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SLIME CITY
Produced by Marc J. Makowski, Peter J. Clark, and Gerg Lamberson
Directed and Written by Greg Lamberson
Edited by Britton Petrucelly and Greg Lamberson
Director of Photograpny - Peter J. ClarkAlex - Robert Sabin
Lori/Nicole - Mary Huner
Jerry - T.J. Merrick
Roman - Dennis Embry
Irish - Dick BielThe first time I saw Greg Lamberson's SLIME CITY was at a DVD premier screening held at Baltimore's HORRORFIND convention. The film got under my skin for reasons I was never able to explain. I wanted to approach Lamberson and discuss the film with him, but my inability to articulate exactly what it was that made me so uncomfortable prevented me from doing so, at least immediately. Those that know him will probably find this strange since Greg is extremely approachable and comes across as a heck of a nice guy.
Looking back, my inability to pinpoint a reason for my discomfort is simple: there was no single reason. Instead there were many. There's so much going on in SLIME CITY, both on the surface and beneath, that I was quickly thrown off balance. From the rudimentary filming style punctuated with oddly jarring close-ups to the grotesque depictions of sexuality, there's so much information to be absorbed that it was too much to take in and the overwhelming nature of it all played upon my own personal fears. Lamberson moves his story along at such a fast pace that I was never able take a moment and reflect on my uncomfortable feelings.
SLIME CITY wastes little time in getting things rolling. The story opens with Alex and his girlfriend Lori hunting for an apartment, and they immediately find a facility run by two older women. The plan is for Alex to move in first while Lori explains things to her parents, who haven't even met their daughter's suitor. Lori and Alex hope that once they move in together, Lori will be able to finally get past her frigid nature and consummate the relationship, a point of contention between the two due to their lengthy courtship.
Alex doesn't even have time to settle in before he's faced with temptation by the sexually provocative Nicole, a brunette with a predilection for wearing revealing black lingerie. Once Nicole is introduced, SLIME CITY takes on a sexual vibe that plays up conventional roles of good and evil. Lori is the blonde virgin in white representing all that is wholesome in Alex's life. Nicole is the raven-haired minx in black who is all that is evil. Polar extremes, the two women couldn't be more dissimilar, but together they form a complete mother-whore figure to provide for all of Alex's physical and mental needs. Essentially, Lori and Nicole are two sides of the same coin. There's a loss of sexual identity that results in confusion and frustration. Lamberson confesses that actress Mary Huner played both parts out of necessity, but by casting the same actresses in both roles Lamberson reinforces a status of sexual confusion on both Alex and the viewers who are asked to be both attracted to and repelled by these women who could be viewed as a single entity.
Are you starting to understand my initial dilemma? That's a great deal of information to process and Lamberson's brisk pace doesn't help matters. There's little time to reflect upon the interpersonal dynamics and weird sexual implications, only a state of bewilderment that's built upon by the increasingly surreal nature of the story. Before long, Lamberson builds of mountain of anxiety that plays upon my own worst fears of viral infection.
Once events shift to the apartment complex, SLIME CITY becomes a veritable buffet of cult cinema where the vast variety of exploitation elements are served up ala carte. Murder, Satanism, dismemberment, possession, monsters, and 30 year-old yogurt are all on the menu in what becomes sexually revolting splatterfest where the grossout plays a far more important part than scares.
Alex's new neighbors are the long dead members of a Satanic cult looking to rebuild their numbers and resurrect their leader. Alex's new neighbor Nicole is the temptress that leads him down the rabbit hole. Roman acts like a pusher who tempts Alex with food that eventually comes across more like a narcotic rather than nourishment. The two play up opposite ends of SLIME CITY's most disturbing thematic element, infection. When Alex gives into temptation and has a tryst with Nicole, he awakens to find himself covered in oozing slime. It's the worst case STD scenario - think gonorrhea times one thousand. Roman plies Alex with what he calls "Himalayan yogurt," which is really a decades-old concoction meant to prepare Alex's body for possession.
These might seem like tame elements to you, but for me they go against my very upbringing. It was in my fifth grade sexual education course that I was shown images of inflamed, sore-marked, and dripping penises. Images so vile that to this day, 20 years later, they are still burned on to my brain and dictate my own personal sexual practices. The yogurt stems from my mother's credo "when in doubt, throw it out." My mother raised me with a genuine fear of viral and bacterial infection, specifically those that are foodborne. To this day, I'll pour out a gallon of milk if it reaches the expiration date for fear of contamination. The notion of eating decades-old cultured bacteria that has been sitting on a basement shelf and festering, such as the green yogurt Alex ingests, instantly triggers my gag reflex. Perhaps if SLIME CITY had been more of a traditional gore film, focusing on blood and guts, it wouldn't have bothered me as much as it did. As studies prove, long term exposure to violence desensitizes people, but childhood fears can linger. As mentioned previously, Lamberson's filming style is rudimentary. He seems to prefer long takes with the actors finding their own rhythms. He breaks up the natural pace with jarring close-ups that often find the characters speaking directly into the camera, or more specifically, directly to the viewers. This makes of an uncomfortable ride toward the climax, which is ultimately reached, and released, with orgasmic intensity. While Lamberson's story is told with breakneck pace, the reveal of exploitation elements is slow, with every scene becoming more extreme then the last. The climax is a culmination of the gore that is pushed to its furthest point as well as a release of Alex's sexual frustration. When he and Lori finally consummate their relationship, there's nothing left to keep Alex from giving in to the desires of the Satanists. To quote the cliché, "all hell breaks loose."
On the commentary, Lamberson references other New York filmmakers of the time who were key influences on SLIME CITY, such as James Munro of STREET TRASH fame and Frank Hennenlotter of BASKET CASE. During that initial viewing of SLIME CITY, I kept thinking of another film made around the same time period, , FLESH EATING MOTHERS, a decades-long personal favorite. This is a comparison that isn't unwarranted as both films deal with similar thematic elements, such as venereal infections and the role they play on sexual dynamics. They both also have a similarly dark sense of humor that helps hide their low-budget roots. On a more personal note, they both share the distinction of being two films of which I'll never forgot my first screening.
The Retro Shock-O-Rama dvd release is loaded with a making-of featurette, a promo spot for the label, trailer vault, as well another complete film from Lamberson including a commentary. The addition of the second film is another example of EI Cinema and the company sub-labels, giving the fans more bang for the buck. Their package for SLIME CITY is as good as it gets and is definitely recommended for fans of 80's splatter.
Greg Lamberson
Retro Shock-O-Rama