NUTBAG

Written and Directed by Nick Palumbo
Produced by Danyel Makenna

Mack Hail
Renee Sloan

After viewing Nick Palumbo’s NUTBAG, I’m not sure where to begin. There's quite a bit I can say, but maybe I should start off by telling you a few things I won’t say:

1-That I “liked” this movie. To do so would make me one sick bastard. It’s an unflinching look into the world of a sociopath and how he deals with his rancid hatred.

2-That this isn’t a good film. Exactly the opposite, it’s got raw intensity and power. More importantly it’s got a purpose, I’m just not able put my finger on it yet. Maybe we can find it together.

When NUTBAG showed up in the mail, it was referred to as a “slasher film”. I totally disagree, but only from a stylistic standpoint. A slasher is told from the point of view of the victims. NUTBAG is told exclusively from the killer’s perspective. Instead of witnessing this stalker interrupt the world of others, we see him interact with others in his world. It reminded me of TAXI DRIVER in its unwavering look at life on the Las Vegas streets and how they can corrupt and consume lost souls.

While actor Mack Hail ain’t no Deniro, he does bring a commanding presence to the screen. Sometimes it’s for the wrong reasons. The guy has an irratating habit of over-exaggerating all of his movements. I noticed this in Max Cerchi’s CARNAGE ROAD, where Mack has a small, but effective role. In that film his acting style worked well, but then again he was the comic relief.

There is nothing funny about this movie. It is a hardcore look at 10 days in the life of a man who needs to kill because he knows no other way of acting out. There is no plot. There is no external conflict. Just a character study of a man so horrible you feel violated just looking at him.

Occasionally there are glimpses into what drove him to this point. We see the Nutbag as a child watching his mother murdered at the hands of a black man. We can only assume she was a prostitute, for that is mostly what the Nutbag kills. If you want to watch him really go off then let him see interracial couples in action. That’s when the Nutbag takes his time to enjoy his killing.

Like Todd Sheets, Nick Palumbo is concerned with the direction Hollywood horror is headed. The difference between Sheets and Palumbo is that there isn’t anything fun or good-natured about NUTBAG. I like Rob Zombie’s take on Scream. “Scream is Beverly Hills 90210 where somebody gets f*cking stabbed.” Palumbo wants to take horror to the extreme, maybe that’s the purpose I couldn’t quite put my finger on before. He wants to help a dieing genre survive.

The current DVD for NUTBAG offers little in the way of extra value outside of improved picture and sound. The only feature included in the trailer. You don't even get a now standard commentary.

This movie is face-down-in-the-gutter bleak. Be warned, NUTBAG is hardcore stuff, and certainly not for the Scream crowd. Only those up to the challenge should check it out.

Fright Flix