Review of Confessions Of A Trickbaby

Introduction

Ok, so you`re sitting around your house trying to think up ideas for your next film. You start flicking through a dictionary and pick out some words at random. And you formulate a plan. "My next film must include the following" :-

nuns, cannibalism, transvestites, bulimia, drinking, drugs, Mexico, prison, mental illness, projectile vomiting, murders, pimps, necrophilia, prostitution, bondage, child porn rings

And Freeway II: Confessions Of A Trickbaby is the sort of film that you`ll end up with. "A cross between Natural Born Killers and Thelma and Louise" screams the blurb. It`s more of a cross between Hansel and Gretel, a crap porn film and a punch in the face. It deals with some very sensitive issues with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer and you may come away wondering what you`ve just spent 90-odd minutes watching.

Video

Given the low-budget schlock impression that you get from reading about the film, you probably wouldn`t expect much of the transfer. And you`d be right - a very uninspiring non-anamorphic 1.85:1 transfer is on show. Even more annoying is the fact that an anamorphic transfer exists in region 1 (although I`m lead to believe that it`s not top quality)!

The film is very dark, even in broad daylight (that`s what you get for filming in Canada - ever notice how The X Files got a lot lighter when they moved to L.A. after the fifth season?), but most of it is set at night. There are some scenes in Mexico too, and these are at least more colourful.

There are some very bizarre images that might be left in your mind after watching this film, so if you`re one of those easily offended types, you might want to avoid it.

Audio

An equally dull and uninspiring DD2.0 soundtrack which won`t test your system at all. It would hardly even test your TV speakers! Dialogue is clear and audible at all times, but that`s the nicest thing that I can find to say about it.

When the story moves to Mexico you`ll hear plenty of stereotypical latin guitar music, but the soundtrack is instantly forgettable.

Features

Nothing much to write home about here either. Some brief filmographies, a radio advert (which is rather odd), a trailer for the film (which gives away a lot), film notes by Chris Campion (not sure that we were watching the same film) and some trailers for other DVDs from the studio.

Conclusion

This film is utterly bizarre. As you might have guessed from the combination of subjects that I mentioned in the introduction, this is not your standard Hollywood blockbuster. You start by being repulsed by the foul characters (and you`re supposed to be sympathetic as they are "products of the system".) But then when you think you`re getting fed up, a little bit of action comes along to distract you.

And then there`s a comedy moment, and the Hansel and Gretel reference kicks in, as our lead characters trace their path through some woods with some rocks of crack cocaine. Then there`s some more killing, then a lull and then the ending.

So is it just low budget schlock or is there more to it? I`m still not sure but I`m going for low budget schlock for now. An odd little film, the likes of which you won`t have seen before. Not sure that you`d want to watch it again though.

As for the disc, it`s another poor show from Tartan with average picture and sound and few extras. One to rent if you like your films odd and off-the-wall and can put up with some of the subjects mentioned in the introduction.