either through tv's Happy Days, the musical Grease, or Social Distortion (one of my favorite bands). It's a scene where an Elvis-like scowl, slicked back hair, cuffed jeans, and an old pair of Doc Martin's boots generally mean the wearer is at any time ready to drive his hotrod straight up your ass and park it sideways.
Like the punk scene, being a greaser is all about attitude and rebellion. Rick Shipley tries to infuse DANGEROUS MODE with as much of those sensibilities as possible, and often succeeds at creating a bleak portrait of this little seen, underground world.
Ray Cleveland is a security guard selling company secrets to earn a bit of side cash. After foiling a hit in his office complex, Ray finds a vicious sociopath, who sounds a bit like The King, on his trail. Framed for murder, Ray has little time to clear his name, save the girl, and find a pack of Lucky Strikes before he has to skip town with his own stash of ill-gotten loot.
A good hero is only as good as his villian, and The Hitman is as nasty as they come. Shipley could have made a movie about this guy alone, and it would have been absorbing. Perhaps, by focusing on this character, it would have helped Shipley vocalize the story he was trying to tell a bit better.
I was reminded of a brilliant Joe R. Lansdale short story titled "The Job", where a former Elvis impersonator-turned-hitman had to go out on his first hit. The object of the assassination, revealed in the final sentences to be a child, took the story to a perverse extremes. The Hitman in DANGEROUS MODE is that character 10 years from now, once he's settled down into his career and hit his stride, thriving off the bloodlust.
As a filmmaker, Shipley's best asset is his eye for atmosphere. I swear I could smell the whiskey and tobacco wafting about in my living room. The same for the frequent explosions of Vanilla, perfume of choice amongst strippers, and the garbage on the street. (On second thought, maybe I just need to be a better house keeper)
On the technical side, Shipley needs to learn how to edit more selectively. At first glance, he likes to let his actors play out their scenes in master shots, something I'm very akin to. If the actors have their beats down correctly, they can hit more dynamic notes of tension than an editor could force with any cut. With the pulp-inspired dialogue, there could have been some fierce sexual tension between all the leads. I could have even bought the much-too-quick love story. But more than a few times, actor Danny Morris seemed to struggle for his next line delivery. Some inter-cutting between the characters would have rectified this simply by removing Morris' stammering.
Perhaps a re-cut of DANGEROUS MODE is in order. The movie doesn't seem quite finished. All the elements are in place for something special, but DANGEROUS MODE is too raw for its own good. But when fixed up and tweaked, I guarantee this movie will be an ass kicker that's pure rock and roll.