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HALL OF STRANGE: AMERICAN DIME MUSEUM
Produced and Directed by Rock Savage
2nd Unit Camera - L.W. WoodsHosted by Dick Horne
The Films of Rock Savage are an acquired taste. Rock isn't the most technically proficient filmmaker and his retro pulp-oriented themes can be off-putting. Then again, I have a friend who will screen Rock's films at parties - she's a devoted fan who I'm sure will gobble up Rock's latest release, HALL OF STRANGE: AMERICAN DIME MUSEUM. Kristy shares my enjoyment for the enthusiasm Rock exhibits, in a style of underground film that's singularly unique.
The American Dime Museum, located in Baltimore, is an attempt to recreate the exhibits found in turn of the century Dime Museums. For those not in the know, and I wasn't up until a few months ago when Discovery Channel aired their own documentary on Dime Museums, the Dime Museums were the precursors to modern museums and freakshows. They housed all sorts of oddities from shrunken heads to giant rats (which look like otters) to magicians' equipment.
The retro-subject matter is right up Rock's alley and the result is something akin to a tourist discovering the museum for the first time. The curator, Dick Horne, who fills the gang in on the history of the Dime Museum as turn-of-the-century institution as well as the museum displays, gives Rock and his crew a guided tour through the building. He's a personal enough chap who seems more then willing to share his knowledge to the gang as they take it all in with a sort of child-like fascination - which is exactly how I'm sure I would react my first time through such a place.
Sadly, I'll never get the chance to visit the museum myself. It's now January 2007 and the museum closed due to lack of funding at the end of 2005. While Rock makes the mistake of not getting the history of this particular museum, I think it was his goal was to capture the facility before it became history. To create a time capsule, if you will, of the 600 lb. bat that could kill a horse, the skeleton of a demon child (complete with letter of authenticity), and squirrels who shoot guns, and the time all these curiosities spent in Baltimore.
There are displays pertaining to freaks of nature, both natural and man-made. Viewers will even learn about the famous WWI wooden bullets that soldiers used to fight off vampires while in Eastern Europe. As Mr. Horne eludes to, the place was like an issue of Weekly World News come to life.
This is the one instance I truly wish Rock was a better filmmaker and his edges were more refined. After watching that Discovery Channel program, HALL OF STRANGE really doesn't' compare. The shaky camera work and occasionally blown out picture rarely allows for proper images of the items. The jumpy editing and audio problems give the production a home movie-like feel - which isn't' exactly a bad thing. It's the sort of production that Joe Average would shoot with his camcorder and show his like-minded friends who would also enjoy the subject matter. Fortunately, for Rock Savage, I'm one of his like-minded friends and can be more forgiving.
The se;f-distributed DVD release for HALL OF STRANGE contains a feature that's far more interesting than the main feature, and that's a collection of 1930's footage spotlighting human oddities. One of the people shown might be familiar, Johnny Eck, as he played the torso-only hand-walker in Tod Browning's FREAKS. As an added bonus, Rock provides the voice over in character. Those familiar with Rock will know there's two distinct personalities: Rock the filmmaker and Rock the character. Rock the character is pure pulp noir - sexist and completely un-PC. His colorful commentary provides some welcome guffaws.